Opposition group No Boston Olympics have appealed for members of the public to pledge funds to their campaign in order to enhance their resources in their battle to keep the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games away from the United city.
The group are asking for donations of either $20.24 (£12.90/€18.34), $50 (£32/€45) or $100 (£64/€91), which they caim will go directly towards “protecting our priorities as a Commonwealth and as a community”.
They also claim that over $13 million (£8 million/€12 million) has been spent by Boston 2024 so far in order to convince Boston’s residents of the viability of launching a bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“What Boston 2024 is lacking in popular support, it is making up for with money,” a No Boston Olympics statement read.
“Boston 2024 may have the high-priced consultants and the fancy office space, but we are winning the fight for public opinion.
“When people hear the facts, they realise that Boston 2024 is not a responsible plan for our Commonwealth.”
The appeal for funds comes on the eve of Boston 2024 announcing updated plans for their bid tomorrow, as well as a United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Quarterly Board Meeting, on Tuesday where Boston 2024 and whether they should continue to support it will be top of the agenda.
It comes amid yet more waning public support for the bid, which was been on a steady decline since Boston was chosen as the USOC preferred candidate in January.
It beat of competition from the likes of Los Angeles San Francisco and Washington D.C. to secure the right to be put forward as USOC’s bid city.
But the campaign to stage the event has been plagued with problems almost from the outset.
The main issue surrounds the use of public funds, which has caused controversy among Boston’s residents after the initial bid proposal said private sector money would front a large proportion of the bill.
No Boston Olympics’ latest pledge for support also comes after Boston 2024 released details of proposed venues which will be used for the Games should they be chosen by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at its Session in the Peruvian capital Lima in 2017.
Critics of the bid remain sceptical of the latest plans, claiming the move of so many venues into parts of Massachusetts state outside the city centre is an attempt to pander to statewide public support, believed to be slightly higher than in the city itself.
Boston will go up against Hamburg, Rome and Paris after the French capital officially declared its candidacy last week, and a bid from the Hungarian capital of Budapest is widely expected with just Parliamentary approval needed in order for the city to fully submit its intentions.
This article was republished with permission from the original publisher, Inside the Games.