LONDON - With time running out and prospects for an Olympic stadium fading, New York still has a chance to tweak its bid for the 2012 games - but any last-minute Plan B first must clear the IOC's executive board.

The NY2012 committee had long pinned its hopes on a $2 billion stadium on Manhattan's West Side, a plan that fell through Monday when a state board shot down critical funding with only a month to go before the deciding vote.

Forced to weigh their options going forward, the city's bid officials asked the International Olympic Committee for clarification: Could they change course this late in the game?

The answer came Thursday in the form of a yes, with a caveat.

Citing an "exceptional circumstance," the IOC said New York can modify that plan - but must go to the IOC executive board for approval before the vote in Singapore on July 6.

The IOC had said the bid file would remain closed after Feb. 24, when the committee's evaluation commission completed its visit to New York. Since there were no stadium guarantees at the time, the IOC said the city had until the Singapore session to nail down its plans.

"As we now understand the situation, New York is not able to provide such guarantees," IOC communications director Giselle Davies said in a letter to bid leader Dan Doctoroff.

"In such an exceptional circumstance as this, a bid city has the right to address the issue in front of the executive board."

That board has the power to remove a bid city from the race - if it determines the candidate doesn't meet the technical requirements. And if New York - competing against front-runner Paris, London, Madrid and Moscow - can't come up with a viable and guaranteed stadium plan to present in Singapore, the city could consider pulling out.

But NY2012 leaders have been consulting with the U.S. Olympic Committee, which fears that a withdrawal could harm the chances of future American bids.

"We're in the process of fact-finding and gathering additional information," USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel said earlier this week. "We look forward to having an opportunity to speak with our colleagues at NYC2012 and learn more about their plans moving forward."

The board, chaired by IOC president Jacques Rogge, next meets in Singapore on July 3 to 5 before the vote by the full IOC assembly. However, the board members can also make decisions by teleconference.

The stadium, which would be the venue for track and field events and the opening and closing ceremonies, is still seen as crucial to New York's chances. The state's Public Authorities Control Board rejected a proposal Monday to spend $300 million in critical state money for the stadium, severely damaging the city's Olympic bid.

New York is expected to decide within the next few days what to do next.

"We're exploring every option," Doctoroff said Thursday, declining further comment.

NY2012 executive director Jay Kriegel also gave little away.

"We're just continuing to make every effort to work this out to continue the bid in a strong way that can be successful in Singapore," he said.

It's unclear what those options might be.

A last-minute deal salvaging the West Side site hasn't been ruled out, and using another stadium in the New York area is another possibility. The legal and financial issues also involve the New York Jets, the planned future tenants of the Olympic stadium.

Bid cities are due to submit responses Monday to the IOC evaluation report released this week. The report gave New York a generally positive review, but cited the lack of guarantees for the stadium and other concerns. Paris got the best overall assessment.

Doctoroff and the other 2012 bid leaders are due to attend an African Olympic assembly next week in Ghana, where the cities will give their last major presentations before Singapore.

New York's withdrawal from the race would leave an all-European contest. London believes it would benefit by picking up support from New York backers.