State lawmakers told an official for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics on Wednesday that they have serious concerns over whether local residents will have affordable access to the Summer Games.
Fans from 85 countries and all 50 states purchased more than 4 million tickets in the first release, Joey Freeman, a lobbyist for the LA28 Organizing Committee, told legislators in Sacramento Wednesday.
Freeman said roughly half a million $28 tickets went directly to locals, noting that 95% of all tickets priced under $100 were sold during a local pre-sale phase. Registration is underway for a second drop in August.
“We want the people who live in the heart of these games to be able to participate in them,” Freeman said.
However, lawmakers were not entirely convinced that those efforts have made an impact. Earlier in the year, the shortage of $28 tickets sparked an outcry.
“People were pretty shocked, quite frankly, by what they were being asked to pay,” said state Sen. Ben Allen. “I know that there’s this promise of a million $28 tickets, but is the choice going to be between winning the lottery and getting one of those $20 tickets?”
Freeman responded that officials are working on a community-ticketing program funded through a philanthropic contribution. He said he hopes more contributions will allow tickets to go directly to nonprofits, which could provide free tickets to the community.
Another lawmaker, Sen. Aisha Wahab, asked how many tickers were going to the nonprofits versus being offered in the local pre-sale phase. Freeman said he didn’t have specifics.
Wahab questioned how smart it was to simply hand free tickets to nonprofit organizations.
“I would suggest not necessarily giving it to nonprofits, because we cannot necessarily control that. They are not going to be seen on the aftermarket and sold right?” Wahab asked, instead suggesting that tickets go to schools or other groups. “Just giving tickets to different organizations does not secure that the community can actually be there.”
“What I have seen consistently is that when big tickets are given, it’s usually the executives’ friends that get first dibs, not necessarily the community they serve,” she added.
Sen. Laura Richardson grilled Freeman even further when he was unable to give exact figures of tickets sold in the first wave.
“This is a problem because you’re in an official state hearing,” she said. “The fact that we came to this committee, and you don’t know how many tickets were issued, you don’t know how many of those were under $100, you don’t have the information that we need, because this, these are questions that we’re getting from our community.”
Richardson, who noted that one of her relatives applied for tickets, said the 95% statistic doesn’t say much as it could represent small or large number of tickets.
“The experience that my family member had was that there were no available tickets under $100. The tickets that were available were at astronomical prices. We’re talking about multiple thousands of dollars to attend events. And that’s not what was presented to us that was going to happen,” she said.
“I really think you need to go back to the drawing board and really look at what is your ticket disbursement plan,” Richardson added, requesting another legislative meeting on this issue.
Freeman promised to follow up with lawmakers and provide more details later.
