LA28 to Sell Naming Rights for Select Olympic Venues, a First

The Los Angeles organizing committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games is moving into uncharted territory by authorizing the sale of naming rights for a select group of venues, a first in Olympic history. With two deals already in place and talks underway for up to 19 temporary sites, LA28 is embracing a private-funding model that could reshape the economics of hosting the Games while maintaining key principles designed to limit on-site advertising.

Under the agreement, naming rights will be sold for a subset of competition venues. Honda has secured naming rights for the arena in Anaheim that will host volleyball, and Comcast has a deal for the temporary venue that will host squash at Universal Studios. These arrangements illustrate the new approach: existing corporate names can carry through into the Games, while venues without prior naming rights may be designated with sponsor names during the event if a deal is reached. Where a venue already carries a name, the sponsor can participate as a founding-level partner to retain that branding; otherwise, the venue could be renamed if no sponsor agreement is in place. The plan also preserves the field-of-play policy that...