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Nancy Lebens
MINNNEAPOLIS

Rybak won't bid for 2024 Olympics

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-- Mayor R.T. Rybak has declined the U.S. Olympic Committee's invitation to submit a bid for the 2024 summer games.

Minneapolis was one of 35 cities invited. In Rybak's letter today, he said after consulting "local partners," he and others decided a Super Bowl or Democratic National Convention makes more sense.

"I've said in the past that I believe Minneapolis-St. Paul has what it takes to bid on Olympics," Rybak said in an interview. "When we really dug into the details of it we realized 'yep, you know what, we can compete and maybe we can win.' But the time and effort it takes to do that is better spent on doing some of these other events where we have an excellent chance of succeeding."

Rybak told Olympic committee CEO Scott Blackmun that a new events organization, the Meet Minneapolis Local Organizing Committee, plans to offer Minneapolis as a site for Olympic training and exhibition events.

Rybak's letter also said, "Moreover, we are making more than $1 billion in investments in our hospitality, sports and entertainment infrastructure that, when added to our extraordinary natural assets, will make us competitive with any city in the nation and the world."

Curtis Gilbert contributed to this story.