★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★
★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★
≡ L.A. CITY SERVICES CONTRACT ≡
An agreement between the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee and the City of Los Angeles to define how the City will be reimbursed for services it provides for the Games that are above-and-beyond “normal levels” was due in October 2025.
On Friday, nearly nine months later, a draft of the “Enhanced City Resources Master Agreement” was transmitted to the City’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The biggest issue identified by City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto in a March memorandum was that the LA28 position then was that it could declare a surplus from the Games even if the City had not recovered all of its added expenses.
On this point, the summary of the ECRMA draft noted:
“LA28 agrees to pay the City all outstanding amounts due pursuant to this ECRMA, the Host City Contract, the Games Agreement, and any other relevant agreement between the parties prior to disbursing any potential surplus funds to a legacy entity.”
An amendment to the 2021 Games Agreement will further allow the $270 million contingency fund established by LA28 to be used for unreimbursed security expenses.
Thus, the City obtained better protection, but does not have a commitment from LA28 to use any and all available funds to pay for all of the City’s Games-related expenses, such as security costs not paid by hoped-for Federal funding.
¶
The 15-page Enhanced City Services Master Agreement lays out a framework under which more contracts will be created and signed. Per the summary of the agreement:
● “To support the successful delivery of the 2028 Games, the City will provide Enhanced City Resources (ECR) exceeding normal and customary levels, and LA28 will reimburse the City for resulting costs of these services.”
● “To ensure reimbursement of ECR, a process and timeline is established in the Games Agreement which includes developing the proposed ECRMA to identify, among various issues, City resources, processes, commitments, and payment timelines for the 2028 Games, and subsequently creating Venue Services Agreements (VSA) to identify the specific ECR at each identified LA28 venue.”
Fifteen City of Los Angeles sites – some with more than one venue – have been identified and others will be added, as Griffith Park for road cycling events is not yet on the list.
The City intends to get as much money ahead of time as possible, as the agreement notes:
“The City shall provide the OCOG [organizing committee] with an initial monthly cost estimate for Enhanced City Resources agreed upon in any forthcoming VSA by October 1, 2026, or 60 days following completion of any VSA. Final monthly cost estimates for such Enhanced City Resources shall be mutually agreed upon by the Parties by no later than October 31, 2027 (the ‘Estimated City Services Costs’).”
Monthly payments based on these estimates are to start on 1 February 2028, and a final statement by the City will be due on 1 December 2028. The agreement further explains:
“To the extent the OCOG requests in writing, through either its Chairperson or Chief Executive Officer, that the City further improve accessibility, beautification, streets, or other Games-related infrastructure above and beyond the City’s minimal legal requirements or which the City elects to pursue in its sole discretion, such agreed upon costs will be reimbursed by the OCOG pursuant to the terms and conditions of this ECRMA.”
The next step is for review at the City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
¶
An area of interest to City Council members is a right to audit LA28’s finances, but no blanket authorization was included in the agreement as provided.
Council member Monica Rodriguez has been pushing for a financial audit of LA28 to be performed by a City contractor to be selected.
¶
★ Receive our exclusive, weekday TSX Recap by e-mail by clicking here.
★ Sign up a friend to receive the TSX Recap by clicking here.
★ Please consider a donation here to keep this site going.
For our updated, 681-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!
