A third Los Angeles Olympic Games would be a stabilizing and unifying force at a critical juncture in the nation’s and Olympic movement’s histories, local organizers for the 2024 bid argue in key plans submitted to the International Olympic Committee amid the turmoil of a divisive presidential election and the opening days of the Donald Trump administration.
Against the backdrop of calls for Los Angeles’ bid to be withdrawn and questions about the viability of any U.S. bid in the wake of the tumultuous first 10 days of the Trump presidency, Los Angeles 2024 officials address the issue of domestic divisiveness almost immediately in a 127-page bid book submitted to the IOC this week.
In addition to promising fiscal certainty to an IOC rocked by a series of Games undermined by financial crisis, connecting the Olympic movement to an elusive tech savvy generation and bolstering the local and national economies, LA 2024 officials said the Games would be a national and global rallying point.
“The true benefit to L.A. and our country is beyond economic impact. L.A., and indeed America, are extraordinarily culturally diverse,” LA 2024 officials said in a report that was written largely in December and then edited last month. “Hosting the Games in L.A. can serve to help unite our country and its people at a time in our history when, perhaps, it is needed most. Nothing brings the world – or a nation – together like the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
LA 2024 officials also insist in the Stage III submission to the IOC that a Los Angeles Games would not only have a unifying impact but would also be transformative for an IOC that has had several high-profile stumbles as it stepped into the 21st century.
“The world is entering an era of unprecedented change and uncertainty, and that is why we believe that the 2024 Games must serve the Olympic Movement far beyond 2024,” LA 2024 officials said. “The 2024 Games must help restore the credibility of the Games, ensure financial stability for the Olympic Movement and create new opportunities to engage with young people around the world. We believe that LA 2024 has all the resources necessary to deliver these objectives. Los Angeles is a vibrant, young city poised on the ‘edge of tomorrow,’ a city full of creative energy and extraordinarily united – not separated – by its breathtaking cultural diversity. The face of the future is the face of our city, today.”
The bid book provides the clearest view to date of LA 2024 officials’ vision for what they are calling a “New Games for a New Era.”
Should the IOC select Los Angeles instead of Paris or Budapest as the 2024 host city in its Sept. 13 vote in Lima, Peru, the Olympic Games would run from July 19 to Aug. 4, with the Paralympic Games scheduled for Aug. 16-29. The Olympics would begin with an opening ceremony in which a torch relay would link the Coliseum and the $2.6 billion stadium being built in Inglewood.
“One venue represents our city’s fascination with, ‘What’s next?’; the other represents L.A.’s great Olympic legacy,” LA 2024 officials write.
It is a recurring theme throughout a bid book that both emphasizes Los Angeles’ deep Olympic roots and the city’s proximity to the heart of the entertainment industry and technology’s cutting edge.
“LAOCOG will engage in unique partnerships with California’s leading technology and entertainment companies, movie studios, top actors and recording artists, and television networks to promote the Games domestically and globally across all broadcast, digital and social media channels,” LA 2024 officials said. “L.A. is a city that is always communicating to the world, and we will harness our world-class storytellers and unrivaled connection to youth culture to promote the Games as never before.”
The bid book also details the financing of the Games that LA 2024 officials said they will put on with a balanced $5.35 billion budget and will be centered primarily around four sports parks: Downtown Los Angeles, the South Bay, Long Beach and the San Fernando Valley.
LA 2024 plans call for the organizing committee to begin spending gradually, $20 million in 2018 and $71.4 million in 2019 before having $244.1 million in expenses in 2020, when the bid committee expects to have a cash inflow of $283.7 million – $244.1 coming from ticket sales and domestic sponsorships and $39.6 million from the IOC. Cash outflows will peak at $3.488 billion in 2024.
The Games’ biggest non-security expense will be venue infrastructure, which comes with a $1.19 billion price tag. LA 2024 will spend $117.5 million on the Coliseum, which also will host the track and field competition, and $8.3 million on Honda Center, the indoor volleyball venue. USC has also pledged a $270 million renovation of the Coliseum.
LA 2024 plans to spend $25.4 on accommodations and $62.7 million on stakeholder services.
The Games will have four primary revenue streams: the IOC ($734.8 million), the TOPS program made up of major international corporate partners ($389.7 million), domestic sponsors ($1.93 billion) and ticket sales ($1.53 billion).
According to LA 2024’s plan, $972.3 of the domestic sponsorship revenues will come from 10 Tier 1 sponsors in areas such as telecom, banking, airlines, software, insurance, beer, food and apparel/footwear.
Ticket prices will have an average range from $1,783 for the opening ceremonies to $457.35 for the track and field finals to $13.12 for golf prelims. Tickets for the gymnastics finals are projected to average $370.95, and for the swimming finals $420.17.
“Given the robust local and national ticket market for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the US, LA 2024 has developed a ticket pricing and marketing strategy, designed to produce high rates of sale and appeal to the most passionate fans, while ensuring broad access to those who are on a budget but want the thrill of experiencing the Games for the first time,” the bid book said.
But LA 2024’s biggest selling point remains what is described as the ability of the bid committee and Los Angeles to guide the nation and the IOC through troubled times into a new era.
“LA 2024’s communications assets – from local expertise, to global, multi-lingual media networks and digital innovations – will be placed at the service of the Olympic Movement,” LA 2024 officials said. “Considering the challenging media coverage from recent Games, and unknown coverage of three Games over the next seven years, LA 2024 believes the positive messages that will radiate from Games preparations in Los Angeles are precisely what is needed to prepare the Games for the future. Compelling new Olympic narratives around fiscal responsibility, community partnerships, world-leading sustainability, youth engagement across diverse cultures, celebrity endorsement and new technologies will help elevate the image of the Olympic Movement and reassert its value to our world.”
Contact the writer: sreid@scng.com
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