--- description: Mayor Marty Walsh threatened on Monday to drop Boston's bid for the 2024 Olympic Games if taxpayers must cover budgetary shortfalls. title: Boston Olympics Bid in Question Amid Budget Issues image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt68701b22491067ed/69885c94a988ca4eaf6b3a18/gettyimages-467273910.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Boston Mayor Threatens to Drop Olympics Bid Over Budget by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 27, 2015 3:31 PM CUT  Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh hosts a Municipal Strategies for Financial Empowerment, a public forum at UMass Campus Center on March 22, 2015 in Boston. Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh hosts a Municipal Strategies for Financial Empowerment, a public forum at UMass Campus Center on March 22, 2015 in Boston.Paul Marotta—Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 27, 2015 3:31 PM CUT Boston Mayor Marty Walsh [threatened](http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2015/07/27/boston-mayor-says-cannot-commit-olympic-bid/essW6dL4UDFfndhC4Vqx4K/story.html "undefined") Monday to drop the city’s bid for the 2024 Olympic Games if the U.S. Olympic Committee demands a guarantee that would require Boston taxpayers to cover budgetary shortfalls. Walsh said that while he believes the Olympics could benefit the city, he vowed not to sign an agreement without knowing there are taxpayer protections in place, [Boston.com](http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2015/07/27/boston-mayor-says-cannot-commit-olympic-bid/essW6dL4UDFfndhC4Vqx4K/story.html "undefined") reports. “I refuse to mortgage the future of the city away,” Walsh said at a news conference. “I refuse to put Boston on the hook for overruns, and I refuse to commit to signing a guarantee that uses taxpayers’ dollars to pay for the Olympics.” The host city contract with the U.S. Olympic Committee would require the city to agree to cover any financial shortfalls in building the massive infrastructure around the 2024 games. Massachusetts’ governor, Charlie Baker has also expressed skepticism of a bid that shifts the burden of paying for Olympics infrastructure too heavily on Boston taxpayers. The USOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. \[[_Boston.com_](http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2015/07/27/boston-mayor-says-cannot-commit-olympic-bid/essW6dL4UDFfndhC4Vqx4K/story.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3973023/boston-olympics-2024-marty-walsh/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3973023/boston-olympics-2024-marty-walsh/"},"headline":"Boston Mayor Threatens to Drop Olympics Bid Over Budget","datePublished":"2015-07-27T15:31:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T09:36:39.382Z","description":"“I refuse to mortgage the future of the city away\"","url":"https://time.com/3973023/boston-olympics-2024-marty-walsh/","keywords":["Boston","olympics","cities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt68701b22491067ed/69885c94a988ca4eaf6b3a18/gettyimages-467273910.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt68701b22491067ed/69885c94a988ca4eaf6b3a18/gettyimages-467273910.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-467273910","caption":"at UMass Campus Center on March 22, 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts.","creditText":"Paul Marotta—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3973023/boston-olympics-2024-marty-walsh/","name":"Boston Mayor Threatens to Drop Olympics Bid Over Budget"}}]}] ```