Agreement between Los Angeles and LA28 would address sustainability, access to Olympic and Paralympic Games

The Los Angeles city government’s chief legislative analyst and chief officer recommended on Wednesday that the city council authorize a multi-faceted agreement with LA28, the organizing committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, that addresses the city’s priorities and issues that have plagued recent Games.

The proposed Games Agreement between the city and LA28 provides new specifics about how the local organizers will address issues such as human rights, sustainability, local hiring and access to Olympic contracts for community businesses.

The Games Agreement provides more specifics to commitments and obligations outlined in a memorandum of understanding between the city, LA28 and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee approved by the city council in August 2017.

The Games Agreement highlights the policies and programs “most important to the city,” said Sharon M.Tso, the chief legislative analyst who co-authored the recommendation with chief administrative officer Matthew W. Szabo.

The recommendation will now be considered by the city council’s ad hoc committee on the Olympic and Paralympic Games. If that committee votes to recommend the agreement the full council could vote on the deal by the end of the year.

“The Games are so much more than a global sporting event – they’re a chance for us to build a lasting community legacy that begins now and continues benefiting our city with economic opportunity and sports and education programming for young people long after the Olympics and Paralympics are over,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti in a statement. “This Games Agreement lays out a framework for LA28, the City and partners to develop these opportunities with strong oversight to protect the City from financial risk.”

The MOU outlined that any revenue surplus from the Games would be split between the USOPC (20 percent) and a fund that would “be used for the benefit of sport and youth in the City and host country” (80 percent).

LA28 and the city executed a youth sports partnership agreement in September in which the organizing committee committed to providing $160 million to support increased access and participation in youth sports in the city.

The Games Agreement calls for the establishment of a sustainability working group by March 31, 2023 that will be required to develop a sustainability plan for the Games by March 21, 2025 that is consistent with “the City’s goals for zero carbon transportation, zero carbon grid, zero carbon buildings, zero waste, and zero wasted water.”

The agreement also requires LA28 to set up a games energy council by March 31, 2024 that will bring together government agencies and utilities to create a plan for the delivery of power infrastructure and services to Games venues and events.

Under the agreement, LA28 is also required to create a local hiring program to ensure “the 2028 Games workforce is fully representative of the diversity of Los Angeles.”

The Games Agreement also addresses the “delivery of city resources and reimbursement.”

“The City agrees to provide and maintain, at its own cost, normal and customary City resource levels leading up to and during the hosting of the 2028 Games,” according to the recommendation. “LA28 may request that the City provide enhanced City resources that exceed normal and customary levels. Costs resulting from requested and agreed upon enhanced City resources will be reimbursable to the City by LA28. A process is established in the Games Agreement to determine normal and customary levels of City resources as well as enhanced City resources with a timeline as follows:

* October 1, 2024 – Normal and customary City resource levels and costs are determined by mutual consent between the City and LA28 based on acollaborative review of City service levels during the prior three fiscal years including 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24.

* October 1, 2025 – Enhanced City Resources Master Agreement (ECRMA) is entered into between the City and LA28 to identify City resources, rates, repayment timelines, audit rights, and other processes for the Games. The ECRMA is to be developed based on mutual consent between LA28 and the City.

* October 1, 2026 – Venue Service Agreements (VSA) are entered into between the City and LA28 to identify specific tasks, enhanced City resources, and service levels for identified venues, zones, and events. The VSAs are to be developed based on mutual consent between LA28 and the City.”

Source: Orange County Register