By Jorge Casuso
April 16, 2025 -- One week after Santa Monica failed to reach a deal with the organizing committee for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games, the City of Long Beach eagerly embraced the chance to host beach volleyball.
By accepting to add six events to the existing five it originally agreed to host, Long Beach stood in stark contrast to Santa Monica, whose City Council took a cautious approach ("Santa Monica Won't Host Beach Volleyball at 2028 Olympic Games," April 8, 2025).
“Long Beach is now confirmed to serve as a premier waterfront venue for the 2028 Games,” Mayor Rex Richardson said in a statement shortly after LA28 announced its decision Tuesday.
“We are thrilled and honored to welcome the world to our coastline," Richardson said. "This presents a generational economic opportunity for our city.”
Unlike Santa Monica, which City officials said engaged in "good faith efforts" to bring the Olympic Games to the city, Long Beach rushed into negotiations with LA28 and by May 14 of last year had entered into an agreement approved 7 to 0 by the Council.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for our city to shine as a global tourism destination and leave a lasting legacy for our community," Richardson said at the time.
One year later, residents and the local press have been increasingly concerned about some of the same issues raised 25 miles north in Santa Monica, where the parties failed to agree to terms "around community benefits, operational details and financial guarantees."
After a February 4 Council meeting where officials unveiled a new Strategic Roadmap to prepare for the Olympics, Long Beach Local News worried that "while the city’s enthusiasm for the Games is undeniable, the road to readiness remains uncertain."
In stark contrast to Santa Monica, which set aside a stretch of beach for the Olympic volleyball matches, the Long Beach Council approved an Infrastructure Investment Plan a year ago that includes more than $187 million dedicated to 2028 Olympic Legacy projects.
Long Beach Local News noted that "there are few concrete details about what these investments will entail and whether they will be completed in time."
“We hear a lot about ‘legacy projects,'" one longtime resident said after the meeting, "but we need more transparency on how these improvements will benefit residents beyond the Games.”
According to the news outlet, residents "have voiced concerns about the city’s ability to handle the influx of visitors, the strain on public services, and the long-term impact of Olympic-related development."
The standard agreement unanimously approved by the Long Beach Council a year ago was rejected by its counterpart in Santa Monica last October because it failed to spell out "potential financial and legal risks."
It also didn't outline the scope of services -- including security -- the City would have to provide or the level of reimbursement for those services ("Santa Monica to Continue Olympic Negotiations," October 9, 2024).
At the October 8 meeting, Mayor Phil Brock said he "desperately" wanted to host the Olympics but worried that "you sign something, and you have no idea what you're signing, how much you will be reimbursed, how much this will cost."
"If someone were to ask you to do this on the street, you would walk away and laugh at them," Brock said. "I want the Olympics here, but all those are big ifs."
An opinion column headline that ran in the Press-Telegram last week asked, "How badly will taxpayers be fleeced to prop up the 2028 Olympics?"
The piece noted that "the city of Santa Monica proudly claims the title of 'birthplace of competitive beach volleyball' but will not host Olympic beach volleyball in 2028."
"It sure looks like LA28 is trying to throw a party while shifting massive costs to the taxpayers," wrote opinion columnist Susan Shelley. "Congratulations to the cities that don't fall for it."
