The budget of LA28, the organising committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, stands at $7.263 billion, but Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia says the published figures lack sufficient detail. As reported by ‘LAist’ on September 28, the city’s financial watchdog has requested a breakdown that would allow him to assess revenue and spending forecasts and the exposure of the city, which guarantees potential financial shortfalls. The report presents broad budget categories and groups together contracts worth more than $1 million without publicly identifying individual contractors or amounts. LA28 maintains that it has provided additional information to city representatives and met its obligations. The city administrative officer and chief legislative analyst support that assessment of its reporting compliance.
The report submitted to the city’s Games committee, dated September 25, covers activity in 2025 and revises the overall budget from the previous $7.149 billion. The increase amounts to $114 million, or 1.6%, which LA28 attributes to market conditions, an expanded sports programme, the updated venue plan and the outcome of contract negotiations. This is a revision to projected costs for staging the Games, rather than money already spent. The documentation also includes annual financial statements, but Mejia is seeking information that would allow those accounts to be assessed against anticipated requirements and resources in the lead-up to the event.
What is missing from the public report
The budget includes approximately $1.4 billion for venue infrastructure, $1.426 billion for sport, Games services and operations, and $586 million for “other expenses”. These figures show the broad allocation of the budget, but not how much each venue project will cost or when it must be completed. According to ‘LAist’, the public document also lacks project-specific budgets and schedules, although the agreement between the city and LA28 requires updates on venues and improvements. In his request, Mejia argues that the budget summary occupies barely half a page and lacks the detail needed to assess its feasibility and the organisation’s financial position. His concern is whether the estimates can be scrutinised; the absence of a breakdown does not, in itself, demonstrate that the Games will incur a deficit.
Contracts are another point of disagreement. The report groups them into a total of $687.2 million, while the agreement requires disclosure of the name, type, amount, term and purpose of contracts exceeding $1 million. The city’s documentation explains that LA28 provided the relevant details to designated city liaisons and withheld them from publication because it believes disclosing suppliers and terms could undermine future contract, partnership and sponsorship negotiations. Matthew W. Szabo, the city administrative officer, and Sharon M. Tso, the chief legislative analyst, state in their report that the required information was supplied. That assessment sits alongside Mejia’s request: information received by certain officials is not necessarily available in the public report, nor does it mean his office has everything it considers necessary for its analysis.
The city is the financial backstop
The city’s interest stems from the funding model. LA28 plans to finance the Games through private revenue, but Los Angeles has guaranteed potential shortfalls in the organising committee’s finances. Oversight therefore also matters to taxpayers. The budget includes $600 million in contingency funding, intended to cover needs not met by other allocations: $330 million is unallocated, while $270 million is earmarked for an account to be funded progressively. The latter amount had not been deposited in full by the end of 2025. According to the city report, the account held $15 million after receiving $10 million during that year and must reach $270 million in the first quarter of 2029. City officials state that LA28 had met its required contribution at that stage. This contingency provision is separate from the $586 million listed under “other expenses”.
Security requires separate scrutiny because its costs are not included in LA28’s operating budget. Federal funding is available: legislation passed in 2025 allocated $1 billion for security, planning and other Games-related expenses. However, that allocation does not yet establish whether all requirements will be covered. The agreement approved by the City Council on August 12 sets out how LA28 will reimburse additional municipal services provided for the event. An amendment to the Games Agreement also allows the city to draw on the contingency fund to recover security costs not covered by the federal government. These responsibilities and funding arrangements need to be examined alongside the organising budget, without automatically adding estimates with different scopes as though they formed a single account.
What Mejia wants and how LA28 has responded
Mejia addressed his request to Elisabeth Freinberg, LA28’s general counsel, and set a September 28 deadline for further information. Alongside a breakdown of broad budget categories, he requested financial forecasts, comparisons between projected and actual revenue and spending, and documentation relating to the contingency account. Those records would help establish whether receipts and expenditure are progressing as expected and what resources would be available if they diverged from forecasts. “The documents we requested will help us understand how they’re doing as an organization, because if they go over budget, we pay,” he told ‘LAist’. When the outlet published its report that day, the controller’s office said it had not yet received a response.
LA28 defended its compliance with the city agreement in a statement to the same outlet. “LA28 works closely with the city to ensure that it satisfies all applicable requirements under the games agreement,” said spokesperson Jacie Prieto Lopez. She added that previous annual reports had been submitted to and accepted by the city and that the organisation would continue to meet its obligations. The report from the city administrative officer and chief legislative analyst is addressed to the committee overseeing the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games and recommends that the council note and file the document, which was submitted for information only. Mejia’s office told ‘LAist’ it would continue seeking financial information, without specifying at that point what action it would take if the additional documentation was not provided.
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