March 24--A hotly debated campaign to bring the 2024 Summer Olympics to Boston could now end up in the hands of Massachusetts voters.
After previously opposing the idea of a referendum, Boston 2024 organizers said Tuesday they will help gather signatures to put the issue on the November 2016 state ballot.
Opponents of the bid welcomed the announcement.
"The ballot language itself now becomes incredibly important," a group called No Boston Olympics said in a statement. "We hope to work constructively with Boston 2024 to craft language that accurately and fully reflects the difficult choice facing our commonwealth. We need to ask voters if taxpayers should be on the hook if things don't go according to Boston 2024's plan."
Polls suggest that public support for the bid has eroded in recent months.
The U.S. Olympic Committee chose Boston to be the sole American bidder late last year after considering rival proposals from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington.
International competition figures to come from cities such as Paris and Hamburg, Germany. Olympic officials are scheduled to select the host in 2017.
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