More 'uncertainty' but also extra money if LA hosts the 2028 Games

Members of the Los Angeles city council got a first look Friday at the proposed contract with the International Olympic Committee to have L.A. host the 2028 Olympic Games. It's short on some details, but the full council is expected to vote on the deal in the next two weeks. 

City staff presented an analysis of the contract to a special meeting of the committee charged with evaluating L.A.'s Olympic plans. There's still no budget for hosting the Games (L.A.'s 2024 projected Olympics budget was $5.3 billion), and Interim City Administrative Officer Richard Llywellyn said that waiting four more years would add "uncertainty concerning future economic and political conditions."

But the delay would also bring some financial benefits, he said.

The proposed contract estimates the 2028 Games would bring in $270 million more in revenue for the city than the 2024 Games, through additional broadcast and sponsorship revenue. The IOC would also allow L.A.'s Olympic organizers to begin selling sponsorships two years earlier than previously agreed, and it agreed to waive its royalties during those two years.

The city plans to raise the money to put on the Games mainly by selling broadcast rights and sponsorships and through ticket sales.

Olympic organizers said that much of the LA24 plan would remain in place for 2028. That means the proposed sporting venues, logistics, and sites of the Olympic Village and Media Village would remain the same. From the beginning, Los Angeles has proposed a more austere approach to hosting the Olympics by using existing stadiums, arenas and housing throughout Southern California.

The LA28 bid committee is preparing a revised budget for the 2028 Games, but it's unclear if the city council will get any other budget specifics before it votes. Llewellyn said the city council must approve the contract (as well as a financial guarantee to cover cost overruns) by Aug. 18 so the IOC can give final approval to the plan on Sept. 18. Paris is in line to host the 2024 Games.

Council members Friday noted that the city has not yet secured a guarantee from the state of $250 million in supplemental financial support for 2028. Legislators had agreed to provide that backstop in case a 2024 L.A. Games went over budget, but that agreement would not apply to 2028. Council members said the state legislature approved the 2024 backstop by a wide margin, and they had little doubt lawmakers would do so again for 2028. The legislature is in recess until Aug. 21.

Under the plan for hosting the 2024 Games, the city would have been responsible for covering the first $250 million of cost overruns, the state would have covered the next $250 million, and the city would have had to cover any shortfalls beyond that.

About a dozen L.A. residents came to Friday's meeting to urge council members to abandon the plan, arguing that L.A. would be devoting too many resources to its Olympic ambitions at a time when it's facing a housing affordability and homelessness crisis.

Several local Olympians, including gold medalist Janet Evans, attended the meeting in support of L.A. hosting the 2028 games. LA28 Chairman Casey Wasserman told the board that the 2028 contract would be better for Los Angeles than the 2024 deal. 

Under the new contract, Los Angeles would be eligible to receive $160 million for local youth sports programs as much as 10 years before hosting the 2028 Games. Typically, money for a program like this would not come until after a city hosted its Games. Olympic organizers called it a big win for the city's children, some of whom could even compete in 2028.