The 2028 Olympics are coming to Los Angeles as a multi-billion dollar operation funded by massive private and federal government investments and backed by city and state pledges to cover cost overruns.
The current privately funded budget for the Games is more than $7 billion. The federal government has agreed to chip in $1 billion to pay for security and is being asked to contribute another $2 billion to pay for Games-specific transit plans.
But the city of L.A.'s financial exposure is essentially unlimited. The city is on the hook for the first $270 million in losses, if they occur. The California Legislature has agreed to make statewide taxpayers pick up the next $270 million. After that, any additional financial burden will fall on Los Angeles taxpayers.
Isn’t that always the case with the Olympics? Every city that host them ends up getting stuck with the bill for a bunch of new Olympic class facilities that get used once and then the local population is forced to maintain indefinitely?
Seems like the spirit of the Olympic competition has just been replaced by real estate speculation and hedge funds looking to make a buck. The money flows from the pocket of sponsors into real estate developers and local governments while ultimately the residents pay the long term bill.