Los Angeles to bid for 2016 summer Olympics

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - The city will announce plans Wednesday to bid for the 2016 Olympics - a campaign that if successful would make it a three-time host of the summer games.

"Hosting the games would be not only great for Los Angeles and the nation, but also a world community that is searching for common ground," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told the Los Angeles Times.

Villaraigosa is scheduled to take center stage at a news conference announcing the bid.

Los Angeles is the only U.S. city to host the summer games more than once, having done so in 1932 and 1984.

Unlike 2004 host Athens, Los Angeles has almost all the venues it would need for the games, including the downtown Staples Center, the soccer fields at the Home Depot Center in the nearby city of Carson and the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim.

"We think the opportunity now is as good as it could ever be for a passionate, enthusiastic city such as ours," said Barry Sanders, chairman of the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games.

Other cities considering 2016 bids are Chicago, Rome and Tokyo.

Bids must be submitted to the International Olympic Committee in 2007. The host city will be selected in 2009.