{"id":20,"date":"2025-04-15T01:04:43","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T01:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/?page_id=20"},"modified":"2025-05-13T23:49:42","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T23:49:42","slug":"la-2028","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/","title":{"rendered":"LA28: Risk and Reward"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover alignfull has-parallax\"><div class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-14 has-parallax\" style=\"background-position:50% 50%;background-image:url(https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/LAMemorialColiseumDesktop.jpg)\"><\/div><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-contrast-background-color has-background-dim-70 has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-cover-is-layout-aef86c6c wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center is-style-default has-x-large-font-size\" style=\"margin-right:0;margin-left:0;padding-top:0;padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);padding-bottom:0;padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60)\"><strong>LA28 Wants to Make Money like it&#8217;s 1984. <\/strong><br><strong>Will it?<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-sf-pro-display-font-family\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:700\">How Los Angeles&#8217; Olympic legacy will inform the city&#8217;s next chapter.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<link href='https:\/\/cdn.knightlab.com\/libs\/soundcite\/latest\/css\/player.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text\/css'><script type='text\/javascript' src='https:\/\/cdn.knightlab.com\/libs\/soundcite\/latest\/js\/soundcite.min.js'><\/script><br \/>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-left is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e2f2b9e4 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"min-height:0px;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\">\n<p class=\"has-sf-pro-display-font-family has-medium-font-size\"><sub><strong>By<\/strong><\/sub><em><sub> <\/sub><\/em><sub><strong>Nick Wald<\/strong><\/sub><em><br><\/em><sup>May 13, 2025<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-bookmanjfpro-regular-font-family\" style=\"text-transform:none\">Swimming at SoFi.<br>Ceremonies at the Coliseum. <br>An athletes village in UCLA dorms. <br>And hopefully, another surplus&#8230;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c531013 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p>That\u2019s the plan for LA\u2019s 2028 Olympics and Paralympics: lean, cost-conscious, \u201cno build\u201d Games that rely on existing venues and infrastructure to keep costs down.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The strategy echoes what Paris aimed for in 2024, a similarly frugal approach intended to avoid the bulging budgets that have plagued past host cities. But Paris still had to invest heavily in infrastructure like sewage containment tanks for the Seine river. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Los Angeles, by contrast, keeping costs down will be essential. That\u2019s because the 2028 Games will rely on private funding and organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LA28\u2019s projected budget is $6.9 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile is-vertically-aligned-center is-image-fill-element\" style=\"padding-left:0;grid-template-columns:20% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"855\" src=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/la28-loop.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-62 size-full\" style=\"object-position:50% 50%\"\/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\" style=\"padding-right:0px;padding-left:0\">Unlike in Paris, Rio or London, none of that comes from public money. Rather, the Organizing Committee Of the Games (OCOG) run by businessman Casey Wasserman says it will all come from private sources. Mostly broadcasting rights, sponsorship deals, licensing and ticket sales. Further, the International Olympic Committee says it will contribute about $1.8 billion from global media rights.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a catch, though: both the city and state have agreed to backstop the Olympics financially, meaning taxpayer dollars could be used if the OCOG goes over budget or falls short on revenue.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2017, the Los Angeles City Council and the State of California each pledged up to $250 million in public funds to cover potential shortfalls. Those guarantees were a condition of the host city agreement with the IOC; any host city would need them. And they represent a significant safety net for the OCOG \u2013 though Wasserman and his team insist the Games will be cost-neutral to taxpayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The idea to run the games like a business isn\u2019t new. \u201cThis is the American model,\u201d according to Alan Abrahamson, foremost U.S. authority on the Olympic Games and longtime observer of the International Olympic Committee.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c[The OCOG] is a private business that springs up, puts on the games, and then goes out of business. And here the budget is 7 billion with a B dollars. So that&#8217;s a lot, but it&#8217;s a lot less than recent Olympics in other places,\u201d he said in an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"613\" src=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/cost-chart-NICK-WALD-color-adj-1024x613.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-243\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/cost-chart-NICK-WALD-color-adj-1024x613.png 1024w, https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/cost-chart-NICK-WALD-color-adj-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/cost-chart-NICK-WALD-color-adj-768x460.png 768w, https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/cost-chart-NICK-WALD-color-adj-1536x919.png 1536w, https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/cost-chart-NICK-WALD-color-adj.png 1679w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>And Los Angeles has experience. It hosted the 1984 Summer Games under a similar model with a budget of about $500 million dollars (about $1.5 billion today). It even made a sizable surplus doing so thanks to rigorous and efficient organization.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c531013 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p>But the \u201884 Games existed within a far more dire context than today.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c531013 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p>The Olympic brand took serious hits in the 1970s following a slew of catastrophes including the Munich massacre of 1972, which saw 11 Israeli team members killed in the Olympic Village, and the financial disaster that came of the 1976 Montreal Games. The latter was especially destructive, costing Montreal over $1.4 billion and taking the city three decades to pay off.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2023\/04\/21\/multimedia\/21germany-mbwq\/21germany-mbwq-superJumbo.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Munich, 1972 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/04\/21\/world\/europe\/germany-1972-munich-olympics-attacks.html\">[New York Times]<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>American protests during the Moscow 1980 Games further marred the sporting institution in controversy. These misfortunes cast a shadow over future host cities, many of which began to question whether an Olympic bid might ultimately be more of a burden than a boon.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By 1978, LA was the only city willing to step up. Then-mayor Tom Bradley saw hosting the Games as a way to elevate the city\u2019s stature worldwide. And lucky for him, it was essentially the only viable bidder. The only competition came from Tehran, which was undergoing revolution at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Still, the general sentiment among Angelinos was that hosting the Olympics would lose the city money. According to a 1977 poll issued by Mayor Bradley, 70% supported LA hosting the games. But that number fell to just 35% if it would cost the taxpayers to do so. Residents and lawmakers alike felt using public funding for the Games could be financially catastrophic.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zev Yaroslavsky, now Director of the Los Angeles Institute at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, was a rising member of the L.A. City Council at the time. He and other officials passed an amendment to the city charter preventing any spending on the Olympics other than money generated by specific Games-related taxes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-sf-pro-display-font-family has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWe weren\u2019t going to put the city on the hook. That charter amendment was nonnegotiable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sf-pro-display-font-family has-small-font-size\"><strong>Zev Yaroslavsky<br><\/strong>Former L.A. City Councilmember, Director of the Los Angeles Institute @ UCLA Luskin<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>But it also meant the organizing committee would operate fully independently and with full responsibility; financially or otherwise. There would be no bailout from the city or state if costs ran over. As such, there would be no grand construction projects or white-elephant stadium orders. Instead, organizers reused existing venues, leaned into corporate sponsorships and pioneered big media rights deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The mandated fiscal wall, then, meant Peter Ueberroth, the entrepreneur-turned-Chairman of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, had <em>no other choice<\/em> but to run the Games like a business.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The result was a $250 million surplus, a rarity in Olympic history. \u201cIt was a big success financially,\u201d said Yaroslavsky. \u201c[Ueberroth] put his money where his mouth was.\u201d And the city put that money to use, investing Games-related earnings into the LA84 Foundation, which continues to promote and fund youth sports around the city. More than $160 million has been distributed since its founding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Yaroslavsky, though, the real triumph of those Games was the cultural boost LA got. The 10-week Olympic Arts Festival that followed brought world-class music, theater, dance and visual arts to the city. Yaroslavsky credits the festival with helping launch the city\u2019s current arts infrastructure. \u201cIt\u2019s the reason we have an opera company today in Los Angeles,\u201d he said. \u201cThe cultural impact was just as lasting as the economic one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-sf-pro-display-font-family has-medium-font-size\">\u201cIt is irrefutable that the Los Angeles Games in 1984 turned Los Angeles into a world class city. Nobody thought of Los Angeles as like Paris, London, Rome \u2013 until after 1984.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sf-pro-display-font-family has-small-font-size\"><strong>ALAN ABRAHAMSON<\/strong><br>Foremost authority on the Olympics &amp; IOC; Founder &amp; writer @ <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3wiresports.com\/\">3 Wire Sports<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>So for all the risk Los Angeles assumed in bidding for the 1984 Olympics, the gamble paid off. The city emerged debt-free and into an economic boom. Better yet, \u201cwhat happened was, everyone wanted to be in Los Angeles,\u201d Alan Abrahamson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMost of the growth of downtown Los Angeles, in terms of office buildings and commercial real estate, happened directly after 1984 and I would predict, at the risk of being a little rosy, that we will see the same thing [in 2028],\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the stakes in 2028 are different. Los Angeles is no longer trying to prove itself, it\u2019s trying to hold itself together. And hosting an Olympic Games is no longer seen as the inherent hazard it was in the late \u201870s, rather a catalyst for investment into a city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c531013 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p>A boom like the one that followed the 1984 Games could radically transform Los Angeles. The city is currently facing a $400 million budget shortfall, a deepening housing crisis, and growing pressure from residents fed up with crumbling infrastructure and ballooning cost of living.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.olympics.com\/images\/image\/private\/t_social_share_thumb\/f_auto\/primary\/h2ljjc8z8dmlomjkgspi\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/olympic-games\/los-angeles-1984\"><em>[Source: Olympics.com]<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>While in theory hosting the Games won\u2019t cost the city or the state directly, it will be footing the bill for other expenses needed to support them. Namely infrastructure projects aimed at increasing public transit capacity, as well as through subsidies for the development and refurbishment of some venues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For many critics, transport infrastructure represents Los Angeles\u2019 achilles heel. In Paris, a condensed urban layout, world-class metro system and bike network improvements ahead of the Games made shepherding the 800,000+ people spectating or participating relatively simple and sustainable.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio alignleft\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/small_Call-with-Alan-Abrahamson-copy-bass-metro-snippet_CUT.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sf-pro-display-font-family has-medium-font-size\">\u201cIn Paris, everyone could ride the metro. That&#8217;s not going to be the case here&#8230; these [LA] Games sprawl.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-sf-pro-display-font-family has-small-font-size\"><strong>ALAN ABRAHAMSON<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Los Angeles\u2019 famous urban sprawl means venues are far between and connected by a patchwork of car-dependent roadways and an underbuilt transit system.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of LA Metro\u2019s current projects \u2013 including the D- (purple-) line subway extension to Westwood and the LAX\/Metro connection and peoplemover \u2013 were approved and funded before even the Olympic bid. But with the Games now looming, these upgrades are folded into broader promises of the city\u2019s Olympic readiness.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mayor Karen Bass has said she wants the 2028 Games to be \u201ccar-free,\u201d and these long-planned projects are now being reframed as part of that coordinated vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But as independent transit analyst and YouTube creator Nick Andert (<em>Nandert<\/em>) explains, that vision is more fragmented than it seems. \u201cThe chicken-and-egg problem is real,\u201d he said. The infrastructure needs to be there in order for people to believe public transit can supplant Southern California car culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think we&#8217;re in a situation where it still remains a little too unreliable to conveniently get to most of the city via transit,\u201d Andert said of Bass\u2019 aspirations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Andert argues that the upgrades now tied to Olympic planning and Bass\u2019 \u201c28&#215;28\u201d plan were already in progress and won\u2019t do enough to help capacity. Further, the window to use the Games as political leverage to build more transit has largely closed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.vox-cdn.com\/thumbor\/SHFgBMm_RUXTi4j3fj6LJZOL2no=\/0x0:1600x900\/1400x788\/filters:focal(672x322:928x578):format(gif)\/cdn.vox-cdn.com\/uploads\/chorus_image\/image\/56060351\/Los_20Angeles_20MetroRail_20__20Comparison.0.0.gif\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/la.curbed.com\/2017\/8\/4\/16098474\/olympics-transit-future-subway-rail\">[Curbed LA]<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c531013 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve sort of already kind of ceded the Olympics,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll have the D Line done by then&#8230; but [rail transit for the games is] probably going to be a little bit of a shit show.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Andert blames a transit-planning model shaped by politics, not ridership demand data or regional connectivity, for many of Metro\u2019s shortcomings.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To get ballot measures R (2008) and M (2016) passed \u2013 small sales taxes used to fund public transit \u2013 LA Metro had to promise projects to constituencies across the county. That meant agreeing to slower, less efficient routes in lower-density areas before tackling high-ridership corridors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, strict environmental reviews and resident resistance continue to derail high-impact projects. \u201cWe\u2019ve gone from Robert Moses destroying entire neighborhoods to: we can\u2019t repave this sidewalk unless everyone within a three-block radius says okay,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yaroslavsky and Abrahamson both recall how freeways emptied out during the summer of \u201884, as many Angelenos left town, wary of Olympic crowds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the sheer number of cars in Los Angeles has increased dramatically since then: going from around 4 million registered cars in 1980 to nearly 7.5 million as of 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Abrahamson is particularly worried about bus transit in the first few days of the event. He predicts immense traffic on routes between in-demand venues thanks to volume.<br><br>\u201cThey&#8217;ve already talked about having to bring in 3700 busses\u2026 There are not 3700 drivers of these buses in and around Los Angeles. You&#8217;re gonna have to bring in drivers from you, name it, Fresno, Bakersfield, Albuquerque, Carson City\u2026\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Abrahamson urges patience when it comes to the transit benefits LA28 may bring; pointing to the 2004 Athens Olympics \u2013 widely considered a financial disaster due to runaway costs, rushed construction, and underused venues.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou really can\u2019t measure an Olympics until 20 years later,\u201d he said. \u201cAthens in 2004 was a mess, but if you look at it in 2024, it\u2019s a totally different city. Did they overspend? And was it a huge disaster? Yes, but \u2026 they have a new Metro, they have a new airport, the city&#8217;s way more livable.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He added that while Metro\u2019s improvements were planned well before the bid, \u201cwe\u2019re going to have a people mover at the airport by 2026. We\u2019re finally going to have Metro connecting to LAX.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>The LA28 plan is drawing concern for lacking the factors that made 1984 a success: rigorous-enough financial oversight and an efficient approach to the logistics of hosting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Abrahamson, \u201cI think that when the history of this is written, people will look at what happened from 2017 to 2021-ish and go \u2018Why didn&#8217;t you do more?\u2019\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Los Angeles initially bid for the <strong>2024<\/strong> Summer Games back in 2016 under then-mayor Eric Garcetti. Candidates to host the Games at that time included Paris, Hamburg, Boston, Budapest and Rome. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By the next year, all but Los Angeles and Paris had pulled their bids due to public opposition.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With just two viable cities left, the IOC made the extraordinary decision to elect both host cities at the same time. Paris would host 2024, and Los Angeles would have to wait until 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So LA has been given 11 years \u2013 up from the usual seven \u2013 to plan and produce a Summer Games. That head start was meant to be a blessing. To some insiders, it seems LA has blown a four-year lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jim Bell is the Senior Vice President of Media for the LA28 OCOG. Formerly the head of Olympic coverage at NBC, Bell now oversees the media operations for the 2028 Games.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLA\u2019s probably had, like, too much time \u2013 and now they\u2019re running out of time,\u201d Bell said. \u201cIt\u2019s weird. That window kind of closed. \u2018Oh, we already have all our stadiums,\u2019 right? But that doesn\u2019t mean everything\u2019s figured out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bell\u2019s role is to integrate the Games\u2019 media rights holders \u2013 NBC in the U.S. \u2013 with the IOC\u2019s broadcasting company that actually films it all.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That encompasses everything from determining the number of cameras needed to show an event to answering whether \u201cwe&#8217;re going to call SoFi stadium, SoFi stadium; or are they going to do a sponsorship deal? Are we going to be able to integrate that with marketing? And where\u2019s NBC in all this? How&#8217;s all that revenue getting shared? It&#8217;s a big, kind of messy puzzle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bell was brought on in January of this year and says many of the finer details are still being sorted as 2028 looms. And while the planning may feel behind schedule to some, Bell insists that worry comes with the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re professional, paid worriers,\u201d he said. Regarding congestion, \u201cyou need the athletes, you need the officials, and you need the broadcasters. If, you know, a fan\u2019s running late, the event is still going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio alignright\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Jim-Bell-copy-traffic-snippet-esv2-80p-bg-10p.wav\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sf-pro-display-font-family has-medium-font-size\">\u201cYou&#8217;d worry\u2013 I mean look, London traffic, I mean oh my God&#8230; Rio traffic? Oy! Beijing in 2008, I mean, Athens traffic? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sf-pro-display-font-family has-medium-font-size\">There\u2019s really no city left on the planet, I think, that\u2019s going to host a summer Games, that isn\u2019t of a certain size and scale, that doesn\u2019t have questions about traffic and transportation. LA maybe gets a little extra attention because it\u2019s such a famously busy freeway city&#8230;\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-sf-pro-display-font-family has-small-font-size\"><strong>JIM BELL<\/strong><br>Senior Vice President, Media @ LA28<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The logistical pressure Bell describes isn\u2019t just about cameras or crowd control, but rather making good on the budget. After all, any financial overrun could trigger the city&#8217;s $250 million guarantee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Operationally, Bell describes plenty of logistical pressure. But financially? Experts find the real risk to be overstated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Abrahamson is confident Wasserman\u2019s LA OCOG will be able to operate within their $7 billion budget; not needing those state backups. \u201cThere is very little danger that that [public] money is going to be touched,\u201d Abrahamson said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When accounting for the IOC\u2019s contribution and estimated earnings on ticket sales across LA\u2019s slew of venues, the total figure LA28 needs to come up with settles much lower at $2.5 billion. Considering the Tokyo 2020 Games generated well over $3 billion in domestic sponsorship cash alone, experts say that goal is \u201ceminently doable\u201d in the U.S.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c531013 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/compressed_cut_TRIMMED-audioZevYaroslavsky.wav\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For Yaroslavsky, how the budget will be spent is still unclear. Especially given the cost-saving measures already in place.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Nick WaldMay 13, 2025 Swimming at SoFi.Ceremonies at the Coliseum. An athletes village in UCLA dorms. And hopefully, another surplus&#8230; That\u2019s the plan for LA\u2019s 2028 Olympics and Paralympics: lean, cost-conscious, \u201cno build\u201d Games that rely on existing venues and infrastructure to keep costs down.&nbsp; The strategy echoes what Paris aimed for in 2024, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"[]"},"class_list":["post-20","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20"}],"version-history":[{"count":111,"href":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":263,"href":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20\/revisions\/263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/nhwald\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}