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≡ CITY COUNCIL UPDATE ≡
“On track” was the phrase used by LA28 Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee chief executive Reynold Hoover to position the progress to date before Wednesday’s meeting of the Los Angeles City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Appearing with Chief Operating Officer John Harper, Hoover started with finances:
“From a financial perspective, we continue to feel very optimistic about our path forward with, as I said, 989 days to go. … We’ve signed more partnerships this year than we announced in all of 2024, allowing us to remain on track to reach our goals.
He added later, “Right now, we’re at about $1.7 billion in sponsorship revenue, that’s contracted. We’ll hit $2 billion by December. We’ve raised more money than Paris did in the entire time.
“So we are well on our track to hit our $2.5 [billion], I think is our budget number in sponsorship revenue and we are well on track to get that. We just signed another deal yesterday, and there’s, I think, three or four more contracts that we will announce in the coming weeks.”
He was asked about comments from U.S. President Donald Trump about potentially moving the Games if he didn’t feel it was safe to hold it in Los Angeles. No need worry was the reply:
“The President and the administration has been very supportive of the Games in L.A. and I think they recognize, and I have said before to members of Congress, there is no other city in the United States that could host the Games than L.A.
“The size and the scope of the magnitude of the undertaking, because of the iconic venues, because of the ‘no-build Games,’ because it’s 15,000 athletes coming, nearly 15 million people coming to visit and be a part of the Games, there’s no place else you can go.
“The President wants these Games to succeed, I think that’s evidenced in the billion dollars in security funding that was out into the [One Big Beautiful Bill Act], and we’re working with FEMA – I’ve had conversations directly with FEMA leadership on that money, and Council President [Marqueece Harris-Dawson] and I have talked about it as well – how that money will flow to help us, to help you all, with security planning.
“So I feel very confident, the Games will be in L.A. and the Federal government will support the safety and security of the Games.”
Hoover also noted some other areas:
● “Registration for Olympic Games tickets [sales] will open in January of ‘26, on our web site at LA28.org. … We’re proud to announce that single tickets will start at only $28 and we’ll have early-access tickets for locals, who live around the Games venues, as well as L.A. City residents.”
● Asked about visas for athletes and others who need to come for the Games:
“[LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman and I have both talked with Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio on a number of occasions about that. We have a whole team dedicated just to visa processing. At the State Department’s request, we have developed and will launch at the end of this year, a program called ‘VisaLink’ which is automating an electronic process to assist people that need visas, associated with the Games, because it’s not just the athletes.
“People will be starting to come, and have come already, to work with us directly at LA28, or will be part of, say, building the International Broadcast Center and other media people that will be coming in to help with Games delivery that will be coming in from overseas and will require visas. We feel really confident that we’re in a good spot.”
● He was, of course, asked about concerns over venue issues, especially the City’s $2.6 billion effort to expand the Convention Center:
“As we sit here today, I don’t have any concerns that any of our venues will not be ready in time for the Games. We are looking and watching closely, the Convention Center and the construction and we feel confident the City is going to make its deadlines, so we can get the Convention Center delivered to us on time.”
● Hoover was also asked by Council member Bob Blumenfield if LA28 would be adding money to the $160 million for youth sports it has already committed to:
“I think the short answer is no. You know, $160 million was our commitment to PlayLA and that number, we’re not changing. Of the $60 million we’ve provided the City so far, we’re really excited and happy about where the program has gone. In July, we celebrated the millionth enrollment in the program; the program, as you know, is oversubscribed and we’re really excited about it.
“We look to the City, then, to figure out how best to continue the PlayLA program, because we see it as an incredible, incredible success.”
¶
Much of Wednesday’s session was taken up with a discussion with the City’s Director of the Bureau of Contract Administration, John Reamer, Jr. He explained a continuing dialogue with LA28 on how the organizing committee will work cooperatively to look to local businesses for contracts related to the Games.
Reamer said that a tiered approach to contracting was being developed, for LA28 to try and find businesses in the City of Los Angeles first, then businesses within a to-be-specified radius of an LA28 operating site and then to businesses in L.A. County, before moving elsewhere.
Council member Monica Rodriguez engaged in a long discussion with Reamer about exactly how much money will be spent by LA28 with City of Los Angeles businesses and what will the City’s economic development team do to get small companies ready to compete. Those answers are yet to come.
Rodriguez than harangued Hoover about LA28 doing that work:
“When taxpayers in Los Angeles are the financial backstop for any shortfalls that come as a result of these Games, it should be City businesses – not Long Beach, not anyone else in the County, the County isn’t going to get tapped, Long Beach isn’t going to get tapped – it’s taxpayers in Los Angeles that will be stuck holding the bag with any other, you know, cutbacks to their services and other implications in service delivery. They’re the ones that are going to bear the brunt of any failures to meet those targets and that’s why I want to continue to reinforce with you all: how are you going to help support those small businesses, in concert with L.A. City, to make sure those businesses are actually ready to pursue those procurement opportunities?
“What are you tangibly going to help do and who are you actually working with in the City family to help fulfill that.”
Hoover explained that the organizing committee is getting ready to offer more details on its procurement plans:
“LA28 is, and will continue to be, committed in helping small and local businesses access contracts for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and we’re excited to continue that work … We’re developing a procurement plan, as I think we’ve all talk about in the past, that will be shared in early ‘26. This plan will detail the industries and types of contracts we’ll procure, along with the anticipated timelines for those opportunities.
“It will serve as a clear roadmap on how local, small and diverse businesses can engage with us as we prepare for the Games.”
He noted that workshops are already being lined up by the organizing committee to reach out in sectors where LA28 will need help – food service was mentioned – and to also help businesses get prepared.
¶
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