Organizers of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles have revealed that a plan is in place to sell naming rights to some of it venues, a first in the history of the Olympics.
The move, announced on Thursday, already has a pair of partners on board as Honda will retain its existing naming rights to the arena in Anaheim that will be host of volleyball, while Comcast inked a deal to be attached to the venue that will house squash event and be called Comcast Squash Center at Universal Studios.
“From the moment we submitted our bid, LA28 committed to reimagining what’s possible for the Games,” LA28 chairperson and president, Casey Wasserman said in a statement. “Today’s historic announcement delivers on that promise, creating the first-ever venue naming rights program in Olympic and Paralympic history while advancing LA28’s mission of a fully privately funded and no-new-build Games. These groundbreaking partnerships with Comcast and Honda, along with additional partners to come, will not only generate critical revenue for LA28 but will introduce a new commercial model to benefit the entire Movement. We’re grateful to the IOC for making this transformation possible.”
Still, the choice to include naming rights at the Olympics is a departure from an established code of removing corporate names from arenas and stadiums. The Olympics will be held from July 14–30, 2028 and the Paralympics will be staged from August 15–27. This will be the third time the city will host the Summer Olympics, previously being home to the Games in 1932 and 1984.
Organizers will put up bids for the naming rights of at least 20 sites, including the Intuit Dome, BMO Stadium and Crypto.com Arena. However, the existing companies attached to these venues have the first chance to lock in deals as founding-level partners and hold on to their branding during the Olympics.
But if LA2028 organizers are unable to find deals for an arena, the venue will be unnamed, have a title in promotional materials that reflects the sport being played there and then revert back to its corporate name after the Games.
The current estimated budget for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games is $6.9 billion and is solely funded through a combination of private resources, the International Olympic Committee, broadcast revenue and corporate sponsors.
“It is a reality that many venues in L.A. and in the U.S. already have commercial naming rights and have become commonly recognized as such by the general public,” a spokesperson said to the Los Angeles Times in a statement. “Therefore, following discussions, the IOC is supporting the LA28 initiative that takes into account market realities of venue naming and generates critical revenue to stage the Games.”
Meanwhile, SoFi Stadium and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will share opening ceremony hosting duties, with the Coliseum being the only venue to close the Games.
