The Olympic Games are 1,367 days away, but they were at the center of discussion at the Business Forecast Conference hosted by the business advocacy group Valley Industry & Commerce Association (VICA) on Friday, Oct. 18, at Hilton Hotels in Universal City.
Reynold Hoover, the CEO of LA28, the organizing committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles shared the details about the preparations for one of the most important events in the city’s history.
“Watching it unfold in Paris both Olympics and the Paralympics was pretty massive,” said Hoover, a retired lieutenant general for the U.S. Army. “I realized this is just a gigantic military operation I faced before.”
What he learned in Paris, Hoover added, “boiled down to three things: operations, logistics, and plans.”
One of the lessons he learned while visiting the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, Hoover said, was “how incredible the volunteers were for the Games” who greeted visitors at the airport, Metro stations and sports venues.
“They made the game,” he said. “The athletes and the Paralympic athletes made the game too — but from a fan perspective and a sponsor perspective, it was that spirit of volunteerism.”
Some of the panels at the day-long conference included discussions about the economy, elections, sports, transportation, and the presence of AI in the workforce. But the fact that the Olympics are coming to Los Angeles were on most minds.
William Dolan, the California regional investment director for U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management, said the upcoming Olympics and the 2026 FIFA World Cup are expected to boost economic activity in the region.
The city is using “existing infrastructure and enhancing it,” he said. One example is Metro’s Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project, which is planned to connect the San Fernando Valley and Westside.
“It’s designated to help the Olympics but also helps the greater economy long-term,” Dolan said.
The officials in Paris received 300,000 applications for about 42,000 volunteer positions.
Hoover said Los Angeles will need 75,000 to 76,000 volunteers for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“One of our legacies at LA 28 will be bringing back the spirit of volunteerism to L.A. and the region,” Hoover said.
“We can get people volunteering today and it might be volunteering to clear up your neighborhood; it might be volunteering to clean up the beaches,” he said.
Hoover said LA28 has a budget of approximately $7 billion, with nearly 90% of it expected to be spent in the 18 months leading up to the Games.
So far, LA28 has invested $160 million in kids’ sports programs allowing youth, including children with disabilities, to have access to sports programs.
Judy Johnson, v.p. of Jacobs Solutions, interviews Reynold Hoover, chief executive officer of LA28 and a retired U.S Army lieutenant general, during the Valley Industry & Commerce Association (VICA) business conference in Universal City on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The BMX Racing and BMX Freestyle events will be held at the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area in the San Fernando Valley.
“We’ve continued to talk about archery and some other sports they will put in the Valley,” Hoover added.
Currently, LA28 is in discussions with the UCLA administration about using their campus for the Olympic and Paralympic venues.
“We are talking to UCLA today about doing some accessibility improvement on the campus and how we can leave that as a legacy that is something they can use,” Hoover said. “There are other opportunities like that all around the community.”
While it seems like many Los Angeles residents have a 1984 Olympics tale to share, Hoover said there’s a bigger story the city will be a part of.
“We’re on the cusp of telling the ’28 story, and all of you are part of that,” he said.