Beacon Hill Leaders Welcome Bid 2.0, Need Time to Digest it

Gov. Charlie Baker, House Speaker Robert DeLeo, and Senate President Stanley Rosenberg Photo by Garrett Quinn

Beacon Hill’s Big Three said at a press conference on Monday that they welcomed the latest iteration of Boston 2024’s bid as a host city but it is simply too early for them to make a final decision on bringing the Summer Olympics to the city.

Standing together outside the governor’s office, Governor Charlie Baker, House Speaker Robert DeLeo, and Senate President Stanley Rosenberg told reporters that the new bid offers them more to chew on than what was presented to the public and the United States Olympic Committee during the winter.

“It’s a worthy attempt to answer many of the questions people have had about this project for the better part of a few months. We still have some work to do to determine a whole bunch of issues, in particular around the Commonwealth’s participation in this and what the expectations would be,” said Baker.

The Big Three have kept their cards close to their vests when discussing the Olympic bid, stopping short of endorsing or opposing the plan. Baker has said publicly that the three of them welcome having a discussion on the bid before making a decision on whether or not to move forward.

DeLeo told reporters that he thinks “Bid 2.0” provides them with the material to answer many of the questions they’ve had for months though he made it clear that it’s too early to draw any definitive conclusions about the bid at this time.

“For us to make an informed decision as to the facts and figures that were given to us today I think it’s much too premature. Quite frankly, that’s why we hired these folks,” said DeLeo referencing the Brattle Group, brought on to analyze the bid documents.

Even though DeLeo said he was happy with the new information being provided by organizers he said he was still not comfortable with what it is organizers want from taxpayers.

“I am not comfortable as we’re standing here today in terms of what exactly they’re expecting from the Commonwealth. We’ve got a better idea but in terms of the comfort level — at least for me — it’s not there right now,” said DeLeo

Senate President Rosenberg echoed Baker and DeLeo’s comments about new information being provided but he suggested that he was more optimistic that bid organizers understand they will not receive a handout from Beacon Hill.

“They articulated that they understood the Commonwealth was not in any position to provide an operating subsidy,” said Rosenberg.

Baker requested organizers submit a plan to his office by June 30.