Three years before the Olympics, LA28 organizers gave International Olympic Committee officials the kind of game previews that even Hollywood’s best screenwriters could not plan.
To begin the visit to check the progress of LA28’s plans, the IOC Coordination Committee attended a game at Dodger Stadium and saw Freddie Freeman beat the New York Mets in the same stadium hosting Olympic baseball in three years to hit a walk-off double in 10 innings.
The electric celebration, passing on advanced venue planning and the achievements of its growing corporate sponsorship portfolio, is close to the three-year mark until LA28 opens the 2028 Olympics with dual-venue ceremonies at Sophie Stadium and Coliseum.
“We are truly confident in the progress we have made,” LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman said after a three-day visit to the Coordination Committee. “We’ve always focused on what we’ve been doing to provide the best game we can offer in this city in the most financially responsible way of paying dividends to all members of the Olympic movement and community.”
With the City of Los Angeles deep economic issues and delayed shipping updates beyond schedule, LA28 is under pressure to offer a fully personal funded game. John Thrusher, CEO of LA28’s commercial business, said in an interview with the Times, that it depends on the challenges because LA Games’ fundraiser is “gang rape.”
There are six new partnerships this year, coinciding with the total number of all transactions last year, but LA28 represents gross revenue to more than 60% of its $2.5 billion sponsorship target. Slusher is scheduled to trade an estimated 7-9 this year, with the group tailoring its $2 billion corporate sponsorship dollar target by the end of the year, Slusher and Wasserman said.
“I’ll tell you where I’m sitting today. I’m sure I can achieve or exceed that $2.5 billion target,” Slusher said.
The key partnership with Honda has been LA28’s first founding level partnership since Salesforce signed in in 2021, indicating a boon for the business. The cloud-based software company supported the agreement in 2024.
However, the organizers were not upset.
Such a twist marked the Olympic journey of LA28 over the years. The LA Game was awarded in 2017 at the announcement of the rare dual city that placed the 2024 game in Paris. Instead of the typical seven-year lead-up time, LA28 preached patience throughout an unprecedented 11-year planning period.
“More time is always better than less,” Wasserman said in an interview with the Times. “The only negative thing about sales is the increased distance between transactions. So everyone is like, ‘You’re not doing well.’ It never really how we felt.
The decision time is getting closer and closer. The Olympics will open on July 14th, 2028.
The city has agreed to cover the initial $270 million debt that came from the game if LA28 contracts excessively, but Wasserman said organizers are not planning to approach a financial backstop.
According to the latest financial report filed with the city in March, LA28 is expected to cover the proposed $7.1 billion in expenses, earning about a third of forecast revenue from domestic sponsorships and a third from tickets and hospitality.
“This year’s new domestic partnership caliber highlights the power of the Olympic Games, bringing people together, creating long-term value, and reflects an increased national engagement with LA28’s vision.”
Rendering of artists at a rowing venue in Long Beach for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Long Beach is one of several cities that are scheduled to host events during the game.
(LA28)
To launch the momentum of its sponsorship in 2025, LA28 announced its official partnership with AECOM in March. The engineering company will support the venue infrastructure for your game.
Mortgage company Pennymac, mattress brand Saatva, cloud-based data storage company Snowflake and Aviation Company Archer have signed on as official supporters of less than one tier of partnerships such as AECOM.
Although it does not specify financial details, Slusher said it estimated that LA28 would generate three or four times the sponsorship revenue this year compared to all of last year.
“Our job is to maximize revenue,” Wasserman said. “I am extremely confident in the ability to generate, frankly, more revenue, that has been generated so far in summer games in Olympic history. I have no doubts about that.”
He said that sponsorships, products and licensing are gaining momentum just as much as they are gaining momentum from a small portion of their budget.
According to the LA28 financial report, it has signed commercial or retail agreements with several companies, including Cisco, Dick sports goods and Skim. Licensing and merchandising is projected to bring in $344 million, according to LA28’s latest annual report.
The next major production is tickets, and hospitality is expected to generate revenue of $2.5 billion, an increase of $569 million from its June 2024 estimate. LA28 is expected to begin registering ticket lottery tickets in early 2026.
While LA28 and city officials have welcomed the game as a moment of welcoming the world to LA, concerns about international travel have been raised under the current administration. The delay in visa processing has prompted Congress to take action ahead of next year’s World Cup. President Trump signed a travel ban on Wednesday, banning citizens from 12 countries from entering the United States. On Sunday, the Trump administration deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles amid protests over the immigrant attack.
The latest Trump order targeting visitors from 12 countries includes exemptions for certain athletes, including athletes traveling to the US for major sporting events, with Wasserman not worried about visa issues affecting the game.
“It’s very clear that the federal government understands that it’s the environment they respond and provide,” Wasserman said of the recent travel ban. “So I have a great sense of confidence that it’s just going to continue. That’s what it’s been and it’s going to be a fact of the game going forward.”
Wasserman said he expects the majority of ticket sales to be domestic and therefore is not interested in the possibility of a decline in revenue if international fans are not present amid visa or safety concerns.
However, in Paris 2024, which sold a record 12.1 million tickets for Olympic and Paralympic games, sold around 38% of Olympic tickets to fans outside France, according to the IOC. The successful event exceeded its ticket and hospitality revenue target of $397 million, resulting in an surplus of approximately $30 million.
Continuing success in the Olympic movement has reached the heart of LA28, bringing the game back to LA for the first time in over 40 years. The 1984 game was personally funded and welcomed as a huge success of $225 million surplus invested in youth sports. The opportunity to use existing venues in 2028 will dramatically reduce potential costs by avoiding new permanent construction.
“We are fully hoping that LA28 will succeed in achieving its revenue targets, and we are fully hoping that the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics will be economically successful.” “Two times ago, Los Angeles held the Olympics even in the face of adversity. Both of these games have been a huge success for our city and its residents.”
Still, city leaders are facing great pressure to ensure that their streets and sidewalks are safe and accessible for the millions of people expected to visit LA during the game. Mayor Karen Bass recently announced a citywide initiative called “Shinera” that encourages volunteers to glorify the city with cleaning and planting trees ahead of next year’s World Cup and Olympics.
With city and federal funding, LA is planning an overhaul of its public transport system, including the much-anticipated metro station that opened Friday at Los Angeles International Airport. However, other updates such as the electrified bus network, expanded railway lines and LAX People Mover are delayed. Although the city’s transport plans are outside the LA28 game operations and budget range, Wasserman expressed confidence that LA can repeat the transportation success from the 1984 game.
However, the Olympics have grown bigger than ever. A record 11,198 Olympic athletes will compete in 2028. The Paralympics will be the first in the city. In particular, the threat of taxpayers absorbing massive costs is massive, as LA is still recovering from catastrophic wildfires and nearly $1 billion deficits.
With the growing financial momentum behind the 2028 game, Wasserman wants to reassure his worried mind.
“The last thing taxpayers worry about is us,” Wasserman said. “We know how to do this. We prove it every day and we prove it throughout the process. We give it to the city, not taken away from it, in every word.”
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