Despite the federal government coming up last month with $1 billion for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, new concerns are being raised about covering the cost of local government services.
What the Los Angeles Times calls “high stakes negotiations” are underway with the private organizing committee known as LA28 over paying for Games-related police, fire, sanitation, parking control and other services.
Under a 2021 agreement between the city of Los Angeles and LA28, organizers must pick up the tab for services that go beyond what the city would normally provide. The 2028 Summer Games are billed as coming at no cost to taxpayers.
That agreement set an Oct. 1 deadline for reaching a final deal on rates, repayment and other details of the “enhanced services” organizers plan to use during the 17 days of the world’s next Summer Games.
Should LA ‘take a tough stance’ on Olympics spending?
The talks are underway as Los Angeles officials continue to deal with the aftermath of massive fires earlier this year. The deadly blazes are blamed in part for a nearly $1 billion budget shortfall that could result in more than 600 layoffs, including of civilian police department employees.
A longtime LA civil rights attorney, Connie Rice, recently sent a six-page letter to city leaders, “urging the city to take a tough stance,” the Times reported, adding Rice was speaking out after being contacted by concerned city staffers.
“The city cannot afford an additional $1.5 billion hit in 2028 because city officials inadequately protected taxpayers in 2025,” Rice wrote, according to the report, also asking specifically about security costs that could further impact the LAPD budget, as well as transit and sanitation.
Paul Krekorian, the head of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ major events office, declined to directly address Rice’s letter, the Times said.
“The city and LA28 have been collaborating for years to ensure that all Angelenos benefit from the Games for decades to come,” Krekorian told the newspaper. “While the (agreement) is currently under negotiation, we fully expect that LA28 will be successful in its fundraising efforts to deliver the Games.”
Report: ‘No assurances’ taxpayer money won’t be needed
A July government report on Los Angeles’ financial condition warns that while “the city currently expects that costs of the 2028 Games will be paid from non-city revenues sources, there can be no assurances that significant general fund expenditures will not be required.”
The report, from Los Angeles City Administrative Officer Matthew Szabo, says that the organizing committee’s now $7.15 billion budget, being raised from private sources including the sale of sponsorships and tickets, counts on the federal government to provide security.
But if federal support fails to come through or falls short, that expense “will be an unbudgeted liability of LA28 estimated at up to $1 billion. If not paid through federal funding or by LA28, such expenses would become a liability of the city.”
There’s $1 billion in President Donald Trump’s tax and spending cut bill, signed into law last month, “for security, planning, and other costs related to the 2028 Olympics,” but it is not yet clear where the funds are going.
Krekorian told the Times that the city “is in direct communication with state and federal partners, as well as LA28, about the allocation of these funds.”
The U.S. Secret Service assumes control of Olympic security under the “National Special Security Event” designation put in place after the deadly bombing at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, although state and local law enforcement agencies play a key role.
More money still being sought for LA Games transportation
Olympic organizers haven’t finalized security and other planning costs, Jacie Prieto Lopez, LA28’s vice president of communications, told the Times.
“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 L.A., to ensure a safe, secure and successful Games,” Prieto Lopez said in an email.
The Trump administration has yet to act on a $3.2 billion request by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority that includes funding for a spectator bus system at the Summer Games.
However, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently criticized the mayor’s “failure to stop the violent riots in your city,” during protests against federal immigration raids in LA, saying that prevented people from accessing federally funded transit services.
Utah’s next Olympics, the 2034 Winter Games, also will rely on federal funding for security and spectator transportation. Utah organizers have said it’s too soon to say how much money would be sought from Washington, D.C., in addition to their privately funded $4 billion budget.