Kenneth Mejia says LA28 left a required list of contracts out of a budget report, in a rare use of subpoena power that has turned the 2028 Games into the city’s most athletic paperwork dispute
Going For Gold, Asking For Receipts
CITY HALL. Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia has subpoenaed the LA28 Olympics organizing committee for documents detailing its finances, contracts and venue construction budgets, according to LAist’s report on the city controller subpoenaing LA28. Mejia’s office says LA28 left a detailed list of contracts out of a recent budget report to the city, even though the Games Agreement requires their disclosure, including the name, type, amount, term and purpose of each contract worth more than 1 million dollars, plus updates on venue improvement schedules and budgets. The controller sent a request in August, and his office says LA28 still has not met its obligations. LA28 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The dispute introduces a new event to the Olympic programme: the municipal paperwork relay, in which a city that would be on the hook for cost overruns attempts to obtain documents from the organisation spending the money.
The Backstop
According to LAist, the city is the financial backstop for the Games and would cover cost overruns if LA28 does not turn a profit. For Angelenos, this arrangement resembles agreeing to cover a friend’s restaurant bill without being allowed to see the menu. A Silver Lake accountant summarised the situation. If I am guaranteeing your debts, she said, I want to see your spending. That is not politics. That is basic accounting. My nephew borrowed fifty dollars from me last year. I asked what it was for. He told me. Concert tickets. That is transparency. LA28 should be at least as transparent as my nephew.
Mejia’s office says it found the requested financial documents either incomplete or wholly absent in the city’s files, a phrase that Los Angeles residents who have searched for paperwork at the DMV will find painfully familiar.
A Rare Event
Subpoenas from city controllers are rare. Former controller Ron Galperin said he issued only one during his time in office. The controller’s office says the city attorney’s office supports the subpoena. Mejia, known for his use of social media and data dashboards, has built a reputation for publishing detailed information about city spending, and his office’s interest in Olympic finances fits that pattern.
A political consultant in Echo Park said the subpoena was a significant moment. Subpoenas are the nuclear option of local government, he said. Most officials prefer polite letters, then slightly less polite letters, then a meeting, then a press release. Going straight to a subpoena after a few months says the controller is serious. It is like skipping the warm-up laps and going straight to the sprint.
The Negotiating Position
Chief Legislative Analyst Sharon Tso, a top city negotiator, said the city had seen some LA28 contracts but lacked hard copies, partly over concerns that public release could harm sponsor negotiations. Tso said the city was still waiting on LA28’s response to its own request. The concern about sponsor negotiations reflects the commercial reality of modern Olympics, which depend heavily on corporate partners who may not want contract terms made public.
An Olympic historian at a Southern California university said tension between transparency and commercial confidentiality was nothing new. Every Olympics involves enormous sums, private deals and public guarantees, she said. Host cities always want to know what they are guaranteeing. Organisers always want flexibility. The difference in Los Angeles is that the controller has a big social media following and a habit of posting spreadsheets. LA28 may not be used to an audience that wants to read the spreadsheets.
The 1984 Precedent
Los Angeles has a famous Olympic financial history. The 1984 Games, organised by Peter Ueberroth, made a surplus, thanks to private funding, existing venues and aggressive corporate sponsorship. It is often cited as a model for how to host the Games without bankrupting a city. LA28 has promised a similarly low-cost approach, relying heavily on existing venues. The controller’s subpoena suggests that the city wants to verify that promise in writing.
The Angeleno View
Angelenos are broadly excited about the 2028 Games and broadly suspicious about how they will be paid for, a combination that is entirely typical for any Olympic host city. A Koreatown restaurant owner said he was looking forward to the tourists. Millions of visitors, he said. Every one of them will be hungry. I will be ready. But if the city has to pay for overruns, then I am paying for overruns, through taxes. So yes, show the contracts. I show the health inspector my kitchen. LA28 can show the controller their spreadsheets.
A Venice Beach surfer offered a more relaxed view. The Olympics are a party, he said. Parties cost money. Somebody always loses the receipts. It is fine. As long as there is surfing, I am happy. Asked whether he understood that the city might cover overruns, he paused. Wait, he said. The city? Like, us? He thought for a moment. Okay, he said. Show the receipts.
What Happens Next
The subpoena raises the prospect of a legal and political fight between the city and its Olympic partner, though both sides have strong incentives to resolve it. The mayor’s office had not commented at the time of publication. The Games are less than two years away, and public confidence in the event depends partly on trust that its finances are sound.
The Last Word
Outside City Hall on Friday afternoon, a group of tourists posed for photos with the building behind them, unaware of the dispute unfolding inside. A local tour guide watched them and smiled. In 2028, the world will come to Los Angeles, he said. They will see the stadiums, the beaches, the stars. They will not see the paperwork. That is how it should be. But somebody in that building needs to see the paperwork. Otherwise the gold medal goes to whoever is best at hiding receipts.