It's official: LA awarded 2028 Olympic, Paralympic Games

The International Olympic Committee has made it official.

Los Angeles will host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The IOC voted unanimously Wednesday in Lima Peru to award the 2024 Games to Paris and a third Los Angeles Olympics four years later.

The vote caps an unlikely quest to return the Games to Southern California after Los Angeles was initially rejected by the U.S. Olympic Committee and then re-entered the race to land the 2024 Olympics as a longshot against a four-city field with Paris a heavy favorite.

But there has been a sense of inevitability that Los Angeles would land at least the 2028 Games since IOC president Thomas Bach first acknowledged publicly in March that he was open to awarding both the 2024 and 2028 Olympics this year.

When the IOC voted unanimously in July to approve the first joint awarding since 1921, all that was left was for Los Angeles and Paris officials to work out a tripartite agreement on which city would host which Games.

The Los Angeles City Council in August agreed to terms reached by LA 2028, the IOC and USOC in which LA 2028 will receive at least $2 billion from the IOC, up from $1.7 billion had the city hosted the 2024 Games, and the largest payout ever to an Olympic host city. Los Angeles also will receive the IOC’s 20 percent share of the 2028 Games surplus. With the deal, LA 2028 will receive 80 percent of those Olympics’ surplus. LA 2028 initially projected a $166.1 million surplus in 2015 documents, an estimate considered conservative by several longtime Olympic bid analysts.

The IOC also agreed to provide LA 2028 a $180 million advance, to be paid out in 20 quarterly $9 million payments beginning Jan. 1. This marks the first time the IOC has provided a host city an advance. LA 2028 will use as much as $160 million to fund youth sports programs through Los Angeles Parks and Recreation starting next year.

The IOC also agreed to concessions that will result in $67 million in applied cost savings, and $39 million in in-kind services.

Wednesday’s vote took place with a finalized budget for the 2028 Games still months away. LA 2028 expects to have a finalized budget in the first quarter of 2018, an LA 2028 official said. It could be 18 months before that budget is validated by the accounting firm KPMG in city council mandated analysis that will be paid for by LA 2028.

KPMG validated a balanced $5.3 billion budget for the 2024 bid last year.

A memorandum of understanding between the city, the USOC and Los Angeles 2028, the local organizing committee, requires LA 2028 to establish an Allocated Contingency account of $270 million, up from $250 million under the MOU for the 2024 Games.

LA 2028 plans to set aside $487.6 million for contingencies

Paris (1900, 1924) and Los Angeles (1932, 1984) become the second and third cities to host three Olympic Games, joining London (1908, 1948, 2012).

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LA 2028 and city officials pitched a Games plan that they said would transform the Olympic movement and provide a model for future 21st century host cities. The bid emphasizes Los Angeles’ proximity to the heart of the entertainment and technology interests, the region’s wealth of world-class venues and billions in already approved infrastructure projects.

The federal government has agreed to cover security costs for the Games that could exceed $2 billion.

The 2028 Games will revolve around four sports parks -- downtown, the Valley, South Bay and Long Beach. The Coliseum and a $2.6 billion NFL stadium being built in Inglewood will jointly host the opening ceremony. Honda Center will host the indoor volleyball competition. UCLA will host the Olympic Village.

The joint award comes at a time of crisis for the IOC. Current or former IOC members are under investigation or facing trial on corruption charges on at least three continents.