There are four years remaining until the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles — lots of time to prepare for the international sports event — but local organizers appeared to take a step backward this week.
The privately-run LA28 committee announced in a brief statement that it has “decided to amicably part ways” with one of its biggest sponsors in Salesforce, a customer relationship software company.
It was unclear where the breakup leaves organizers in their stated quest to attract $2.5 billion in sponsorships. They had previously achieved about $1 billion of that total and had been optimistic about reaching several new deals this month.
Though one such partnership was announced on Tuesday, LA28 declined to say how much it will receive for signing with Guild, which helps companies provide career and education assistance to employees.
LA28 now has only two founding sponsors — Comcast and Delta Air Lines — and much work to do in covering the estimated $6.9-billion cost of the 2028 Olympics.
The effort will involve additional revenue streams, including ticket sales, merchandising and billions of dollars from the International Olympic Committee. Taking into account some of that money, LA28 says it has secured 65% of the overall funding needed.
But if organizers fall short, local and state legislators have agreed to make up the difference with taxpayer dollars.
This week, it was reported that the budget for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics has grown to nearly $10 billion, with French taxpayers expected to foot about $3.25 billion of that bill.
