★ 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! ★
≡ LOS ANGELES 2028 ≡
The good news started with the Tuesday morning Los Angeles-area forecast notes from the National Weather Service:
“Winds starting off generally a little lighter than expected as previous models were a little heavy handed for today.”
“Winds are mostly under 30 mph and confined to a corridor that runs from Acton to Oxnard and about 20 miles either side. This corridor still does not include the Palisades fire area as the wind axis still has a stronger east component than a north.”
While the “Red Flag Warnings” have continued and have all emergency service providers on a continued high alert, Wednesday morning’s forecast discussion – at 9:31 a.m. Pacific time – was considerably calmer in tone:
“Day 9 now of offshore flow and still getting some gusts into the 50s across some of the valleys of western LA and eastern Ventura Counties as well as the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains.
“May see a 5-10 mph wind increase through the morning hours as is typical with offshore conditions, but weakening again in the afternoon and evening. Overall, we`re definitely on the back end of this long stretch of Santa Ana winds but winds expected to continue into Thursday morning before onshore flow finally returns by afternoon.”
This is great news for crews who are still battling the Palisades Fire (23,713 acres burned; 19% contained) and the Eaton Fire in and around Altadena (14,117 acres burned; 45% contained), still both active and requiring enormous efforts to overcome.
¶
None of the named venues for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles have been directly impacted by the fires and the one site that was threatened – Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades – has not been touched.
Golf Channel host Rex Hoggard said in a Monday interview:
“I spoke with a member today at Riviera and he said the club is fine. The golf course didn’t receive any damage and the clubhouse hasn’t received any damage. But everything around it is devastated. This member told me they are still in evacuation mode. People can’t get anywhere close to the golf course. Even if the golf course is fine and can logistically pull it off, I think it would be such a drain on the resources of that community I don’t know how you have it there.”
The Genesis Invitational has teamed with Fanatics to create a themed “LA Strong” T-shirt, available for $35 with proceeds going to the American Red Cross and the L.A. Fire Department Foundation.
The chatter now is about what to do with the tournament, scheduled for 13-16 February 2025. It could be canceled, postponed or moved and there are endless possibilities, and questions about resources available to support the event in case it does go forward.
Similar discussions have now arisen about the Academy Awards, scheduled for 2 March at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, which was not threatened by the fires at any point. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences issued a statement on Monday, including:
“The 97th Oscars will still be held on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live at 7 p.m.”
Amid a report from a British tabloid that discussions about cancellation are taking place, The Hollywood Reporter noted Wednesday:
“Any change to the Oscars ceremony itself would require significant consultation between the Academy and its longtime broadcasting partner ABC. And it is currently the prevailing sentiment within the Academy’s leadership that the show should go on — in a dignified manner that would help to raise funds for and celebrate fire relief efforts.”
The story also stated that four members of the Academy’s own Board had lost homes in the fires.
Observed: The fire devastation is real, brutal and catastrophic. And the sentiment to cancel everything and just mourn is completely understandable.
Is a professional golf tournament important next to the fire damage? No.
Are the Academy Awards important when Altadena – 20 miles northeast – lies in ruins? No.
BUT: What about the hundreds – if not thousands – of people whose lives will be impacted by the cancellation or movement of these events?
Beyond the pro golfers and the movie stars, there are the technicians, ushers, parking service staff, caterers, camera crews, telecommunications support staff and a lot more who work in and around these events – let’s not forget the hotels, restaurants and shops at which auxiliary events are held – and whose lives are impacted if they DO NOT happen.
Too often, these folks are forgotten.
Safety cannot be compromised, but there are lots of folks who were not impacted by the fires who will be impacted if the rest of Los Angeles shuts down.
This brings us to the clown posse – individuals, organizations and news media – who question whether the 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games, along with other L.A.-area events coming more quickly, should be canceled.
No.
In the coming months and years, the Los Angeles area will host the NBA All-Star Game in 2026 (Intuit Dome), matches of the FIFA World Cup in 2026 (SoFi Stadium), Super Bowl LXI (2027 at SoFi Stadium) and the 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games.
On Tuesday, Bank of America and U.S. Soccer announced a sponsorship which will include a first-ever “U.S. Soccer House” during the 2026 World Cup, reported to be located in the Los Angeles area.
Events are coming to Los Angeles, not leaving. And these events bring with them jobs, spending and visits to the area, all good for the local economy and the people in it.
The Paris 2024 organizing committee reported it had 4,200 staff members at the time of the Games, and the LA28 organizing committee has, at present, less than 200. A lot of jobs are coming, all related to the Games, not to mention operations by related organizations such as National Olympic Committees, International Federations, broadcasters, sponsors and others.
The vast majority of the people who will make these programs go are locals. The events they work at need to be supported too.
¶
★ 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, 895-event International Sports Calendar for 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!
