From Excitement to Shock: LA28 Olympics Ticket Prices Leave Residents Reeling

The excitement of hosting the Olympics has given way to sticker shock for many Los Angeles residents.

When LA28 opened its resident presale lottery on April 2, the organizing committee advertised tickets starting at just 28 dollars — a figure praised as the lowest-priced Olympic tickets in modern history. But for hundreds of thousands of Angelenos who entered the lottery, the reality of what was available proved far more complicated.

Kathy Dorn, a Los Angeles resident who registered to purchase tickets on April 3, described the experience as deeply frustrating. Most gymnastics tickets sold out during my time slot — I did not expect them to be gone that quickly, she told The Guardian. Overall, I found the prices quite high, and it did not seem like they released additional inventory for people with later time slots, which made it even more frustrating.

Dorn ultimately spent approximately 1,200 dollars on tickets covering rhythmic and artistic gymnastics preliminaries and sailing finals. She had wanted to attend a swimming event but balked at the price. I did not want to spend 558 dollars per ticket for a two-hour event, she said.

The pattern repeated across the city. One Los Angeles resident told NBC Los Angeles that he spent 11,000 dollars on eight tickets for track and field events — with nearly 400 dollars of that going toward service fees alone. Another buyer, Tony Anthony, explained his approach: We did not go top-tier, but we were in the 1,000 dollar range per ticket. You hear things like: Tickets as low as 28 dollars and there were none available.

That 24% service fee has drawn particular scrutiny. LA28 has stated the charges are intended to fund customer service operations throughout the Games.

LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover defended the pricing structure in a statement, noting that hundreds of thousands of 28 dollar tickets were sold to residents in southern California and Oklahoma City — the latter hosting canoe slalom and softball events. The success of the Locals Presale speaks for itself, Hoover said.

Gigi Gutierrez, an LA28 spokesperson, told NBC Los Angeles that premium events like swimming and soccer are priced in line with other major sporting spectacles like the Super Bowl and the upcoming 2026 World Cup.

The controversy arrives as LA28 operates on a budget exceeding 7.1 billion dollars, with organizers insisting the pricing strategy ensures the committee breaks even — and that Los Angeles taxpayers will not be on the hook for any shortfall.

For residents of Inglewood, where the opening ceremony, swimming and basketball events will take place, the concerns run deeper than price alone. The majority-Black and Latino city has seen rapid development including SoFi Stadium and the Intuit Dome, yet some local businesses have struggled to benefit from the boom.

Inglewood native Yolanda Davidson voiced a sentiment shared by many in her community: We should not just have to bear all of the burden of the Olympics — we should be able to participate.