Los Angeles City Council has approved a deal with organizers of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games that aims to control costs during the global multisport event, despite a long delay in securing the agreement, and opponents arguing that the arrangement does not go far enough.
On August 12, the City Council authorized an amendment to the Enhanced City Resources Master Agreement with the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee through a 10-4 vote. Through the agreement, the Organizing Committee would be obliged to establish a $270 million contingency fund to distribute to the city as a surplus if the Games make money or they need to cover losses.
The proposal this week called for the amendment to ensure that the contingency fund would cover the costs of services that would not otherwise qualify for reimbursement from the federal government.
It comes after the Organizing Committee and LA City Council had originally set a target of having a draft agreement on the cost recovery process in place by October of last year, but that document was only submitted eight months late back in June. The two entities will now need to negotiate on the cost of services that will be required at venues during the LA28 Games, as well as reach an agreement on the cost of the additional services by October 2027.
Proposal History
Under cost control plans first drawn up almost a decade ago by political leaders in Los Angeles, it was agreed that the LA28 Organizing Committee would pay the city before the Games for services that are ineligible for reimbursement from the federal government, such as street sweeping and traffic officer deployment. However, it was not clear how this would be paid.
The scenario around police protection was also complex. Firstly, the city would have had to seek reimbursement from the federal government for law enforcement services (especially in high-security zones), but if the government could not cover those security costs, the city would seek to use the Organizing Committee’s contingency funds to fund the difference.
A further deal in 2021 ensured that the LA28 Organizing Committee would reimburse the city for additional services that go beyond what would typically be provided in the city, including where some Olympic/Paralympic events may be staged.
According to City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo, the newly-amended agreement will formalize the support system and provide additional safeguards for all parties, despite acknowledging that the city faces a financial risk.
Subsequently, if the Games did incur financial losses, the city would first tap the $270 million contingency fund set up by the LA28 Organizing Committee. If more losses were outstanding, the state would then access a second $270 million contingency fund to protect taxpayers, before the city’s general fund (for basic services) could cover the remaining shortfall if required.
On the other hand, the new amendment ensures that, if LA28 makes a profit on the Games, the Organizing Committee would not be authorized to distribute the surplus funds to any organization until it has fulfilled its financial obligations to the city.
Opposition
Council members including Eunisses Hernandez, Ysabel Jurado, Nirthya Raman and Monica Rodriguez were the most vocal opponents of the amendment, and called for it to be rewritten.
In particular, Rodriguez warned that it would “risk the city’s fiscal stability” if LA28 were to suffer large-scale losses, because taxpayers could be forced to pick up some of the costs themselves, and those costs could far surpass $1 billion if an emergency or unexpected major weather event were to occur.
The council members also expressed concerns around the federal government’s willingness to follow through with its financial commitment, or if the city would only receive a portion of the funds allocated to communities across Southern California that are due to host LA28 events.
Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia said that he would analyze LA28’s finances in the build-up to the Games to assess whether the deal has been a success or not.
One Big Beautiful Bill Act
In July 2025, President Trump signed his “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into law. The Act was designed to allocate $1 billion in federal funding specifically to security, planning and related operational costs associated with the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The $1 billion grant has been designated for homeland security, local emergency assistance, and planning through agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, within the Department of Homeland Security.
Following the funding bill, the President passed an executive order a month later to establish a federal oversight task force (that he would chair) to coordinate transportation, immigration and security logistics across the relevant agencies.
Earlier this month, SportsTravel highlighted five major areas of focus for LA28 organizers, following the two-year countdown milestone to the Games. The Olympic Summer Games will begin on July 14, 2028, and the Paralympic Games will start a month later on August 15, 2028.
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