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Los Angeles transportation officials are asking President-elect Donald Trump to appropriate $3.2 billion to fund transportation projects for the 2028 Olympics, “the largest and most spectacular sporting event in American history.” .
Appealing to President Trump’s preference for the most senior, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board, whose members include local politicians including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, sent a letter to the president-elect on Thursday urging the administration to We sent a letter asking for funding to be included in the budget.
“With 10 pieces [million] “With 15 million ticket holders expected to attend, these tournaments will be the largest sporting events held in our nation’s history,” the letter states. “We need the full support of the federal government to effectively provide a safe, secure, efficient and accessible mobility system to support these games.”
Trump’s transition team has not yet responded, according to Metro, and has not responded to the Times’ request. Local officials are closely watching the extent to which President Trump supports the 2028 California Olympics, which Gov. Gavin Newsom is seeking to use as a foil for the incoming administration.
Most of Metro’s funding requests to the Biden administration have been denied. Inside government agencies, officials worry they don’t have enough time and money to prepare for the Olympics. Some also fear that the new government will influence the selection, as many Olympic venues have not yet been chosen.
“This is not just the LA Olympics, it’s the Olympics for our entire nation. President-elect Trump will want to make sure the business is successful and reflects well on this country,” said Metro Board Chair Janice Hahn. the county supervisor said.
Last month, she called for a new Olympic transport plan, including staffing levels, estimated total costs and a region-wide coordination strategy. So far that hasn’t happened.
Supervisor and board member Kathryn Berger (R) said she looks forward to the new administration working with Metro to implement needed transportation projects.
“Each administration will have different nuances, but if we don’t work with them, we’re setting ourselves up for failure,” she said.
A letter sent last week asked President Trump to appoint a White House-based coordinator to work with the Department of Transportation and “develop the 2028 Games as a successful transportation showcase for the nation.” I’m looking for it.
Metro transit planners and politicians are using the Olympics to build new projects, including miles of bus lanes across the city along Venice Boulevard and Atlantic Boulevard in East Los Angeles, 40 bike-share stations in South Los Angeles, and ” A mobility hub with Wi-Fi and a concession stand that shuttles fans to the venue.”
Among the list of 10 projects Metro is seeking funding for, the most expensive is the estimated 2,700 buses (currently This is a request for $2 billion to pay twice as much for the vehicle. To participate in the competition. There are no unfunded projects yet.
The private LA28 organizing committee has a budget of $6.9 billion, most of which goes toward coordinating the event, securing venues, and securing lodging and transportation for athletes and workers.
But that won’t cover the cost of Metro’s major public transit upgrades. The agency is looking to the federal government to fund the creation of a network of priority lanes to transport athletes and tournament officials, most of which will run along highways.
“It’s going to be a very difficult sell,” said John Rennie Short, author of “The True Cost to Cities of Hosting the Olympics.” “That’s California and Los Angeles — that’s not Trump’s home base.”
That’s a tough sell for Republicans in general, Short said. Republicans don’t usually support public transit, and they probably won’t support liberal cities, he said.
Bass initially promoted the event as a “no-cars” event, primarily because private vehicles are prohibited in many venue parking lots due to tight security and demarcations around the event. It is. But the rhetoric has been toned down to “transit first” events, none of which are mentioned in the letter.
A letter signed by Metro Board members says the federal government provided $1.3 billion for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games and $609 million for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.
“We’re going to have Congressional representatives from other parts of the country who will say they want the Olympics, they’ve applied for the Olympics, and now they’re looking for federal aid,” Short said. spoke. “On the one hand, this is a huge, glorious global event.”
He said Metro officials were right to stress that if President Trump follows tradition, he will attend and play a role regardless of whether the administration funds it.
During his final term in office, President Trump met with Olympic organizers in Beverly Hills and pledged federal support for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
“It’s going to be a great show,” President Trump said in 2020. Organizers also joked that they would have to “remember him” in 2028.
Dakota Smith contributed to this report.
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