L.A. reaches tentative deal to reimburse Olympic costs

L.A. reaches – Los Angeles has reached a tentative agreement with LA28 on how the city would be reimbursed for Olympic public services, a deal that still requires approval by Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council and is tied to federal security reimbursements and LA28 contin

Traffic control. Trash pickup. High-security venues. For months, Los Angeles officials have been working to pin down exactly who pays for those Olympic-era services—and who ultimately gets stuck if the numbers don’t work out.

Now. the city says it has reached a tentative agreement with the privately run organizers of the 2028 Olympic Games. LA28. laying out a process for reimbursing Los Angeles for potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in public services. The agreement. formally still pending approval from Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council. would require LA28 to provide the city with funding in advance for services that are ineligible for reimbursement from the federal government. including traffic control and trash pickup.

City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo. the city’s top negotiator. said the arrangement also sets out a more complicated path for police protection at high-security venues. Under the proposed approach, the city would seek reimbursement from the federal government for security costs at those locations. If the federal government does not provide full reimbursement. the city would then tap LA28’s contingency funds to cover the difference. Szabo said.

“This deal ensures the 2028 Games will have the City services needed to be safe and successful, while protecting the taxpayers from footing the bill,” Szabo said in a statement.

Paul Krekorian. executive director for Bass’ Office of Major Events. praised the agreement as a step toward what the administration describes as fiscal responsibility. “Mayor Bass’ priority is that the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games be fiscally responsible. protect taxpayers. and benefit Angelenos for decades to come. ” he said. “This agreement helps deliver that commitment.”.

The deal comes with unresolved questions and a lingering political sting. Over the last year. negotiations between the city and LA28 have taken place behind closed doors even as critics have grown louder about the possibility that taxpayers could be on the hook for huge payouts if the Games fail to generate a profit. Under that scenario. if organizers experience significant losses. the city would be responsible for the first $270 million and possibly more after that.

Szabo acknowledged that if the city doesn’t get full federal reimbursement for security costs, it would be less likely to recoup all of its security expenses.

The framework builds on an existing contract requirement. Under an agreement finalized in 2021, LA28 must reimburse the city for services that go beyond what would be provided on a normal day at a variety of locations, including parts of downtown L.A., Exposition Park, Venice and elsewhere.

There is also a federal funding component that has not fully quieted concerns. President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” included $1 billion for security, planning and other costs associated with the Olympics. Even so. some elected officials have said they worry the money might not materialize once the Games are over. or that the city’s security expenses could exceed that amount.

The tentative agreement—known as an Enhanced City Resources Master Agreement—goes first to the council’s ad hoc committee on the Olympic Games on Tuesday. then to the full City Council. Even if it is approved. many details about taxpayer-funded services during the Olympics and Paralympics are expected to remain unsettled for at least a year.

By July 2027, the two sides still need to finalize separate agreements spelling out the services that will be provided at each venue. By Oct. 31 of the same year, they must agree on the cost of those services.

Those venue-by-venue arrangements will involve additional city entities. According to a summary of the agreement released by the city Friday, Los Angeles World Airports, the Port of Los Angeles and the Department of Water and Power would need to enter into their own service agreements with LA28.

Los Angeles and LA28 were supposed to have a tentative agreement in place last fall. but negotiations stretched out by nine additional months. in large part because of what Szabo described as the “inherent complexity of the 2028 Games. ” language included in a memo he co-wrote with Sharon Tso. the city’s chief legislative analyst.

Under the 2021 agreement, LA28 was required to create a $270-million contingency fund. That money could be distributed as a surplus if the Games generate profits, or it could be used to cover losses if there is a shortfall.

The proposal unveiled Friday would amend that five-year-old agreement to ensure the contingency funds can be used to cover the city’s costs if other revenue isn’t enough to pay for certain city services provided during the Games. The city’s summary says the contingency-fund money would be distributed to Los Angeles only after LA28 covers its own costs.

There is also a repayment discipline built into the tentative deal. If LA28 makes money, the agreement says LA28 would not be allowed to distribute surplus funds to any other organization until after it covers its financial obligations to the city.

Jacie Prieto Lopez. LA28’s vice president of communications and public affairs. said in a statement that the organizers are satisfied with sending the agreement to the council for consideration. “We proudly stand behind this agreement which delivers on our commitment to execute a safe. secure. and fiscally responsible Games that benefits Los Angeles for decades to come. ” she said.

Los Angeles LA28 2028 Olympics Olympic reimbursement Mayor Karen Bass City Council Matt Szabo police protection traffic control trash pickup contingency fund Exposition Park Venice