By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is drawing strong interest from major brands and remains on track to meet its sponsorship goals, John Slusher, CEO of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Properties (USOPP), told Reuters.
Starbucks on Tuesday became the official coffee partner of the Games, making it the fourth founding partner alongside automaker Honda, media and technology company Comcast and Delta Air Lines.
USOPP is the entity charged with marketing and selling commercial assets for the 2028 Games and rights to Team USA through 2028.
“People now realize that this is going to be the biggest sporting event in the history of the world,” Slusher told Reuters this week.
“We’re going to sell every category, so they can either be in or their competitor will be.”
LA28 set a goal of signing $800 million to $1 billion in new deals in 2025, which would lift total sponsorship revenue to about $2 billion.
“We think we’re going to be right in that range, if not potentially over it,” said Slusher, who spent 26 years at Nike where he led global sports marketing and oversaw relationships with the sportswear company’s athletes and properties.
He added that he is confident LA28 would hit or exceed its $2.5 billion overall sponsorship target by the time the Olympic flame arrives in Southern California in less than three years’ time.
Some companies that had entered at lower tiers are looking to upgrade, and the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to allow venue naming rights for the first time opens an additional revenue stream, Slusher said.
“The momentum continues to be really strong and we have the results to back it up,” he added.
Open sponsorship categories for the Games include financial services, quick-service restaurants, retail, consumer packaged goods, energy and digital services, Slusher said.
“Before the year is up, we should have four to six other announcements coming with several of them being really, really big names.
“Huge American brands want to be associated with LA28 and help LA28 be successful. And then we’ll layer that in with a lot smaller partners that are going be integral for our success.”
The Paris Games last year had domestic sponsorship revenues of over $1.2 billion while the 2020 Tokyo Games, hosted in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, broke all records for domestic sponsorship deals with more than $3 billion in revenues.
Organizers said on Wednesday tickets and hospitality packages for the LA Games will go on sale from 2026. Registration for tickets will begin in January at la28.org.
Single tickets for both the Olympics and Paralympics will start at $28, with early access for local communities near venues.
AXS and Eventim were named Official Supporters of LA28 and Team USA and will serve as the Games’ official ticketing providers and preferred secondary marketplace.
Hospitality experiences will be offered by On Location, the IOC’s exclusive provider.
The privately funded LA Games has a budget of around $7 billion backed by revenue from corporate partnerships, licensing, hospitality, ticketing and a significant contribution from the IOC.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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