Council Blasts LA28 Over Financial Transparency

Los Angeles City Council members publicly rebuked LA28 this month, saying the 2028 Olympics committee still has not shown the city clear financial details. (nbclosangeles.com) The clash came after LA28 rolled out a new procurement plan on April 8 and then faced questions from council members by April 17 about who would actually benefit from Olympic spending. Councilmember Monica Rodriguez said the committee had made “unfulfilled promises,” and Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson said city firms should not have to compete on the same footing as businesses from across Southern California. (la28.org) (nbclosangeles.com) LA28’s plan sets a target of sending 75% of its addressable procurement spend to the Greater Los Angeles region and 25% to small businesses. LA28 Chief Executive Officer Reynold Hoover said about $4 billion could go to local businesses, but council members said they still had not received the city-specific breakdowns and guarantees they asked for. (la28.org) (nbclosangeles.com) The dispute lands as Los Angeles is moving from broad Olympic promises to contract-by-contract planning. LA28 has said the Games will be privately funded and delivered at “zero cost to the City,” but the city’s oversight role depends on getting timely budget, reimbursement and contracting information from the organizing committee. (la28.org) That oversight structure has been in place for years. A June 20, 2024 joint report from the City Administrative Officer and Chief Legislative Analyst said LA28 is required under the Games Agreement to submit annual reports covering finances, budget, insurance, million-dollar contracts, audited financials and tax filings. (cityclerk.lacity.org) That same 2024 city report said LA28’s Games budget remained $6.9 billion, while its most recent audited financial statements at the time showed 2022 revenue of $55.2 million, expenses of $142.6 million and a cumulative deficit of $233.1 million. Those figures reflected organizing-committee finances years before the Games, not a claim that the full Olympic budget was overrun. (cityclerk.lacity.org) LA28 has argued that it is expanding access, not narrowing it. In its April 8 announcement, the committee said it was opening procurement opportunities to local and small businesses across the region and partnering with Intuit on a supplier-readiness program to help firms compete for contracts. (la28.org) Some business owners have echoed that view. Greg Plummer, who owns Concord Collective, told NBC4 that LA28 had made “a very concerted intentional effort” on outreach, while also saying smaller companies can still find the bidding process intimidating. (nbclosangeles.com) Council members are now pressing for more than targets and outreach events. Their complaint is that with ticket sales already underway and procurement ramping up, the city still lacks the detailed numbers it says it needs to judge whether Olympic spending will reach Los Angeles businesses the way LA28 has promised. (la28.org) (cbsnews.com)