50 Years ago, a young, idealic Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream of a brighter future during his march on Washington. Today, D.C. has a dream of hosting the Olympics in the near future. The year is 2024 and Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III is handed the Olympic flame from Wale and marches up an elaborate staircase to light the Olympic cauldron within the newly christened Olympic Coliseum on the site of the old RFK Stadium. As much of a pipe dream as this may sound like for Washingtonians, it could become a reality if the recently-launched non-profit "D.C. 2024" — led by McLean businessman Dan Knise, who spearheaded the city's last Olympic bid for 2012 — has its way.
Via Washington Business Journal:
For the 2024 games, the U.S. Olympic Committee would be making a final decision about which American city to put up for the bid internationally in September 2015. The International Olympic Committee would choose the city for 2024 two years later, in 2017.
The bid will be a regional one that includes venues in Virginia and Maryland, including those in Baltimore, but the effort will have D.C.’s name on it, rather than the previous tandem effort, according to Sweeney.
Right now, the other cities expected to submit competitive bids include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Kansas City, Seattle, Minneapolis, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Atlanta.
The Games won't all be played inside D.C.'s borders though. The city is too small for an undertaking like that. The D.M.V. area, including nearby Maryland and Virginia, will host events. By that time, FedEx Field will be 27 years old. Stadiums these days age in dog years and the Redskins will most likely be clamoring for a new stadium for RGIII to finish his (crosses fingers) Hall of Fame career in.
