LA28 to Sell Olympic Venue Naming Rights, Changing Games Forever
Hey, have you heard the latest about the 2028 Olympics? Los Angeles is shaking things up in a way that could redefine how the Games are funded and presented. For the first time in Olympic history, organizers have announced that naming rights will be offered for both temporary and permanent venues. This is a big departure from tradition, where venues have typically been kept “clean” of corporate branding during the Games.
To give you a sense of what this means, think back to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Fans watched speedskating and figure skating at the Utah Jazz’s home arena, the Delta Center, but for those two weeks, the arena couldn’t use its corporate name. All signage was covered, and it was temporarily renamed the Salt Lake Ice Center. Fast forward to 2028, and a venue in Los Angeles could actually retain a corporate name—say, Delta Center—right in the middle of the Games. That’s a game-changer for Olympic sponsorship.
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Honda has already jumped in, securing the naming rights for the Honda Center in Anaheim, which will host Olympic volleyball. Comcast has also signed on for a temporary venue, the Comcast Squash Center at Universal Studios. And there’s potential for more sponsors to buy rights, though priority will be given to existing TOP sponsors and founding partners. Prices are expected to hit nine figures for the bigger venues. LA28 organizers say this move provides not just revenue but also operational savings, since they won’t need to cover up signage as in past Games.
This approach is part of a broader trend in the U.S., where naming rights for sports arenas have become almost universal. Forty years ago, the 1984 Los Angeles Games already set the stage for commercial innovation in the Olympics, generating huge surpluses through sponsorships. But venue names still remained off-limits. Now, LA28 is taking that model a step further, allowing sponsors a visible, tangible connection to the Games themselves.
Of course, some critics see this as another step toward commercialization, but organizers argue that with the Games’ $7.1 billion budget funded mostly privately, every revenue stream counts. Sponsorship experts describe it as a win-win: brands gain a meaningful presence, and the Games benefit financially and logistically. Even the IOC is on board with this being a pilot program, meaning future hosts could adopt a similar model if it proves successful.
So, when the lights shine on Los Angeles in 2028, don’t be surprised if some of the arenas you recognize are sporting corporate names—not just temporarily, but right through the Games. This small change could mark a big evolution in Olympic history, showing how American ingenuity in sports marketing continues to shape the global stage. The 2028 Olympics might just be remembered not only for the athletes but also for how the business of the Games was reinvented.
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