L.A. reaches deal on cost recovery for 2028 Olympics, amid warnings about financial risk

A divided Los Angeles City Council has finalized a deal aimed at controlling the city’s costs during the 2028 Olympic Games amid continuing complaints that the protections don’t go far enough.

On a 10-4 vote Wednesday, the council approved the Enhanced City Resources Master Agreement , which lays out the process for the city to seek reimbursement for the services it provides during the Games.

City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo said the agreement sets up additional financial safeguards, by allowing the city to tap a $270-million contingency fund set up by LA28, the privately run Olympic organizing committee, if outstanding costs remain.

Still, some on the council warned that taxpayers could wind up on the hook for $1 billion in police and other public safety costs if LA28 incurs serious losses.

“This fails to provide any safeguards for Los Angeles taxpayers and most assuredly risks the city’s fiscal stability,” Councilmember Monica Rodriguez said after voting against the agreement. Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez, Ysabel Jurado and Nithya Raman, who is running against Mayor Karen Bass, also were opposed.

Critics of the Games have long voiced concern about the risks that surround the event.

If LA28 incurs massive financial losses, the city would cover the first $270 million. The state would absorb the next $270 million. After that, the city’s general fund, which pays for basic services, would cover any remaining shortfall.

The city’s negotiating team said L.A.’s political leaders committed the city roughly a decade ago to serve as a financial backstop for the Games, as part of the contract that made L.A. the host city.

“We are providing you today as many protections as we can, given the reality that if it is not financially successful, it does fall onto us,” Szabo said. “So there is nothing we could propose today or tomorrow or next year that would eliminate that risk.”

The council, in a flurry of votes, sidelined proposals from Councilmembers Imelda Padilla, Hernandez and Raman that were billed as a way to reduce the city’s financial exposure.

LA28 spokesperson Jacie Prieto Lopez, in a statement, said the newly approved agreement delivers on the committee’s commitment to “execute a safe, secure and fiscally responsible Games that benefit Los Angeles for decades to come.”

Under the terms approved by the council, LA28 would pay the city ahead of the Games for services that are ineligible for reimbursement from the federal government, such as street sweeping and deployment of traffic officers.

The city would first seek reimbursement from the federal government for law enforcement services, particularly in high-security zones, Szabo said. If the government fails to cover the cost of security in those areas, the city would seek all or a portion of LA28’s contingency funds to make up difference, he said.

Last year, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act , setting aside $1 billion for state and local governments for security, planning and other costs associated with the Games.