Keller @ Large: Olympic Organizers Expect Support To Grow

BOSTON (CBS) - "Both local and international visitors will just love visiting Boston," said Paralympian and former Boston Marathon wheelchair champion Cheri Blauwet at Wednesday's release of the Boston 2024 bid proposal to bring the 2024 Summer Olympic Games here.

But the big question hovering over their Olympic push is whether or not local residents can be persuaded to love the Games as well.

Photo Gallery: Proposed Olympic Venues

Handsome renderings of various Boston-area Olympic venues were released along with most of the bid data, minus construction cost projections that organizers said might compromise their negotiating position if the Games do come here. But those redactions speak to a major problem bedeviling organizers – public skepticism of their claim that private money will cover most of the Olympic tab, which has sparked growing talk of a city- or statewide referendum on whether or not to host the Games.

WBZ News asked Boston 2024 President Dan O'Connell if a referendum vote might put our bid in jeopardy. "We are certainly hopeful that there will not be a negative referendum vote," he said. "It's a rigorous process, I think about 70,000 signatures are needed for a statewide referendum. I'm not sure we'll ever see anything on the ballot."

Wishful thinking? Perhaps, but it's shared by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who says he'd prefer that the public attend a series of eight community meetings he's scheduled to present the Olympic plans and receive feedback before deciding to take it to the ballot.

But asked if he has concerns about a referendum jeopardizing Boston's bid, Walsh said, "I represent the people of Boston, that's my number one concern. My concern isn't necessarily upsetting the IOC or the USOC on whether or not they feel there should be a referendum."

O'Connell insists he sees, "a strong majority of support for these games and we think it will grow as the community process moves forward."

But two recent polls have shown strong support for a referendum vote and a collapse of interest in the games if it turns out significant public money will be needed to pay for them.