LA city leaders are in high-stakes negotiations on Olympics costs

Miami Herald

5 days ago

LOS ANGELES - 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 Donald 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."
Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.