Angelenos have waited 33 years for the Summer Olympics to return to their city. Last Monday night, they received word that they'll only have to wait 11 more. In an unusual decision, the International Olympic Committee announced that Los Angeles had agreed to host the 2028 Olympics, ceding the 2024 games to rival bidder Paris. The joint award — the first in Olympic history — will be made official at an IOC meeting in Lima next month.
Given their druthers, Olympic commissars wouldn't necessarily have chosen this particular solution. But skyrocketing costs have scared off many major cities from even bidding on the games. Picking Los Angeles — with its existing stock of Olympic-class sports facilities — at least guaranteed the competition a home in 2028. And there's a good argument to be made for making that home permanent.
One way to think of the modern Olympics is as a giant urban infrastructure project. So, in addition to stadiums, pools, velodromes and other sports venues (many unlikely to be used again), preparing for the games also typically requires investments in mass transit, pedestrian paths and even housing.