Angelenos Are Less Excited About Later Olympic Date, According To Poll

LOS ANGELES, CA – Angelenos are nearly as enthusiastic about their city hosting the 2028 Olympics as they were about hosting the 2024 Games, according to a poll released Tuesday by Loyola Marymount University that found 83 percent of residents support the later date.

The results compare to a survey conducted last year by LMU which found 88 percent of Angelenos backed the city's effort to host the 2024 Games.

The latest poll was conducted prior to Monday's news that the L.A. bid committee had reached an agreement to host the 2028 Games and received some financial concessions from the International Olympic Committee as part of the deal, including an advancement of $180 million to invest in local youth sports programs and to fund the Olympic organizing committee's activities over the next five years.

"The support among Angelenos for hosting the Summer Olympics remains strong, whether it's in 2024 or 2028," said Brianne Gilbert, associate director of the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University, which conducted the poll. "The vast majority want the Games in L.A."

Los Angeles originally bid to host the 2024 summer Olympics, competing with Paris. But the IOC recently approved a plan to name a host of both the 2024 and 2028 Games simultaneously, assuring that each city would be awarded an Olympics.

On Monday, L.A. officials announced they had reached a tentative agreement to host the `28 Games, ceding the `24 Games to Paris.

"This new LMU poll shows Angelenos are excited to bring the Olympics back in 2028. L.A. already has a proven Olympic legacy from the '84 Games. That's why it's easy to believe in and support our 2028 plan -- low risk and ready to go," said Casey Wasserman, chairman of LA 2028, the nonprofit committee leading L.A.'s bid that was renamed Monday from LA 2024. "LA 2028's support remains strong across all demographic groups and our Games will benefit all communities."

Although a tentative agreement has been reached for L.A. to host in 2028, the Los Angeles City Council and U.S. Olympic Committee Board of Directors also must approve it. If that approval is given, the IOC, Los Angeles and Paris will work on a formal three-way agreement in advance of the IOC's meeting in Lima, Peru, on Sept. 13, when the Games will officially be awarded.

"Yesterday, Mayor Eric Garcetti made a once-in-a-generation announcement -- the summer Olympic and Paralympic Games are coming back to Los Angeles for the third time," Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Gary Toebben said. "Thanks to the determination and creativity of the mayor and local Olympic leadership Los Angeles has solidified an agreement with the International Olympic Committee to stage the 2028 Games."

City News Service

Image via Mayor Eric Garcetti