LA tries wooing wavering USOC for 2016 bid

LOS ANGELES, May 19 (Reuters) Los Angeles, in search of its third Olympic Games in 2016, pushed its candidacy yesterday with a US Olympic Committee that is still wondering if it can find a winning city.

Los Angeles, host of the 1932 and 1984 Games, is on a USOC short-list for 2016 along with Houston, Philadelphia, Chicago and San Francisco.

But USOC chairman Peter Ueberroth, who organized the 1984 Los Angeles Games, warned: ''We may not bid at all.'' ''We don't think we have a really good chance to win,'' said Ueberroth. ''The last bid of the United States Olympic Committee and New York only got 13 votes.'' The International Olympic Committee will make a decision in 2009 and said last month that six countries are mulling bids -- India, Japan, Spain, the United States, Brazil and Italy.

The next Games will be held in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, L.A.'s first Hispanic mayor in modern times, said the city's best assets for 2016 are its multicultural population, the entertainment industry, existing venues, and ''unprecedented'' investment in downtown renewal, infrastructure and public transport.

While the mayor refused to discuss the city's weaknesses, Ueberroth acknowledged ''there are some, to be honest,'' without elaborating.

''Los Angeles was eliminated in the first round last time. They weren't even a finalist,'' Ueberroth said.

Reuters SK GC0531