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Long Beach council receives 2028 Olympics strategic roadmap, outlines milestones and legacy goals
Summary
Council received a strategic roadmap for Long Beach’s role in the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games; plan sets milestones, legacy investments and community advisory groups and schedules further community engagement.
The Long Beach City Council on Feb. 4 received a strategic roadmap that lays out the city’s preparations for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, including phased milestones, an infrastructure investment plan and a community advisory structure aimed at producing lasting local benefits.
City Manager Tom Modica and staff described the roadmap as a multi-year plan developed with KPMG and other consultants to align city services, public-safety planning, transportation and legacy investments with LA28’s staging. Mayor Rex Richardson said Long Beach would be one of the largest venue cities outside Los Angeles and urged citywide participation.
The roadmap structures work in four phases: foundation (ongoing), implementation (2025–2027), testing and delivery (2027–2028) and dissolution and legacy (2028–2029). Staff cited milestone targets including finalizing normal-and-customary services with LA28 by October 2025 and signing an enhanced municipal-resources master agreement by October 2026. Volunteer recruitment and ticket sales are expected to ramp in 2026. The Olympic Games are scheduled to open in July 2028, with Paralympics in August 2028.
The plan references Elevate ’28, a broader infrastructure investment strategy that the council expanded in the FY2025 budget. Staff told the council that Elevate ’28 totals approximately $930 million and that roughly $210 million is earmarked for Olympic legacy projects such as mobility and waterfront improvements.
City staff said the roadmap prioritizes six objectives — maximizing cost recovery for municipal services, building equitable legacy benefits (arts, small business, youth sports), prioritizing public safety, managing operations and transportation, and ensuring sustainability and equitable access. Staff also described recently announced community advisory group co-chairs who will lead work on arts and culture, workforce and small-business inclusion, and youth sports.
Public speakers welcomed the planning but urged earlier, district-level outreach where events will affect residents directly. Lloyd Fox, a resident near Marine Stadium, asked that resident-focused communication start now rather than the June 2027 newsletter schedule cited in the roadmap, saying homes and local access near Marine Stadium would be heavily affected.
Council members and staff agreed to widen engagement beyond topical advisory groups to include geographically focused outreach and to coordinate district-level activations, volunteer efforts and youth programming. The council voted to receive and file the roadmap. Council members said Long Beach is well-positioned among venue cities but that implementation will require sustained engagement and coordination across departments and with communities.
Why it matters: The roadmap sets local timelines and funding priorities for an event that will draw large numbers of visitors and regional transit flows. Staff framed the roadmap as the basis for subsequent agreements with LA28, volunteer planning, vendor procurement and infrastructure spending decisions that will shape the city’s long-term physical and programmatic legacy.
