LA28

When it comes to making travel plans for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, you may still be crouched at the starting blocks. But the race for flights, hotel reservations and event tickets will begin in 2026, long before the Games commence.

The Los Angeles Times is your guide to the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics. Follow us for expert coverage of every aspect of the LA28 Games.

If you’re planning to visit Southern California for LA28, preparation will be crucial. And a little positive thinking wouldn’t hurt. As Winnipeg-based sports tour operator Dave Guenther of Roadtrips says, the Olympic cycle often feels like “two or three years of cynicism followed by two weeks of unbridled joy.”

As the days tick down to the L.A. Olympics (July 14-30, 2028) and Paralympics (Aug. 15-27, 2008), we’ll be answering the most important travel questions. We’ll be adding updates as new information comes in, so be sure to bookmark this guide.

Getting tickets to the Games

The Coliseum during the opening ceremonies for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

(Los Angeles Times)

When will tickets for the Olympic Games go on sale?

Beginning in January, fans can register to enter the lottery for Olympic tickets at the organizing committee’s website, la28.org. If selected in the random draw, organizers say, fans will receive a purchase time and date for when ticket drops begin in spring 2026. Organizers say those in communities near Games venues will get early access. See a broader outline of LA28’s ticket schedule here.

Also in early 2026, LA28 will start offering hospitality packages that combine event tickets with overnight accommodations, transportation and/or special events. Tickets for the Paralympic Games will go on sale in 2027.

More details are expected later this year. Anyone interested can sign up to receive announcements through the LA28 newsletter.

What will tickets cost?

Organizers say Olympic and Paralympic competition tickets will start at $28, about $2 more than they did in Paris in 2024. We don’t know the high end yet. If Paris is a fair guide, most-coveted seats for the most popular events could be as high as $800 or more. The official vendors are also expected to manage a channel for resales of tickets, as they did in Paris.

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The two most costly events are likely to be the opening and closing ceremonies. In Paris, per-ticket prices reached more than $2,900 for the opening, and more than $1,700 for the closing. In Los Angeles — for the first time — the opening ceremonies will be split between two venues, the L.A. Coliseum and SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

Some of the toughest tickets, Guenther said, are gymnastics, swimming, track and field, and beach volleyball. “If you are super keen on seeing the women’s gymnastics finals, you might be on a path to disappointment,” Guenther said. “But if you’re flexible, there are a lot of things that are going to be options.”

The finish of the 400-meter hurdles at the 1932 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

(Associated Press)

Can I volunteer at the Games?

You can try. Recent Summer Olympics have relied upon tens of thousands of volunteers, who must meet language and training requirements. (Not every aspiring volunteer in Paris got assigned.) To stay in touch with volunteer opportunities, sign up for the LA28 newsletter.

Where will the Games happen?

The 2028 festivities will include 36 Olympic sports and 23 Paralympic sports, spread over about 40 venues. The lion’s share of Olympic events will take place in downtown L.A. and Exposition Park (which together have 10 venues); Long Beach (seven venues); Carson; Inglewood; the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys.

But events are also scheduled in San Clemente, Venice, Anaheim, Pacific Palisades, Pomona and the City of Industry. The Paralympics will use many of the same venues. Indeed, this could be a learning experience for out-of-towners who don’t realize just how broadly Greater Los Angeles sprawls.

The softball and canoe slalom events will be held in Oklahoma City.

Flights, hotels and Airbnbs

The $300-million Kali Hotel across from SoFi Stadium is expected to be completed before the 2028 L.A. Games.

(William Liang / For The Times)

How far ahead can I book flights?

Most airlines usually start accepting bookings 330 days (or 11 months) before the flight date. At Southwest Airlines, lead time can be eight to 10 months.

How far ahead can I book a hotel?

Ordinarily, hotels start accepting bookings 365 days ahead, so if you’re just looking for a room (and not a ticket-and-hotel package), set a reminder for around July 2027. Many hotels in Greater Los Angeles — especially those unaffiliated with global brands — are likely to follow their usual timetables. If you’re interested in a hotel-ticket combo deal, those will be offered in early 2026, as previously mentioned.

Industry veterans say most major hotels around Los Angeles have probably already made deals allotting blocks of 2028 rooms to organizers of the Games or independent tour operators like Roadtrips. For example, the Queen Mary in Long Beach already has 300 rooms and suites under contract with LA28, according to managing director Steve Caloca.

Another opportunity may arise even later: Typically, organizers and tour operators often return unsold room-nights to hotel control 60 or 90 days ahead of the event, which may give consumers a chance to book those “leftovers” directly, perhaps at a lower cost.

What will hotel rooms cost?

Nothing boosts hotel prices like the Olympics, and experts say the most luxurious hotels tend to hike their prices the most. Analyzing figures from Paris, hotel industry consultants CoStar found that average hotel rates — $342-$393 in the summer of 2023 — more than doubled to $731-$939 for the 2024 Games.

L.A.’s starting hotel rates are lower than those in Paris were. CoStar found that average daily hotel rates for greater L.A. from July 14-30, 2024, were $193-$231.

What about short-term rentals?

Again, expect prices to soar. Airbnb reported a 40% jump in accommodations inventory and a 400% jump in Paris-area bookings during the 2024 Games. On the eve of the Games, property management website Hostify.com reported that asking prices for short-term rentals in Paris had quintupled from $154 nightly to $772.

Do note that at every Games, it seems, there are reports of astronomical prices, followed by later reports of 11th-hour discounts because some people got too greedy earlier on.

Los Angeles seems to be starting out with higher short-term rental rates than those in Paris. The vacation rental website Airroi.com estimates the average Airbnb rate in greater Los Angeles for the year ended August 2025 was $283.

But of course, you can spend plenty more. One broker told The Times he has already rented out an L.A. mansion for $300,000 a month in 2028.

How far ahead can I book a short-term rental?

Airbnb allows bookings up to two years in advance, which is also VRBO’s default setting.

Will tensions between major L.A. hotels and union workers surface during the Olympics?

Hard to say. The L.A. City Council in May approved a measure requiring many hotels to raise their minimum wage to $30 hourly by July 2028. A business group started a petition drive seeking to undo the measure but fell short earlier this month.

Could President Trump’s immigration policies affect the Games?

That’s anybody’s guess. Heads of state in host countries usually play a ceremonial role, standing mostly in the background. Trump may have other ideas. In early August, he announced that he would chair a task force in charge of Olympic safety, border security and transportation.

Some foreign sports fans might stay away to signal opposition to the Trump Administration, as many Canadian travelers have been doing this year. But domestic travelers, not foreign visitors, fill most seats at the Olympics. Paris tourism statistics show U.S. visitors to that city during the 2024 “Olympic fortnight” were up a relatively modest 13% over the previous year.

Why do people go through so much trouble to see the Games?

“There is a tremendous magic,” Guenther said. “It really is quite something how people enjoy the time together with people from all over the world. … You find yourself welling up for an athlete in a sport you’ve never thought about.”

Times staff writer Thuc Nhi Nguyen contributed to this report.

After Paris sold a record 12 million tickets for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, the group organizing the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles is getting a head start on ticket sales.

General registration for 2028 Olympic tickets will open in January 2026, more than a full year ahead of the ticket timeline used during the Paris Games, LA28 announced on Wednesday. Tickets to the Paralympics — coming to L.A. for the first time — will go on sale in 2027.

Beginning next year, fans can register to enter the lottery for Olympic tickets at the organizing committee’s website la28.org. If selected in the random draw, fans will receive a purchase time and date for when ticket drops begin in spring 2026. Fans who are not selected for the first round of ticket drops will be automatically be entered into subsequent ones. LA28 officials plan to announce more information about the process later this year.

Single-event tickets will start at $28, with early access for locals around Olympic venue cities. In addition to major sports zones in Downtown L.A., Exposition Park, the Sepulveda Basin, Long Beach, Inglewood and Carson will host multiple Olympic events. L.A., Long Beach and Carson will host the majority of the Paralympic events.

“The LA28 Games will be an opportunity to purchase a ticket to history,” LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover said in a statement. “Whether you’re a local family attending your first Olympic or Paralympic event or a global traveler joining us for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, there really will be something for everyone across our suite of ticket options and hospitality packages.”

AXS and Eventim, which expanded their partnership with LA28, is the official ticket provider for the 2028 L.A. Olympics and Paralympics. Hospitality packages offered by On Location will be available on a first-come, first-served basis beginning in early 2026. The ticket-inclusive options include guaranteed accommodations, official LA28 transportation options and premium seating.

The Olympics begin on July 14, 2028, with a dual-venue opening ceremony at the Coliseum and SoFi Stadium. They close on July 30 at the Coliseum, while the Paralympics come to L.A. for the first time from Aug. 15-27.

The Paris organizing committee, which sold 9.5 million tickets for the Olympics and 2.5 million for Paralympics, didn’t begin its ticket registration process until November 2022, with the first, bundled ticket sales beginning in February 2023. The total number of tickets sold broke the previous record held by the London Olympics, which still holds the Paralympic record with 2.7 million tickets sold.

LA28 announced Starbucks as the official coffee partner for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics and Team USA on Tuesday, adding a fourth founding-level partner to the growing sponsorship list with less than three years to go before the Games.

Starbucks will enter the Olympic arena for the first time by providing specially designed coffeehouses in the Olympic and Paralympic village, competition venues and volunteer hubs for athletes, fans and spectators.

“Starbucks is proud to bring connection, culture, community and incredible coffee to the world stage,” said Tressie Lieberman, executive vice president and global chief brand officer of Starbucks Coffee Company.

The Seattle-based coffee giant represents LA28’s second major founding partner of the year, joining Honda, which announced its Olympic deal in April. Longtime partners Delta and Comcast are the cornerstones of the corporate sponsorship program that will be the backbone of what LA28 has promised will be a privately funded Games.

Domestic sponsorships are intended to cover $2.5 billion of the Games’ estimated $7.1 billion budget. As of August, the private organizing committee had contracts for more than 70% of its total sponsorship goal, LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman told The Times. Financial terms for the latest deal were not disclosed.

“This is our chance to co-create a Games that will resonate for generations to come, and welcoming Starbucks to the LA28 and Team USA family marks the coming together of a world-class brand and a globally embraced event, with a shared commitment to shaping culture and community,” Wasserman said in a statement.

LA28 has also announced two other partnerships in September, bringing in equipment rental company Sunbelt Rentals and T-Mobile for Business.

Costa Coffee supplied coffee for the Tokyo and the Paris Games after the British chain was acquired by Coca-Cola — one of the International Olympic Committee’s longest-standing and most prominent partners — in 2019. But Coca-Cola has been exploring a sale of Costa Coffee, according to Reuters. As a worldwide partner, the Atlanta-based soda company has exclusive Olympic and Paralympic rights to non-alcoholic beverages.

More than 40 years after L.A. produced the most financially successful Olympic Games in history, the 2028 Summer Olympics will feature a new advertising revenue path for the Games.

In an Olympic first, venues used for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics will be allowed to have corporate sponsor names after LA28 and the International Olympic Committee came to a tradition-bucking agreement announced Thursday.

Historically, the IOC has sought to limit corporate influence by keeping venues free from advertising. Major sponsors are still ubiquitous at the Games, where only Visa credit cards are accepted and Coca-Cola products monopolize the concession stands, but venues and fields of play have remained commercial-free. The traditional clean venue policy has forced L.A. organizers to refer to SoFi Stadium, which will host Olympic swimming, officially as “2028 Stadium” or “the Stadium in Inglewood.”

Not only will the new agreement help logistically by not requiring well-known venues to adopt generic temporary nicknames, but it will ease costs as existing signage can remain in place outside of the venue.

“Our job is to push and our job is to do what’s best for the Olympics in Los Angeles,” LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman told The Times. “Our job in those conversations [with the IOC] was to explain why this was more than just about money. It was about experience and value and opportunity.”

The additional revenue opportunities from naming rights agreements will help cover what LA28 has promised will be a privately funded Games.

Wasserman said the private organizing committee has contracts for about 70% of the projected $2.5-billion domestic sponsorship goal. Any money that comes from the new naming opportunities are additions to the previously estimated revenue, Wasserman said. Needing to cover the budget of $7.1 billion, LA28 has added eight corporate sponsors this year, already surpassing the total from 2024.

“The momentum is meaningful and real,” Wasserman said. “We feel good about where we are, but we certainly don’t take that for granted.”

For venues that already have sponsorship names, such as Crypto.com Arena, BMO Stadium or the Intuit Dome, the existing company can sign on as a founding-level partner to retain its naming rights during the Games, the highest level of domestic sponsorship. Otherwise, the venue will be renamed without a sponsor.

The changes have already begun. LA28 announced that Honda Center will retain its name for the Olympic volleyball competition after the Japanese automaker established its deal with LA28 in June. Squash will make its Olympic debut at the newly named Comcast Squash Center at Universal Studios as the company also holds U.S. broadcasting rights to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Broadcasters can now refer to the venues with their corporate sponsor names, providing a major global stage. Any signage outside of the venue will remain in place for existing structures. Naming rights are available for the 19 temporary facilities with first bidding opportunities going to members of The Olympic Partners (TOP) program.

But the field of play will remain free from visible sponsorships.

“The IOC is always looking to recognize and support the critical role and contributions of Olympic commercial partners, both TOP and domestic. We also want to support LA28 in their efforts to create new approaches and commercial opportunities, whilst maintaining the principles of the ‘clean venue policy’ that is unique to the Olympic Games,” an IOC spokesperson said in a statement to The Times. “It is a reality that many venues in L.A. and in the U.S. already have commercial naming rights and have become commonly recognized as such by the general public. Therefore, following discussions, the IOC is supporting the LA28 initiative that takes into account market realities of venue naming and generates critical revenue to stage the Games.”

With less than three years before the Olympics open on July 14, 2028, the Games delivery process has come with challenges. Soon after the IOC’s coordination commission left the city to glowing reviews of LA28’s planning progress in June, immigration raids and protests began in Los Angeles. This month, President Trump named himself the chair of a task force to oversee the federal government’s involvement in the Games, but concerns about safety and visas for would-be international visitors have persisted.

In L.A., where the city recently closed a nearly $1-billion budget deficit, transportation updates have lagged behind and leaders are in negotiations with Olympic organizers about services including security, trash removal and traffic control. Though LA28 has promised to cover all expenses related to the Games, taxpayers still face potential risk.

If the group goes over budget, L.A. would be responsible for the first $270 million of the deficit.

The organising committee for the Los Angeles Olympics says some deals are already in place for the 2028 Games.

Organisers of the Los Angeles Olympics will sell naming rights for a handful of its venues in deals expected to bring multiple millions of dollars to the 2028 Games while breaking down the International Olympic Committee’s long-sacrosanct policy of keeping brand names off its arenas and stadiums.

The organising committee announced the landmark deal Thursday, saying contracts were already in place with two of its founding partners – Honda, which already has naming rights for the arena in Anaheim that will host volleyball, and Comcast, which will have its name on the temporary venue hosting squash.

LA28 chairman and CEO Casey Wasserman said revenue from the deals goes above what’s in LA’s current $6.9bn budget.

He portrayed the deal as the sort of paradigm-shifting arrangement that Los Angeles needs more than other host cities because, as is typical for American-hosted Olympics, the core cost of these Games is not backed by government funding.

“We’re a private enterprise responsible for delivering these games,” Wasserman said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s my job to push. That doesn’t mean we’re going to win every time we push, but it’s our job to always push because our context is pretty unique.”

Wasserman said he also spent time explaining to IOC members how arena and stadium names are part of the lexicon in US sports.

“People know ‘Crypto’ as ‘Crypto,’ they don’t know it as ‘the gymnastics arena downtown,’” Wasserman said of the home of the Lakers, Crypto.com Arena, which will host gymnastics and boxing in 2028.

Rights for up to 19 temporary venues could be available. The IOC’s biggest sponsors – called TOP sponsors – will have the first chance to get in on the deals. Wasserman said no venues will be renamed – so, for instance, if organisers do not reach a deal with SoFi (opening and closing ceremonies, swimming) or Intuit (basketball), no other sponsor can put its name on the arena.

Not included in this new arrangement are the LA Coliseum, Rose Bowl and Dodger Stadium, some of the most iconic venues in a city that hosted the Games in 1932 and 1984. Organisers said IOC rules that forbid advertising on the field of play will still apply.

The deal adds to a growing list of accommodations pushed through for Los Angeles, which is once again poised to reshape the Olympic brand, much the way it did in 1984.

In 2017, the city was bidding for the 2024 Games against Paris, but agreed to instead host the 2028 Games. It was part of a then-unheard-of bid process that rescued the IOC from the reality that cities were becoming reluctant to absorb the cost and effort to bid for and host the Summer Games.

Olympic watchers viewed the return of softball and baseball for 2028, along with the introduction of flag football, with help from the NFL, as changes that maybe only Los Angeles could have pulled off.

LA will also make a major scheduling change for the Olympics Games, moving track and field to the opening week of the games and swimming to the end.

Wasserman said the organising committee’s position as a private entity plays a major role in its relationship with the IOC.

“We spend the time, we do the work, we make the argument, and we don’t settle for a ‘No,’ because we don’t have that luxury,” he said.

WASHINGTON — In past Olympic Games held on American soil, sitting presidents have served in passive, ceremonial roles. President Trump may have other plans.

An executive order signed by Trump on Tuesday names him chair of a White House task force on the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, viewed by the president as “a premier opportunity to showcase American exceptionalism,” according to a White House statement. Trump, the administration said, “is taking every opportunity to showcase American greatness on the world stage.”

At the White House, speaking in front of banners adding the presidential seal to the logo for LA28, Trump said he would send the military back to Los Angeles if he so chose in order to protect the Games. In June, Trump sent the National Guard and U.S. Marines to the city amid widespread immigration enforcement actions, despite widespread condemnation from Mayor Karen Bass and other local officials.

“We’ll do anything necessary to keep the Olympics safe, including using our National Guard or military, OK?” he said. “I will use the National Guard or the military. This is going to be so safe. If we have to.”

Trump’s executive order establishes a task force led by him and Vice President JD Vance to steer federal coordination for the Games. The task force will work with federal, state and local partners on security and transportation, according to the White House.

Those roles have been fairly standard for the federal government in past U.S.-hosted Olympic Games. But Trump’s news conference could present questions about whether a president with a penchant for showmanship might assume an unusually active role in planning the Olympics, set to take place in the twilight of his final term.

There is ample precedent for military and National Guard forces providing security support during U.S.-hosted Olympic Games. But coming on the heels of the recent military deployment to Los Angeles, Trump’s comments may prove contentious.

French president Emmanuel Macron was a key figure in preparations for last year’s Paris Games, including expressing his vocal support for the ambitious Olympic opening ceremony plan to parade athletes down the Seine River on boats. Many officials were concerned about potential threats along the 3.7-mile stretch, but authorities responded by increasing security measures that included up to 45,000 police officers and 10,000 soldiers.

The task force, to be housed within the Department of Homeland Security, will “assist in the planning and implementation of visa processing and credentialing programs for foreign athletes, coaches, officials, and media personnel,” the executive order said. City officials have expressed concern that the president’s border policies could deter international visitors and complicate visa processing for Olympic teams.

Tensions with L.A.

More concentrated involvement from Trump could spell further strain with Los Angeles city officials, who sought to make nice in the wake of devastating January fires, but have fiercely bucked Trump’s recent immigration offensive. Trump swiped at Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass during his remarks on Tuesday, calling her “not very competent” and criticizing the pace of city permitting for fire rebuilding. (Bass did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)

Known for her coalition-building skills, Bass is not, by nature, a public brawler. In the aftermath of the Palisades fire, she appeared determined to preserve her fragile relationship with the president — and the billions of dollars of federal aid her city was depending on — responding diplomatically even as he publicly attacked her.

But that determined cordiality crumbled when masked immigration agents and military personnel descended on the city. With troops stationed in the city and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal authorities arresting undocumented immigrants at courthouses, car washes and Home Depot parking lots, Bass took on Trump forcefully.

At news conferences and in interviews, she accused the president of waging “an all-out assault on Los Angeles, inciting chaos and fear and using the city as “a test case for an extremist agenda.”

Casey Wasserman, chairman of LA28, attended the White House event, thanking Trump for “leaning in” to planning for an Olympics that was awarded to Los Angeles during his first term.

“You’ve been supportive and helpful every step of the way,” Wasserman said, noting that the Games would amount to hosting seven Super Bowls a day for 30 days. “With the creation of this task force, we’ve unlocked the opportunity to level up our planning and deliver the largest, and yes, greatest Games for our nation, ever.”

Wasserman will also have a delicate political balancing act, managing a Games in a deep-blue city with a famously mercurial Republican president in office.

President Trump holds a full set of medals from the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles during Tuesday’s event at which he announced an executive order regarding federal involvement in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

(Julia Demaree Nikhinson / Associated Press)

A Hollywood scion and sports and entertainment mogul, Wasserman has long been a prominent Democratic donor known for his close relationship with the Clintons.

But in recent months he has diversified his giving, with hefty donations to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee and House Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership fund. Wasserman has publicly praised Trump’s commitment to the Games and traveled to Mar-a-Lago in January to meet with the incoming president.

Presidents have long played a role in the Games. In 1984, Ronald Reagan formally opened the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, becoming the first American president to do so. Reagan attended several Olympic events, but repeatedly emphasized the federal government’s role was focused on security, according to the White House Historical Assn.

The Olympic Charter requires the host country’s head of state to officially open the Games, but before Reagan, the duty had been fulfilled by local political leaders or vice presidents representing the president.

Ever-tightening security

The federal government has historically provided significant funding when the Games are hosted on U.S. soil, with financial support going toward both security and infrastructure.

Leading up to the 1996 Games in Atlanta, the federal government spent $227 million on security and transportation, playing “very much a junior partner” to the Olympic Committee, then-Vice President Al Gore said at the time. Still, a bombing at the Centennial Olympic Park during the games that summer shook the security establishment.

The 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City were the first Games to be classified as a “National Special Security Event,” the government’s highest security rating for any event that designates the U.S. Secret Service as the lead agency for implementing security. That standard has remained in place for U.S.-held Olympic Games ever since. The Secret Service will also lead security coordination for the 2028 Games.

The federal government was particularly involved in the Salt Lake City games, which were held just months after the 9/11 attacks.

Los Angeles leaders are actively involved in the security planning, and are currently in negotiations with LA28 for the use of the city’s police, traffic officers, and other employees during the Olympics and Paralympics.

Security, trash removal, traffic control, paramedics and more will be needed during the 17-day Olympics and the two-week Paralympics the following month.

Under the 2021 Games agreement between LA28 and the city, LA28 must reimburse Los Angeles for any services that go beyond what the city would provide on a normal day. The two parties must agree by Oct. 1, 2025, on “enhanced services” — additional city services needed for the Games, beyond that normal level — and determine rates, repayment timelines, audit rights and other processes.

Overtime for Los Angeles police officers, and any other major expenses, would be acutely felt by a city government that recently closed a nearly $1-billion budget deficit, in part by slowing police hiring.

Wilner reported from Washington, Wick and Nguyen from Los Angeles. Times staff writer Dakota Smith contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON — President Trump will order the establishment of a White House task force on Tuesday focused on security for the Olympics Games in Los Angeles in 2028.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said the president plans on creating the task force by executive order on Tuesday, telling The Times that Trump “considers it a great honor to oversee this global sporting spectacle.”

“During his first term, President Trump was instrumental in securing America’s bid to host the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles,” Leavitt said. “Sports is one of President Trump’s greatest passions, and his athletic expertise, combined with his unmatched hospitality experience will make these Olympic events the most exciting and memorable in history.”

It is unclear whether the executive order will provide relief as city leaders and the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the privately funded nonprofit organization known as LA28 that is planning the Games, negotiate key issues including security costs.

The executive order follows on Trump’s signature legislation, referred to by the president as the “Big Beautiful Bill,” securing $1 billion for security, planning and other costs for the L.A. Games.

Casey Wasserman, chairperson and president of LA28, thanked the Trump administration in a statement “for their leadership and unwavering support as we prepare to deliver the largest and most ambitious Olympic and Paralympic Games ever hosted in the United States.”

“Since we secured this historic opportunity in 2017, President Trump has consistently recognized the magnitude of our responsibility in welcoming the world to Los Angeles,” Wasserman said. “The creation of this task force marks an important step forward in our planning efforts and reflects our shared commitment to delivering not just the biggest, but the greatest Games the world has ever seen in the summer of 2028.”

Los Angeles leaders are in negotiations with LA28 for the use of the city’s police, traffic officers and other employees during the Olympics and Paralympics.

Security, trash removal, traffic control, paramedics and more will be needed during the 17-day Olympics and the two-week Paralympics the following month.

Under the 2021 Games agreement between LA28 and the city, LA28 must reimburse the city for any services that go beyond what the city would provide on a normal day. The two parties must agree by Oct. 1, 2025, on “enhanced services” — additional city services needed for the Games, beyond that normal level — and determine rates, repayment timelines, audit rights and other processes.

Overtime for Los Angeles police officers, and any other major expenses, would be acutely felt by a city government that recently closed a nearly $1-billion budget deficit, in part by slowing police hiring.

Times staff writer Dakota Smith contributed to this report.

L.A.’s plan to host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games was already facing a thorny set of challenges, including the scramble to secure lucrative sponsorships and the search for buses to shuttle athletes and spectators across the region.

Now, organizers could soon be faced with yet another threat: a proposed ballot measure that, according to city officials, could force at least five Olympic venues to go before voters for approval.

Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel and restaurant workers, filed paperwork in June for a ballot measure requiring L.A. voters to sign off on the development or expansion of major “event centers” such as sports arenas, concert halls, hotels and convention facilities. The measure takes aim not just at permanent projects but also temporary structures, including those that add more than 50,000 square feet of space or 1,000 seats.

Former City Councilmember Paul Krekorian, who heads Mayor Karen Bass’ Office of Special Events, identified five Olympic venues that could be subjected to a citywide election, including the Los Angeles Convention Center, the John C. Argue Swim Stadium in Exposition Park and the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area in the San Fernando Valley, which is set to host skateboarding, 3-on-3 basketball and other competitions.

“The proposed measure would make vital projects essential for our city and these Games potentially impossible to complete,” Krekorian said in a statement to The Times. “It would also require costly special elections before even relatively small projects could begin.”

A representative for LA28, the nonprofit organizing the Games, declined to confirm whether any Olympic venues would be affected by the proposal, saying only that it is monitoring the situation.

Unite Here has billed the proposal as one of its responses to a business group that is seeking to overturn the so-called Olympic Wage passed by the City Council in May, which hikes the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers to $30 per hour in 2028.

The union has not begun gathering signatures for the proposal, which is under review by the City Clerk’s office. If it qualifies, it likely wouldn’t appear on a ballot until June 2026. Nevertheless, it has already raised alarms at City Hall, where some elected officials have portrayed it as irresponsible.

Councilmember Traci Park, who represents coastal neighborhoods, said she fears the measure will force a citywide vote on an Olympic venue planned at Venice Beach, which is set to host road cycling, the marathon and the triathlon. She said it would also be more difficult for the city to attract new hotels and possibly expand its Convention Center.

“This is an absolute assault on our local economy. It’s spiteful and politically motivated,” she said.

Park, who voted against the $30 tourism minimum wage, has been at odds with Unite Here for more than a year. Councilmember Tim McOsker, whose 2022 election was backed by Unite Here and who supported the minimum wage hike, also voiced concerns, calling the proposed ballot measure “an attack on workers.”

McOsker, whose district includes the Port of Los Angeles, said he believes the proposal would force a vote on a plan to create a temporary viewing area for Olympic sailing at Berth 46 in San Pedro. He also fears it would trigger a citywide election for a 6,200-seat amphitheater planned in San Pedro’s West Harbor, a project that is not connected to the Games.

“This is bad for people who build things, bad for people who operate things, bad for people who work in buildings like these,” he said. “[The proposal] harms real people and it harms the economy.”

Ada Briceño, co-president of Unite Here Local 11 and also a candidate for state Assembly, declined to answer questions about the criticism of the proposal. Two other Unite Here representatives did not respond to The Times’ inquiries.

The union’s proposal, titled “Ordinance to Require Voter Approval of Major Development Projects,” argues that sports arenas and other major event venues “do not always justify their cost.”

Unite Here spokesperson Maria Hernandez told The Times earlier this year that the proposal would apply to Olympic venues that reach a certain size, but declined to give specifics. She said it was not clear whether the ballot proposal would impede efforts to expand the Convention Center, saying in an email that “it depends on the timing.”

The ballot proposal would not apply to athletic venues planned by LA28 in other nearby cities, such as Long Beach, Carson, Inglewood, Anaheim and El Monte. As a result, L.A. could face the potentially humiliating prospect of hosting a Games where only a handful of venues are within city limits.

“If it makes it on the ballot, there are projects and events that will be moved out of the city of Los Angeles rather than trying to win at the ballot box,” said Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn., a business group.

The city’s future economic health could depend on the success or failure of LA28. Under its host agreement, the city would be on the hook for the first $270 million in losses if the Olympics end up in the red.

Critics have also voiced concern that the quadrennial athletic event could displace low-income tenants, particularly those who live near Olympic venues.

Voters should have been given the opportunity to decide whether L.A. should host the Olympics from the very beginning, said Eric Sheehan, spokesperson for NOlympics, which opposes the 2028 Games. Nevertheless, Sheehan voiced little enthusiasm for the union proposal, saying it doesn’t go far enough.

“What would be stronger would be the chance for Angelenos to vote on whether or not we want the Olympics at all,” he said.

The proposed ballot measure from Unite Here states that hotels can have harmful effects on a city, impeding the construction of new housing and creating a burden on social services. It goes on to offer similar warnings about large-scale development projects, saying they “often involve significant expenditures of taxpayer money” — an argument disputed by some city officials.

Those projects “may take the place of other projects that otherwise could have more directly benefited city residents,” the measure states.

Times staff writer Thuc Nhi Nguyen contributed to this report.

Los Angeles city leaders are at a critical juncture ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics, with potentially hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars at stake.

They are in negotiations with LA28, the private committee overseeing the Games, for the use of the city’s police, traffic officers and other employees during the Olympics and Paralympics.

Millions of visitors are expected to pour into downtown L.A., the Sepulveda Basin and the Westside when the Olympics kick off in July 2028. Security, trash removal, traffic control, paramedics and more will be needed during the 17-day event and the two-week Paralympics the following month.

Under the 2021 Games agreement between LA28 and the city, LA28 must reimburse the city for any services that go beyond what the city would provide on a normal day. The two parties must agree by Oct. 1, 2025, on “enhanced services” — additional city services needed for the Games, beyond that normal level — and determine rates, repayment timelines, audit rights and other processes.

LA28 has billed the Games as a “no cost” event for the city. Depending on how “enhanced services” are defined, the city, which is in a precarious financial state, could end up bearing significant costs. One of the biggest expenses will be security, with the LAPD, as well as a host of other local, state and federal agencies, working together to keep athletes and spectators safe.

Overtime for Los Angeles police officers, and any other major expenses, would be acutely felt by a city government that recently closed a nearly $1-billion budget deficit, in part by slowing police hiring. The city continues to face rising labor costs and diminished revenues from tourism.

At the same time, President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, recently passed by Congress, includes $1 billion for security and planning of the Games. But what those funds will cover — and what will be covered by LA28 — are not yet known.

Against that backdrop, civil rights attorney Connie Rice sent a six-page letter dated July 17 to Mayor Karen Bass and other city leaders, asking questions about the enhanced services agreement and urging the city to take a tough stance. Rice said city staffers reached out to her because they were worried that the agreement wouldn’t adequately protect the city.

“Los Angeles faces multiple fiscal hazards that many current leaders negotiating this and other Olympics agreements, will not be around to face,” Rice wrote. “The City cannot afford an additional $1.5 billion hit in 2028 because city officials inadequately protected taxpayers in 2025.”

Rice’s letter asks if LA28 and the city have resolved differences about the definition of venue “footprints,” or perimeters around sporting events, with the footprint changing depending on whether it’s defined by a blast radius, a security perimeter or other factors.

The letter questioned why LA28 isn’t paying the city up front for costs, using money in escrow, and asked if LA28 has provided the city with a budget for security, transit and sanitation.

Rice, in an interview, said she wants to ensure the Games are indeed “no cost.”

Both Paul Krekorian, who heads Mayor Karen Bass’ major events office, and an LA28 representative declined to directly address Rice’s letter.

“The City and LA28 have been collaborating for years to ensure that all Angelenos benefit from the Games for decades to come,” said Krekorian. “While the [agreement] is currently under negotiation, we fully expect that LA28 will be successful in its fundraising efforts to deliver the Games.”

The city routinely provides police officers and traffic officers for major events, such as Dodgers games and the Grammy Awards. In 2022, the Rams reimbursed the city $1.5 million for resources it provided for the team’s Super Bowl parade, according to City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo.

Last month, Szabo’s office released a document on the city’s investor website outlining potential liabilities facing the city, including some related to the 2028 Games. The document noted that roughly $1 billion in security costs will have to be paid by the city if they are not covered by LA28 or the federal government.

Jacie Prieto Lopez, LA28’s vice president of communications, told The Times that security and other planning costs haven’t been finalized.

Rice’s letter questioned whether LA28 would cover the cost of security. Prieto Lopez didn’t directly answer when asked by The Times if LA28 will cover the LAPD’s expenses.

“We are grateful that the Administration and Congress recently appropriated $1 billion in security funding and we will continue to work with our partners at the federal, state and local levels, including the City of LA, to ensure a safe, secure and successful Games,” Prieto Lopez said in an email.

How the $1 billion from the Big Beautiful Bill is distributed will be determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency through the Homeland Security Grant Program, which is focused on preventing terrorism and other threats.

Anita Gore, a spokesperson for the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, told The Times that she expects those funds to be managed by the state through the Homeland Security Grant process.

The Office of Emergency Services is the “coordination hub” for the Games and is overseeing a statewide task force focused on security, traffic management and more, Gore said.

At a recent hearing in Sacramento, LA28 Chief Executive Reynold Hoover said the nonprofit continues to push for federal support for the Games. He said the $1 billion recently approved by Congress will “help us with that initial funding requirements for security.”

Hoover told a Senate subcommittee in June that LA28 is asking the federal government to fully reimburse the public agencies that will provide critical security at the Games.

A representative for the Department of Homeland Security declined to answer questions about how the $1 billion will be used.

Trump’s mercurial nature and past attacks on California make it difficult for some city leaders to gauge how his administration will handle funding for the Games.

Rep. Nellie Pou of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the Congressional Task Force for Enhancing Security for Special Events, held a public hearing last month on preparing for the World Cup and Olympics. She told The Times that she has not received any specifics about the $1 billion.

“This administration has withheld and frozen other federal funding appropriated by Congress, so we cannot simply assume that World Cup or Olympic security funding will make it to our communities,” she said.

Krekorian, when asked about Pou’s concerns, said the city “is in direct communication with state and federal partners, as well as LA28, about the allocation of these funds.”

ATLANTA — Major League Baseball will not cancel its 2028 All-Star Game in order to participate in the Los Angeles Olympics, Commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday.

Manfred said representatives of the league and LA28 met Monday, with both sides hoping to work toward an agreement in which major leaguers would play in the Olympics. MLB has declined to stop its season for previous Olympic baseball tournaments, so minor leaguers and college players have participated in those Games.

But Manfred also warned that any agreement likely would apply only to the L.A. Games, where major leaguers could be done in a week. If baseball remains on the Olympic schedule for Brisbane in 2032, MLB would remain reluctant to shut down for the extended period needed to get players to Australia, allow them to prepare and play, and then return to their major league teams.

“I think that the idea of playing in L.A. in ‘28, regardless of the possibility of ongoing Olympic participation in another location, that there is some merit to it,” Manfred said at a meeting of the Baseball Writers Assn. of America.

“I think it is an opportunity to market the game on a really global stage. I think, obviously, because it is in the U.S., the logistics of it are easier.”

On Monday, LA28 announced that baseball would be played July 15-20, 2028, intended as an inducement for MLB to minimize schedule disruption by skipping the All-Star Game for that year and switching to the Olympics in the same week.

Manfred indicated the league’s preference would be to play the All-Star Game in its usual window, then compete in the Olympics and resume the regular season.

“It’s doable,” Manfred said. “They put out a schedule. They tell you it’s not going to move. We’ll see whether there is any movement on that.

“It is possible to play the All-Star Game in its normal spot, have a single break that would be longer, but still play 162 games without bleeding into the middle of November. It would require significant accommodations, but it is possible.”

Three years before the Olympics, LA28 organizers gave International Olympic Committee officials the kind of Games preview that even Hollywood’s best scriptwriters couldn’t plan.

To begin a visit to check on LA28’s planning progress, the IOC coordination commission attended a game at Dodger Stadium and watched Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off double in the 10th inning to defeat the New York Mets in the same stadium that will host Olympic baseball in three years.

The electric celebration, passing grades for an advanced venue plan and a growing corporate sponsorship portfolio keeps LA28 on track approaching the three-year mark until the 2028 Olympics open in a dual-venue ceremony at SoFi Stadium and the Coliseum.

“We are really confident in the progress we’ve made,” LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman said after the coordination committee’s three-day visit. “We’re focused on what we’ve always done to deliver the greatest Games we are capable of delivering in this city in the most fiscally responsible way that pays dividends for every member of our Olympic movement and our community.”

With the city of Los Angeles facing deep financial problems and transportation updates lagging behind schedule, LA28 is under pressure to deliver a completely privately funded Games. The private group says it remains up to the challenge as fundraising for the L.A. Games has been “going gangbusters,” John Slusher, chief executive of LA28’s commercial operation, said in an interview with The Times.

With six new partnerships this year — matching the total number of deals in all of last year — LA28 has contract revenue worth more than 60% of its total $2.5 billion sponsorship goal. Slusher expects an estimated seven to nine more deals coming this year, and the group is on pace to reach its goal of $2 billion in corporate sponsorship dollars by the end of the year, Slusher and Wassserman said.

“I would tell you where I’m sitting today, we feel very confident we can either meet or exceed that $2.5 billion target,” Slusher said, “which I think people would have called a stretch target in November.”

A major partnership with Honda signaled a boon for business as it was the first founding-level partnership for LA28 since Salesforce signed on in 2021. The cloud-based software company backed out of its deal in 2024. The sudden split raised eyebrows about LA28’s fundraising progress, casting doubt whether the committee could fulfill a promise of a privately funded Games that shielded local and state taxpayers from picking up any debt.

But organizers remained undeterred.

Such twists have marked LA28’s long-planned Olympic journey. The L.A. Games were awarded in 2017 in a rare dual-city announcement that also placed the 2024 Games in Paris. Instead of the typical seven-year lead-up time, LA28 preached patience through an unprecedented 11-year planning period.

“More time is always better than less time,” Wasserman said in an interview with The Times. “The only negative of selling is there’s more distance between deals, so everyone’s like, ‘You’re not doing well.’ Which is never how we’ve been feeling. … My view is judge us when we get to the startline on how we did on sponsorship revenue.”

Judgment time is creeping ever closer. The Olympic Games will open on July 14, 2028.

Although the city has agreed to cover the first $270 million in debt incurred from the Games if LA28 goes overbudget, Wasserman said organizers don’t intend to come close to the financial backstop.

According to the latest financial report filed to the city in March, LA28 plans to cover the proposed $7.1 billion cost with about one-third of the projected revenue coming from domestic sponsorships and another one-third coming from ticketing and hospitality.

“The caliber of new domestic partnerships this year highlights the power of the Olympic Games to bring people together, create long-term value and reflect growing national engagement with LA28’s vision,” said Nicole Hoevertsz, the IOC coordination commission chair.

An artist’s rendering of the rowing venue in Long Beach for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Long Beach is one of several cities that are slated to host events during the Games.

(LA28)

To begin the 2025 sponsorship momentum, LA28 announced an official partnership with AECOM in March as the engineering company will support venue infrastructure for the Games.

Mortgage company Pennymac, mattress brand Saatva, cloud-based data storage company Snowflake and aviation company Archer signed on as official supporters, one tier below a partnership such as AECOM.

While not specifying the financial details, Slusher said he estimated LA28 would make three or four times as much sponsorship revenue this year compared with all of last year.

“Our job is to maximize revenue,” Wasserman said. “I am very confident in our ability to generate, frankly, more revenue that’s ever been generated for a Summer Games in the history of the Olympics. I have no doubt about that.”

While a smaller portion of the budget than sponsorship, merchandise and licensing is gaining momentum as well, Slusher said, as companies clamor for a chance to issue official pins, T-shirts, programs or plush toys.

LA28’s financial report states that it has signed commercial or retail agreements with several companies, including Cisco, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Skims. Licensing and merchandising is projected to bring in $344 million, according to LA28’s latest annual report.

The next major piece will be ticketing, which, with hospitality, is slated to generate $2.5 billion in revenue, a $569 million increase from a June 2024 estimate. LA28 expects to begin registration for the ticket lottery in early 2026.

While LA28 and city officials have hailed the Games as a moment to welcome the world to L.A., concerns about international travel have mounted under the current administration. Delays in visa processing prompted Congressional action ahead of next year’s World Cup. President Trump signed a travel ban Wednesday that bars citizens from 12 countries from entering the United States. On Sunday, the Trump administration deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles amid protests over immigration raids.

The latest Trump order targeting visitors from 12 countries includes exemptions for certain athletes, including those traveling to the United States for major sporting events, and Wasserman was not worried about visa issues affecting the Games.

“It’s very clear that the federal government understands that that’s an environment that they will be accommodating and provide for,” Wasserman said of the recent travel ban. “So we have great confidence that that will only continue. It has been the case to date and it will certainly be the case going forward to the Games.”

Because Wasserman anticipates the majority of ticket sales to be domestic, he said he is not concerned with a potential drop in revenue if international fans don’t attend amid visa or safety concerns.

But Paris 2024, which sold a record 12.1 million tickets for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, sold about 38% of its Olympic tickets to fans living outside France, according to the IOC. The successful event exceeded its ticketing and hospitality revenue target by $397 million and brought in a roughly $30-million surplus.

Continuing the Olympic movement’s success has been at the top of LA28’s mind while bringing the Games back to L.A. for the first time in more than four decades. The 1984 Games were also privately funded and hailed as a massive success for their $225 million surplus that was invested in youth sports. The opportunity to use existing venues in 2028 dramatically reduces potential costs by avoiding new, permanent construction.

“I fully expect that LA28 will be successful in meeting its revenue goals, and I fully expect that the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be a financial success,” Paul Krekorian, Los Angeles executive director for the office of major events, said in a statement to The Times. “Twice before, Los Angeles has hosted the Olympics, even in the face of adversity, and both of those Games were a huge success for our city and its residents.”

Still, city leaders face enormous pressure to ensure that streets and sidewalks are safe and accessible for the millions of people expected to visit L.A. during the Games. Mayor Karen Bass recently unveiled a citywide initiative called “Shine L.A.” that encourages volunteers to beautify the city with clean-ups and tree plantings ahead of next year’s World Cup and the Olympics.

With city and federal funding, L.A. has planned to overhaul its public transportation system, including a long-awaited Metro station that opened Friday at Los Angeles International Airport. But other updates such as an electrified bus network, expanded rail lines and the LAX people mover have lagged. While the city’s transportation plan is outside of LA28’s Games operation and budget, Wasserman expressed confidence that L.A. will be able to repeat its transit success from the 1984 Games.

But the Olympics have grown larger than ever. A record 11,198 Olympians will compete in 2028. The Paralympics will be the city’s first. Especially with L.A. still recovering from devastating wildfires and a nearly $1 billion deficit, the threat of taxpayers absorbing any costs for the Games looms large.

With financial momentum growing behind the 2028 Games, Wasserman wants to put worried minds at ease.

“The last thing a taxpayer should be worried about is us,” Wasserman said. “We know how to do this. We are proving that every day and we will prove it all the way throughout the process and we are in every sense of the word, giving to the city, not taking from the city.”

LA28 announced Honda its automotive partner for the L.A. Olympics on Monday, securing a major founding-level partnership that will help the private organizing committee cover its estimated $7 billion budget.

Honda, which opened its U.S. headquarters in L.A. in 1959 and is now based in Torrance, will work with LA28 on an accessible vehicle fleet that maximizes electric vehicles for the Games to help move athletes and officials around Southern California. The partnership will support U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes in the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and the Summer Games in 2028.

Financial terms of the top-tier partnership were not announced. Honda joins Delta and Comcast as LA28’s founding partners expected to lead the way in covering the estimated $2.5 billion in corporate sponsorship needed to stage the first Summer Games held in the United States since 1996.

“As a privately funded games, our mandate is to generate the revenue we need to produce these Games,” LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman said in an interview with The Times. “The biggest line item of that is sponsorship revenue. To be able to announce another big partner with a really spectacular brand who has been invested in Southern California for a long time is both [financially] important but also, in many ways, strategically important. It’s another brand that sees the power of our Olympic platform to tell their story in a community that’s very important to that industry that they’ve been invested in for a long time.”

Honda enters the Olympic and Paralympic arena after Toyota ended its long-running partnership with the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee after the 2024 Games. The Olympic Partners (TOP) program lost several major Japanese sponsors after the Paris Olympics, including Panasonic and Bridgestone, sending shockwaves through the Olympic and Paralympic movements. The TOP program accounts for roughly 30% of the IOC’s revenue — the largest share after broadcast rights — and a portion of the money from the top sponsors contributes to the budget of the national organizing committee’s plan to deliver the Games.

With three years before the Games, LA28 has announced several sponsorship deals in recent weeks. Aviation company Archer will provide air taxis to help alleviate traffic concerns. Saatva signed as the Games’ official mattress sponsor. Snowflake, a cloud-based data storage company, will assist athletes with training data and provide information on fan engagement.

The latest deal puts LA28 on pace to hit its goal of $2 billion in sponsorships by the end of 2025, Wasserman said. IOC contributions, ticket sales and merchandise are among the revenue streams that will help balance the budget. If LA28 goes over budget, Los Angeles city government has agreed to cover the first $270 million in debt with the state of California absorbing up to $270 million.