You could pay more than $5,000 for a single ticket to the 2028 L.A. Olympics
Your morning catch-up: Sticker shock for L.A. Olympics tickets, fires break out in Los Angeles, Riverside counties and more big stories
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The budget for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles anticipates $2.5 billion in revenue from ticket and hospitality sales. It became clearer with the opening of ticket sales this week that a hefty chunk of that revenue is coming from the whopping ticket prices for the Games’ marquee events.
Passes for the Opening Ceremonies will set you back between $329 and $5,519 for a single seat, though the first round of cheaper presale tickets had already sold out by Friday morning. If you wanted to see the world’s fastest man crowned in the 100-meter dash on July 17 at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, it would cost you from $104 on up to $2,461, though the cheaper tickets disappeared quickly.
Interested in a potential showdown between USA’s distance swim superstars Katie Ledecky and Canada’s Summer McIntosh in the 400-meter freestyle final? That evening session at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood will cost you $186 to $1,860. Pre-sale tickets that went for less than $600 had disappeared by Friday afternoon.
The Opening Ceremony could set a family of four back $10,000
It’s fair to say all this caused a bit of sticker shock for some folks. TV Director Alberto Belli went on X to display an online shopping cart for what it would have cost him to take a family of four to the Opening Ceremony: $10,418. “The “LA Exodus” summarized in a single checkout cart,” he wrote. “For ‘OK’ seats. Guess I’m watching from the couch.”
LA28 officials opened this week’s “pre-sale” to residents of Southern California and Oklahoma, where a couple of events will also be held. The organizers said that about 5% of all tickets would be priced at more than $1,000 and that 75% would be under $400.
A spokesperson said that higher-end prices are simply the norm these days for big events in both sports and entertainment. Also worth noting: Tickets in the more affordable price ranges will be made available in future ticket drops, which will be open to those who don’t live in the counties closest to the Olympic venues.
A brisk scan around the ticket site Friday showed that, indeed, fans can see preliminary events and less popular sports for prices as low as $28. There are a total of 1 million tickets at that low threshold, LA28 has said.
Some Olympics fans got lucky
“The process was pretty painless but [I] will say the cheap tix for the presale are going quick,” screenwriter Daniel Kunka wrote on X. “Still scored a $28 ticket for [the] Women’s Soccer Semifinal. And considerably more for Women’s Gymnastics Preliminary. But gotta say [I] was pretty pumped.”
For comparison sake, here’s what the price chart for the last Summer Olympics, in Paris, showed for one high-profile sport, swimming: The top price for a ticket to a night of finals went for a maximum of 690 Euros. That’s $795 in current U.S. dollars.
If the initial sticker shock of LA28 prices didn’t stun fans, the “service fee” of 24% might have. So if you splurged on four tickets, at $600 each, to be at the Coliseum the night that American Cole Hocker might be defending his 1,500-meter-run title, you would pay $2,400 plus an additional $577 service fee. Total: Just shy of $3,000 for your foursome. (LA28 told me the fee is “industry standard.”)
Rich Perelman, former vice president of press operations for the 1984 L.A. Olympic organizing committee, said via email that, given the $2.5-billion revenue target for the Games “they need to sell a lot of expensive tickets.”
“LA28 is a private, one-time nonprofit that will fold up in 2029. So no need to build up future-purchaser loyalty. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime company,” added Perelman, who runs the Sports Examiner, an online news site dedicated to Olympic sports. “The public statements are one million tix at $28 and two-thirds of the tickets under $200. If that’s true, then a case for reasonable access to the Games can be made.” (LA28 recently said that about half of the tickets would be sold for under $200.)
The LA28 ticket hustle is only beginning. Organizers have deals with several companies to manage future ticket resales. But the rules for resale won’t be announced until 2027.
Perelman said the “very high” pricing for some finals and popular events will “(a) maximize revenue and (b) collect a significant part of what resellers would make. And buying for resale for major events is a big business.”
The week’s biggest stories
Southern California fires
- Fires break out in Los Angeles, Riverside counties due to Santa Ana winds.
- Riverside County Springs fire: Evacuations, road closures, shelters.
Real estate, construction and development
- A rehab may be in the works for this 125-year-old landmark chapel in West L.A.
- Downtown L.A.’s cratering real estate market is changing.
- California considering construction insurance to boost factory-built housing.
- Residents speak out against proposed data center in Imperial County.
President Trump’s policies and reactions
- President Trump bashed State Farm on social media.
- Trump’s 2027 budget would cut billions from clean energy and climate programs.
- Trump’s budget cites L.A. homelessness agency as he proposes housing cuts.
- Trump asks Congress for $152 million to start rebuilding Alcatraz prison.
Pests, animals in action
- Typhus from fleas hits record level in L.A. Here’s the hot spots are and how to protect yourself.
- Coyote that attacked 4-year-old Carson boy linked to attack of another child.
- Abandoned baby mountain lion is rescued in Southern California.
Entertainment deaths and attacks
- Guitarist and co-founder of hardcore metal band Harm’s Way, Bo Lueders dies at 38.
- Drummer James Gadson, who played with Bill Withers and Marvin Gaye, dies at 86.
- Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham was attacked by a woman in Santa Monica.
What else is going on
- U.S. rescues pilot after fighter jet was shot down by Iran.
- Shohei Ohtani hits first homer this season to spark Dodgers’ offensive explosion.
- $500,000 in stolen catalytic converters seized in L.A. County theft ring bust.
- Actor Todd Bridges wants divorce from Bettijo Hirschi official.
- Hershey caught cheapening Reese’s, forced to restore founder’s original recipe.
Must reads
This week, L.A. federal prosecutors were in two separate trials involving a charge of assault on a federal officer tied to immigration protests. They have not won a single assault case at trial so far. But this time they have a video of a punch.
Other meaty reads
- The rich register Ferraris and Porsches in Montana to avoid taxes. California is cracking down.
- He swapped his lawn for native plants after asking, ‘What was meant to be here?’
- A major fail on live TV put a target on pop star Ashlee Simpson’s back. Winning ‘The Masked Singer’ might erase it.
- Opinion: Here’s why the stock market isn’t freaking out more over the Iran war.
- Opinion: Keep in mind local children’s health for water and mining policy near the Salton Sea.
- Opinion: Here’s why Trump fired Pam Bondi.
- Opinion: Attack on birthright citizenship highlights Trump’s white nationalist ambitions.
For your downtime
Going out
- Pizza time: In a sea of bakeries and pizzerias, this San Pedro standout is in a league of its own.
- Take a hike: 3 hikes near L.A. where wildflowers are thriving right now.
- The best medicine: ‘We desperately need to laugh’: this L.A. festival helps the trans community heal through comedy.
Staying in
- Marathon viewing: The Zendaya-thon is upon us: From ‘The Drama’ to ‘Euphoria,’ it’s time to lean in.
- Streaming movie review: In the glittering satire ‘Yes,’ the party rages on in Israel, while guilt is optional.
- Reality TV review: ‘Summer House’ drama explained: What you need to know about the latest Bravo scandal.
- 🥗 Happy National Chicken Cordon Bleu Day! Here’s a recipe for the sumptuous dish.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and jigsaw games.
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Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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