Early LA Olympics ticket buyers express shock, frustration

Aaron Sadler, communications director for the City of Little Rock, Arkansas, knows how to make a point.

For example, on buying marquee tickets for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, he said, “I suppose I’d have to take out a loan and sell a kidney.’’

Sadler, 49, has joined the chorus of shock and frustration over a presale ticket process marked by low inventory and high prices, according to Sadler and people sounding off online.

The price of four tickets to the Opening Ceremony for “OK’’ seats: $10,418.52, according to a screenshot on social media of the LA28 online checkout cart posted on X by @albertobelli.

Wrote Belli, “Guess I’m watching from the couch.’’

A scarcity of less expensive tickets for some events led to sticker shock. SwimSwam reported April 10 tickets to the Opening Ceremony still were available -- starting at $4,961.20 apiece. And tickets still were available for swimming prelims -- for $1,116.27, according to SwimSwam.

The highest price for non-couch seats at premiere events will exceed $5,000.

LA28, Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games, told USA TODAY its ticket program is "rooted in heavy analytics and extensive market demand research around entertainment and live sports in the U.S. Tickets are comparable to – or well under in many cases – professional sporting and major entertainment events in the U.S."  

Los Angeles residents, who had first access to tickets between April 2 and April 6, discovered the following: $28 tickets, billed as the lowest in modern Olympic history, quickly sold out; tickets for preliminary swimming priced at about $1,000; and, with virtually everything sold out, tickets for table tennis going for about $200 apiece.

Sadler entered the presale process with some experience. He bought tickets about a year before he and his wife attended their first Olympics, the Paris Games in 2024. Sadler shared a receipt showing he bought a pair of tickets for five events, including the women’s team gymnastics final, for about $3,500.

Tickets for some of the same events at the Los Angeles Games cost more than three times as much as the tickets for the Paris Games, according to Sadler.

“They’ve priced me out,’’ he said. “I don’t think it respects the spirit of the Games.’’

Responding to complaints from people who say they have found no $28 tickets, LA28 said, "Through the entire presale...there were $28 tickets available for purchase, which unsurprisingly were in high demand. We sold hundreds of thousands of $28 tickets during our LA & OKC Locals Presale — that's hundreds of thousands of locals who were able to get incredibly affordable tickets.''

Paris provides hope

Buying tickets during the presale required registering online, followed by a random draw. There will be multiple ticket drops, with the first one ending April 19.

Locals in Los Angeles and Oklahoma, site of Olympic softball and canoe slalom competition, got first crack. That left people like Sadler waiting until April 9 to look for tickets, with their experience with the Paris Olympics initially providing hope for him and his wife, Rev. Brittany Stillwell.

“So, I was reading an article in early 2023 about tickets for Paris,’’ Sadler said by email, “On a whim I just decided to register for a time slot. I had totally forgotten about it until May 2023 when I got an email about my ticket window.’’

In addition to tickets, they got something else: the idea of honeymoon during the Paris Olympics. At the time, Sadler and his wife weren't even engaged. They married in April 2024, three months before the Olympics started.

“In a way,’’ Sadler said, “you could say our Paris ticket buy was the catalyst for our marriage.’’

But talk of romance ends there.

What Sadler didn’t know when he logged on April 9 to buy tickets for the Los Angeles Olympics were the steeper prices, the scarcity of tickets for coveted events and the 24% service fee for purchased tickets compared to the 1.5% service fee charged for purchased tickets for the Paris Olympics.

“I would just like to know why it jumped that high,’’ Sadler said of the service fee.

LA28 told USA TODAY Sports the service fees "align with standard industry practices for ticketing live events in the U.S. Service fees cover the costs of securely processing and delivering tickets, such as ticketing platform development, customer service, payment processing, fulfillment and distribution. All-in pricing is displayed upfront, included within the prices people see as they shop, and a breakdown of the price and service fees are provided at checkout for further transparency." 

'OK, you guys win'

The 2028 Olympics will be privately funded, according to LA28, and the Los Angeles Times reported LA28 leaders project the Games will cost more than $7.1 billion.

LA28 told USA TODAY Sports the revenue goal for ticketing and hospitality (On Location packages) is $2.5 billion -- "an important part of delivering a fiscally responsible Games.'' 

Offered Sadler, "If the intent is to raise money and there is demand for a $2,400 gymnastics ticket, OK, you guys win. But I don’t see how that’s reflecting what the Olympics are all about."

Up to 14 million tickets will be available for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, according to the IOC, which on its website states, “There is a wide range of prices catering to all types of fans, with entry point ($28) Olympic tickets available.’’

LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover has promised more $28 tickets.. Most tickets cost over $100, with premium seats topping $5,500, according to MSN, which reported Hoover defended the pricing, while saying the “average ticket price is under $200” and calling it “accessible.”

Mark Adams, Communications Director for the IOC, said nearly half of the tickets are less than $200; more than 75 percent of tickets, including for finals, will be less than $400; and only roughly 5% of all tickets will cost more than $1,000.