Los Angeles city and county officials working on the 2028 Summer Olympics discussed details about tourism, their hopes for the economic benefits of the mega-event and lessons learned from the recent Paris Games at the first state Senate committee hearing Thursday for the massive organizing effort.
But largely absent from the discussion was how the massive federal immigration crackdown in L.A. and the international attention it is drawing could affect the event — and the perceptions of potential visitors.
At the three-hour hearing in Sacramento, Ryan Becker, a senior vice president at the tourism group Visit California, described the challenges to attract visitors to the state for the Olympics — although the scenario may change in three years.
At the moment, he said, a strong U.S. dollar makes it much more expensive for international travelers to come to California, while there are concerns about safety and access into the United States.
“Some headlines about border detainment and aggressive enforcement action are certainly heightening concern and exacerbating some longer-standing issues we’ve had at the federal level,” he said, referencing concerns about long visa wait times for would-be U.S. visitors.
Overall, international travel is expected to be down more than 9% in California this year, the first overall tourist decline since 2020, Becker said.
The committee, which is focused on major sporting events, is chaired by Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica).
Panelists talked about the potential economic boost from visitors eating in restaurants and staying in hotels during and after the 2028 Games.
Organizers with LA28, the private entity overseeing the Games, are responsible for raising and spending the $7 billion needed to host the massive event. Although LA28 is paying for the cost of the Olympics, L.A. taxpayers face financial risk.
If LA28 sees cost overruns or revenue shortfalls, the city will be responsible for the first $270 million, the state will pay for the next $270 million and the city would be on the hook for anything beyond that.
Becker provided senators an update on the tourism numbers from the 2024 Paris Olympics, where 85% of attendees were from France and 15% from other countries, he said.
He also said that major attractions, including the Louvre Museum, saw large dips in visitors during the Olympics, suggesting that visitors weren’t interested in the typical tourist spots.
Besides an economic boost, the 2028 Olympics will offer a “refreshed global image of California as the most welcoming destination in the nation,” he said.
Leaders at LA28 have stayed mostly silent about President Trump’s recent immigration sweeps over the last month — a contrast to the outpouring of anger from local and state politicians. After the hearing on Thursday, the group declined to comment to The Times about the crackdown.
On Friday, a spokesperson for LA28 pointed to comments made last month by LA28 Chief Executive Reynold Hoover, who discussed security issues before the U.S. Senate’s Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs subcommittee. At the time, widespread protests were underway in L.A. over the immigration raids.
Referencing the events in L.A., Hoover told the subcommittee: “Let me just be clear: Security and safety are our top priorities, leading to and during Games time, and we are committed to working with security agencies from local, state and federal levels to ensure a safe and secure Games.”
Hoover also appeared at Thursday’s panel, describing how the Olympic torch will travel through the 50 states for about 100 days before the Games.
Another panelist, Paul Krekorian, who heads the city’s planning for the Olympics, said that city officials want to add bathrooms, shade structures and water facilities around several neighborhoods that have Olympic venues.
Streets need to be accessible as millions of people converge on the city, he said.
However, Krekorian acknowledged the city’s fiscal constraints as it seeks to improve its infrastructure in the coming years.
The post Organizers hope the 2028 Summer Olympics present a ‘refreshed global image of California’ appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
