When the Santa Monica City Council bounced around ideas about hosting the beach volleyball tournament for the 2028 Summer Olympics, one image sparked immense imaginative appeal—the Olympic rings displayed on the Ferris wheel at the Santa Monica Pier.

“The Eiffel Tower will have nothing on the pier, I guarantee you,” said Councilmember Gleam Davis on Tuesday night. “Having the beach volleyball venue [in the birthplace of the sport] with the iconic Santa Monica pier behind it, with the rings on the solar wheel, will be a shot that will be in the top five of Instagram for a very long time.”

The council directed city staff to continue negotiations with LA28, the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, regarding the proposed Games Agreement. As the first of four formal contracts, the Games Agreement would provide a framework for more elaborate contracts while also securing the city as a venue site. It will require a final vote at a future city council meeting.

If Santa Monica agrees to host the event, the city will use the beachfront and parking lot just north of the pier, providing space for a temporary 12,000-seat stadium. From July 14-30, 2028, over 30 ticketed events are estimated to draw 450,000 attendees. Approximately 700,000 total visitors to Santa Monica include an estimated 642,000 day trip visitors and 59,000 overnight visitors.

The price tag is high, as the city is projected to incur a net loss of roughly $12.1 million if it chooses to host the event. These projections assume that LA28 will reimburse Santa Monica for lost revenues, but this reimbursement hinges on LA28 achieving a financial surplus.

Exact terms and details of the agreement remain ambiguous at this time, though several council members, including Jesse Zwick, asked for clarification regarding the potential for negotiation while also expressing concern about asking businesses on the pier to curtail their operations due to enhanced security measures.

“The Department of Homeland Security and Secret Service would be determining what safety measures are needed for the venue,” said Melissa Spagnuolo, Santa Monica’s Community Partnerships Manager. “Since that has yet to be determined, we don’t know if they’ll allow the pier to operate fully.”

Other council members sounded the alarm about responsible financial stewardship at a time when the city’s Public Works Department is already stretched thin, requesting an agreement that includes tangible community benefits, additional community outreach, and clarity regarding financial implications for residents and businesses.

Though Councilmember Caroline Torosis supports the event being held in Santa Monica, she also cited a 2020 study from the University of Oxford that the average cost to run the Olympics is generally 172 percent over budget. “I don’t want to go into this with rose-colored glasses,” she said. “I want to go into this with eyes wide open that we probably will not get the $12 million back.”

“We are operating at a bare minimum with our Public Works Department, so [it’s odd] to think that we’re going to be able to go and hire more people and keep clean beaches and streets and parks at a higher occupancy rate,” she continued. She also noted that she fields complaints from residents who are concerned that public libraries have not reopened and streets are not being paved. “We are still struggling as a city to return to basic levels of services, and we are responsible to our constituents first to make sure that those services are both maintained and expanded on.”

The public commentary regarding this topic appeared evenly divided between those in favor and those against, though a common thread emerged in which residents requested free tickets to the events.

“Even without this stadium, I believe that the pier will be overrun by tourists and that would impact us more than usual,” Jason Vogel said in a written comment submitted before the meeting. “I’d prefer that they not put the stadium there. That makes me a NIMB – Not In My Beach. If we are to put up with this, I agree that we should ask for two tickets per unit.”

Kurt Schwengel highlighted the issues surrounding noise, parking, traffic congestion, and environmental concerns in his written comments.

“What can the Olympic committee do for the neighborhood?” he asks. “I realize they would never ever compensate us financially, so I think the only thing we can ask for is tickets to the events. I think two tickets to each session each day per household would be fair.”

Amid the complex cost-benefit analysis, Councilmember Davis again used evocative imagery to reiterate her persuasive appeal: “There are two photos that people show to establish that they’re in Los Angeles: one of them is the Hollywood sign, and the other is the Santa Monica Pier. The idea of hosting beach volleyball in this beautiful venue in the home of beach volleyball, with the iconic Santa Monica Pier behind it … it’s almost like there’s no other appropriate place to do it.”

Photo by matthew-lejune on Unsplash.com