Councilwoman Demands Olympic Cost Audit

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez said on May 20 that she wants an independent audit of the LA28 Olympic organizing committee before the 2028 Summer Games and again before the committee dissolves. Rodriguez said the steps are meant to protect city taxpayers from unexpected costs tied to hosting the Olympics and Paralympics. Her office also proposed a November 2026 ballot measure for a 10% tax on ticket sales starting Jan. 1, 2027, with proceeds set aside to cover potential Games-related overruns. LA28 has said the Games are designed to be privately funded and delivered at zero cost to the city. ### What exactly did Rodriguez ask the city to do? Rodriguez’s office said the first motion instructs the city’s Chief Legislative Analyst, with help from the City Administrative Officer, to bid and award an independent third-party auditor to conduct a fiscal audit of LA28 in 2026 and again before the organization is dissolved. The motion also asks LA28 to pay for those audits. (cd7.lacity.gov) A second Rodriguez motion directs the City Attorney to prepare documents for a November 2026 ballot measure establishing a 10% tax on Olympic ticket sales beginning Jan. 1, 2027. Her office said the revenue would go into a dedicated fund intended to help cover possible LA28 cost overruns and protect core city services, with any unused money transferred to the city’s general fund after the Games conclude in 2029. (cd7.lacity.gov) ### Why is she raising this now? Rodriguez said in a statement that Los Angeles had previously protected taxpayers while hosting the 1932 and 1984 Games and should do so again in 2028. She said her package would put a “Zero-Cost Principle” before voters, require a full independent audit and create a ticket tax modeled on protections used during the 1984 Olympics. (cd7.lacity.gov) The Orange County Register reported on May 19 that city council members were growing frustrated with LA28 over what it described as a lack of transparency and responsiveness, including delays tied to a critical agreement between the city and the organizing committee. That report said the tension had built nearly eight months past a deadline for that agreement. (cd7.lacity.gov) ### What has LA28 said about taxpayer protections? LA28 has repeatedly described the 2028 Olympics as a privately funded, no-new-build Games. In a September 2024 announcement on venue naming-rights deals, the organizing committee said the partnerships would generate revenue while advancing its mission of a “fully privately funded and no-new-build Games.” (ocregister.com) In a separate statement about its proposed Games agreement with Los Angeles, LA28 said the framework was intended to support a “zero cost to the City” Olympics and included reimbursement for city services used to deliver the Games. LA28 said that proposal built on terms first set out in a 2017 memorandum of understanding with the city. ### How does this fit with the city’s broader Olympic planning? (la28.org) The Los Angeles City Council approved updates to the 2028 Games plan on March 28, 2025, relocating events across existing venues in Los Angeles and the wider region. LA28 said those changes would improve the financial plan, cut costs and avoid new permanent construction. Mayor Karen Bass said at the time that the revised plan would help ensure the Games leave a profit for Los Angeles, as the city’s 1932 and 1984 Olympics did. (la28.org) The International Olympic Committee’s materials on LA28 say the Games will run from July 14 to July 30, 2028, across more than 40 venues, with no new permanent structures built for the event. ### What happens next at City Hall? Rodriguez’s motions now move into the city’s legislative process, where council files, committee hearings and any eventual council votes will determine whether the audit request and ballot proposal advance. (la28.org) The city clerk’s council files and meetings pages track those next steps. If the ballot measure moves forward, the City Attorney would draft the language for the November 2026 ballot, and the proposed ticket tax would begin on Jan. 1, 2027. (olympics.com) (lacity.gov)