Steady Value Acquisition Aimed for $2B Year-End Total Following Sluggish Initial Business Agreements at LA28
The Push for Gold: The Los Angeles Organizing Committee's Relentless Strive for $2.5 Billion in Sponsorships for the 2028 Olympic Games
In the racing arena of corporate sponsorships, the Los Angeles Organizing Committee (LA28) is gearing up, aiming for gold with a whopping $2.5 billion domestic sponsorship target for the 2028 Olympic Games.
Chairman Casey Wasserman, a Hollywood sports tycoon, is confident about hitting at least $2 billion in corporate revenue by the year's end. However, he remains tight-lipped about the current cumulative revenue, but hints it's more than $1.5 billion.
Securing the 2028 Olympics, a full eleven years in advance, has proven a unique challenge. Typically, committees have a shorter seven-year window to ink deals. Nevertheless, Wasserman remains unfazed. "People buy when they want to buy, not when you want to sell," he quips, addressing the initial lag in sponsorship sales.
The non-traditional timeline and processes have presented unprecedented ebbs and flows, but Wasserman is optimistic, stating that even the entire movement is experiencing this for the first time. He also attributes the initial lag to the complexities of the partnership program between USOPC and LA28, designed to drive more revenue by selling bulk partnerships over four Olympics.
As the Winter Games in Italy (Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo) loom eight months away, LA28 is still searching for major categories like financial services and automotive. Last year, top-sponsor Salesforce parted ways less than three years into their seven-year partnership, leaving LA28 with only two founding partners, Comcast and Delta. However, the committee has since added lower-tier sponsors such as Cisco and Aecom, joining older USOPC partners on the same level as Nike and Ralph Lauren. Legends has been named the sponsorship sales agency for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Team USA.
In the coming 60 days, Wasserman assures significant announcements in major categories are on the horizon, with a promise of maintaining their momentum. "We're hitting our stride, to say the least," he declares.
The LA28 team remains optimistic about their revenue trajectory, bolstered by the recent hiring of new CEO Reynold Hoover last summer. In preparation for additional corporate backers, Wasserman has shifted focus towards ensuring a hassle-free entry for 2028 Olympians, meeting with President Donald Trump multiple times to address potential visa issues.
Wasserman has also confirmed that Dodger Stadium will host all baseball games in 2028. Baseball will return to the summer sports program after being excluded from the Paris Games in 2024. Meanwhile, all cricket matches will be played at a temporary built facility at The Fairgrounds in Pomona, Calif. This means neither New York nor any other East Coast state will host cricket matches, despite the possibility of offering prime time broadcast slots in India.
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LA28 Adds Honda as Founding Partner in $2.5B Sponsorship Push: A Major Boost for Finances and Logistics
[1] [Gamesbid.com][2] [LA28.org][3] [Bloomberg.com][4] [OC2028.org][5] [Forbes.com]
People are eagerly anticipating the addition of Honda as a founding partner for LA28, boosting finances and logistics in the committee's $2.5 billion sponsorship push for the 2028 Olympic Games. Sports enthusiasts are excited about the return of baseball to the summer sports program, with Dodger Stadium host to all games in 2028.
