Little will change in Los Angeles’ plans for the Olympic Games despite Monday’s announcement that it would host the games in 2028, four years later than its original bid.

The International Olympic Committee considered both Los Angeles and Paris to host the 2024 Games, but organizers reached an agreement for Los Angeles to host the games in 2028 and for Paris to host in 2024. In September, the IOC will ratify the decision in a meeting in Peru.

Los Angeles will still complete several transportation projects it advertised to support its 2024 bid by 2024, said Metro spokesperson Dave Sotero. The 2028 date has also left the details of Los Angeles’ bid and UCLA’s role in the games unchanged, said LA 2024 Olympic Bid Committee spokesperson Jeff Millman.

Metro officials asked for federal funding to finish constructing the Purple Line Extension, which will connect Westwood to downtown Los Angeles, by 2024 in anticipation of Los Angeles hosting the 2024 Games. Metro will still complete the Purple Line Extension and other projects meant to support the Olympics by 2024, Sotero said.

Olympic athletes and support personnel will live on the Hill during the 2028 Games and train at Drake Stadium, according to the bid book. Athletes will use the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance for medical services.

Zev Yaroslavsky, a former Los Angeles city council member, said he thinks it will be beneficial for Metro projects originally tied to the 2024 Games to be up and running for a few years before Los Angeles hosts the Olympics.

“Having 2028 as the horizon makes it much more likely that many projects associated with the games will get done for the games,” Yaroslavsky said.

He added he thinks Los Angeles’ bid will be cost-effective because the city will use existing athletic facilities and housing, including the UCLA campus, to support the games.

“If the (Los Angeles) organizing committee continues to operate with fiscal discipline, it’s possible these games could be run without a deficit, even at a surplus,” Yaroslavsky said. “(Los Angeles) is the most capable city in the world to stage the games at the lowest possible cost.”

Published by Madeleine Pauker

Pauker is the managing editor. She was previously an assistant news editor for the City beat and a reporter for the City beat.

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10 Comments

  1. Why hasn’t anyone considered the working poor and homeless that will be negatively effected by the Olympics here in LA.

    1. Maybe the additional tax revenue that the olympics will bring in will allow the city to do additional things to support those who need help.

      1. No. The Olympics have historically come into cities and towns and directly interfer with local democracy, and leaving the host cities with a great financial debt. I encourage you to talk to people who resident in the cities that have hosted past Olympic Games. Salt Lake City Vancouver and Rio have all suffered greatly from long lasting negative effects caused by the Olympics.

        1. Sorry -I thought you were concerned about the working poor and the homeless. not the fiscal impact of the games. Regardless, as stated in the article above, the LA24 / LA28 campaign was run on the concept that, unlike recent past Olympic hosts, the Los Angeles area already has most of the necessary infrastructure to host the games therefore eliminating most of the risk of cost that other cities have experienced.

          See article above and others: He added he thinks Los Angeles’ bid will be cost-effective because the city will use existing athletic facilities and housing, including the UCLA campus, to support the games.

          “If the (Los Angeles) organizing committee continues to operate with fiscal discipline, it’s possible these games could be run without a deficit, even at a surplus,” Yaroslavsky said. “(Los Angeles) is the most capable city in the world to stage the games at the lowest possible cost.”

          1. Working poor biggest problem is access to the resources hoarded by the rich and the people sitting on the committees. More people in my neighborhood ( three blocks from rose bowl) are already skeptical bc of the negative impacts from venues much smaller in scale. U2 Beyoncé World Cup. The Olympic committee built a wall in rio to block the view of the slums so that when participants and guests arrived they didn’t have to see the object poverty existing there. Which brings me back to Pasadena and Los Angeles. Homelessness has greatly risen in the Los Angeles area. Having lived here and over there in brasil I can safely say the number of poor people is astronomical I’m sure if given the chance they will do the same or bus them out as they have in the past. Same ol story. Please check out the episode of the Simpson “the monrail” and you will understand exactly what goes down when these gangsters come into our communities.

          2. What resources are those on the Olympic committee hoarding? And what gangsters are you referring to that are coming to your communities??

            I visit the rose bowl and Pasadena three to four times a year for sports events at the aquatic center which I know benefit the businesses in the area. If you choose to live near the rose bowl you have to take the good with the bad in terms of what those venues have for traffic.

            As the mother of two teenagers who dedicate a tremendous amount of their time to sports I applaud the olympics for providing a lofty goal for youth. Very few will make the Olympic team but thousands upon thousands of children will benefit from having the dream and putting in the work to pursue their dreams. Having the Olympus locally will benefit far more, I dare say, than will harm.

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