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This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.

KPCC Archive

How much does the LA Marathon cost the city?

Felix Limo of Kenya crosses the finish line during the 2015 ASICS LA Marathon on March 15, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.
Felix Limo of Kenya crosses the finish line during the 2015 ASICS LA Marathon on March 15, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.
(
Jonathan Moore/Getty Images
)

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How much does the LA Marathon cost the city?

This Sunday, more than 25,000 people are expected to run in the Los Angeles Marathon where they'll traverse the city, 26.2 miles, from Dodger Stadium to the finish line in Santa Monica.

The city of L.A. is expected to spend an estimated $571,009 on city services related to the marathon this year, according to data from the city's Chief Administrative Office. That money pays primarily for police personnel, which handle street closures and security. It also pays for services like street cleaning, as well as medical aid provided by the fire department.

L.A. won't be shouldering these costs however. The city will be reimbursed for all of the costs by the marathon's organizer, a private company called Los Angeles Marathon, LLC.

Last year, L.A. billed that company $436,403 for its services, but when KPCC asked the city why its estimates for this year's marathon are so much higher than its 2015 costs, it did not receive an answer.

In a letter to KPCC, L.A. Transparency Officer Cielo Castro explained that the city's final bill will be tabulated based on a formula which calculates the cost difference between the deployment of city staff on Marathon Sunday and the three prior Sundays. That allows marathon organizers to know how much additional city staff was deployed for the event versus a normal Sunday in Los Angeles.

L.A. isn't the only city incurring costs. The race travels through West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, as well. Santa Monica was reimbursed $471,514 in 2015, though they did not provide estimates for this year's costs. As for the other cities, their numbers were not provided to KPCC by the time of publishing.

If Santa Monica's costs are similar this year, the total price tag for city services in L.A. and Santa Monica alone will total more than $1 million.

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Los Angeles Marathon, LLC makes money on the event from runner entry fees. With an estimated 25,000 runners paying about $200 each, it stands to make about $5 million on entry fees alone. It also receives money from lucrative company sponsorships, like Sketchers which is a prominent sponsor in this year's event.

Besides the reimbursement, the city of L.A. stands to make intellectual property royalties "associated with the use of the a (sic) variety of Marathon trademarks owned by the city," wrote Cielo. That number can be as high as $189,000 annually.

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