United States will bid for 2024 Summer Olympics

If at first you don't succeed, try try again. That's been the recent mantra of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) when it's come to bidding on the Summer Games. After New York and Chicago were snubbed in early rounds of International Olympic Committee (IOC) voting for the 2012 and 2016 Games, the USOC decided to sit out the 2020 process. Tokyo was ultimately awarded those Games in 2013.

Following a Tuesday presentation by four potential host sites on American soil, the USOC has decided to bid on the 2024 Games. Boston, Washington D.C., San Francisco and Los Angeles are in the running. A finalist from that group will be determined early in the new year while international bids need to be submitted by September 15, 2015. The winning bid is expected to be announced at the 130th IOC Session in Lima, Peru in September 2017. Other potential host cities include Rome, Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, Baku, Doha, Durban or a joint bid by Johannesburg-Pretoria. The last time the U.S. hosted a Summer Olympics was 1996 in Atlanta.

As for handicapping which of the four finalists will get the nod, each potential host has a unique flavor. L.A. is trying to become the second three-time Summer Games host (after London). The Southern California city also hosted in 1932 and 1984. USOC CEO Larry Probst told the Chicago Tribune recently that San Francisco has "magical appeal." In the same piece, Probst spoke of Boston's educational institutions supporting its bid and how walkable the site would be. As for the nation's capital, it claims to have the largest concentration of venues within a 40-mile range, keeping costs down. Each bid is expected to be in the $4-5 billion range — not including infrastructure improvements.