Lynner Reddy to carry Boston 2024 torch

Before Boston?s bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics, the idea to bring the games to the Hub was just an ambitious idea in the mind of Lynn resident Eric Reddy. Boston 2024 is essentially the brainchild of Reddy and Corey Dinopoulos, a Dracut native.The future of Boston?s bid is on shaky ground because the most recent polls show only 42 percent of Massachusetts voters support hosting the Games. The situation could become clearer as early as today, when the United States Olympic Committee is scheduled to meet to talk about the support for Boston?s bid. Los Angeles is looking to become the alternative if the USOC decides to pass on Boston.But Reddy has seen firsthand that there is plenty of support for the Olympics, both in Massachusetts and beyond. He remains convinced that Boston is the best place to host the 2024 games.?Boston has an education community that is unmatched in the world, and you?d be hard-pressed to find that concentration anywhere else, so it?s a chance to show that off,” Reddy said. “There?s an unmatched medical community here, and people come from all over to take advantage of it. There?s a lot of history here ? after all, it is the birthplace of the United States.?Boston has a lot to offer, and hosting the Olympics would make it a global destination.”Reddy?s background is rooted firmly in the sports world. He?s worked with the Providence Bruins, in college athletics, and in sports marketing. The Olympics were always on his radar, and he knew that it was about time the United States made a serious bid for the Games.?It?s been a long time since Atlanta in 1996,” said Reddy, referring to the last time the Summer Games were held in the U.S. “I had a feeling that the U.S. would make a bid, and both New York and Chicago had been rejected in the past.”Boston seemed like a perfect choice to Reddy, a native of Cheshire, Mass., who moved to Lynn two years ago to be closer to the city.From that point, Reddy started to put his idea into motion. He reached out to some contacts in Boston?s City Hall and was connected with Dinopoulos, who had also expressed the desire to bring the Games to Boston.?The first time we got together, we were trying to sell each other on an idea that we both shared,” Reddy said of his first meeting with Dinopoulos. “It wasn?t hard to convince each other. We came at it from different angles, but shared a common goal, which was to showcase ourselves in Boston to the world.”This all took place three years ago, and for more than a year after that, Reddy was at the center of bringing together the people and resources to make Boston 2024 a reality.?It was a pretty hands-on job, nonstop, for about a year,” said Reddy.He?s now on the committee?s board of directors, and a large team has been assembled to take over the day-to-day operations.?I?ve been able to step back because we?ve put together a very capable and competent team,” said Reddy. “We have some really smart people working on this bid.”Reddy said he is passionate about bringing the Olympics to Boston because of the unique opportunity it provides not only for the city itself, but those areas, like Lynn, that could benefit from their proximity to Boston – not just financially, but culturally as well.?It?s an opportunity to showcase the diverse landscape we have here on the North Shore,” Reddy said. “We can highlight the different nationalities that will get the chance to watch their countries play on their home turf during the games.”Obviously, Reddy and his team have faced certain challenges since starting up the campaign, with a wide range of varying opinions expressed by people all over the Commonwealth.?In the early stages, it was easy to dismiss the credibility of the idea,” said Reddy. “The conversation can get confused, especially when talking about the fact that no taxpayer dollars would be used for the operation of the games or the infrastructure being built. But we keep working to educate the community, and we want to be transparent.”