LOS ANGELES, September 23, 2026 – In an overcrowded print shop located on Crenshaw Boulevard, Carlos Gutierrez touches the new stack of promotional banners. This man has been running the shop for fifteen years; he has survived numerous minimum wage raises, shipping difficulties, and the closures during the pandemic. With the whole world moving to Southern California in two years, he asks the same question as all the other owners of businesses in the area: will I see any money from this mega-event?
It’s a valid skepticism. Historically, Olympic host cities promise local windfalls and deliver corporate mega-contracts.
However, the figures that can be seen in terms of the economy for the LA28 Olympics and Paralympics Games are quite surprising even for the most cynical people. As per an economic impact assessment carried out by spatial economics experts, the overall output from the games can be up to $40 billion.
That isn’t pocket change.
According to the International Olympic Committee, this economic burden not only involves hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs, but also yields billions of dollars in labor earnings. Since the organizing committee is planning to use all of the existing venues such as the Rose Bowl, LA Coliseum, and SoFi Stadium, there’s no question of pouring millions of dollars into some white elephant venues. Instead, money will be poured into logistics and procurement operations.
“This study shows the tremendous opportunity we have to support jobs, open doors for local businesses, and drive investments that strengthen communities across Los Angeles. We’re focused on making the most of this moment and building a legacy that benefits Angelenos for generations to come,” said Reynold Hoover, CEO of LA28
And this matters because small businesses form the actual backbone of Southern California’s employment landscape.
In order to narrow the divide between the local vendors and the large-scale procurement for the event, business portals have been established in order to make it easy. Local businesses such as T-shirt printers and production companies are being encouraged to sign up early. But certification and insurance procedures for the municipal corporation are no piece of cake for a team of only five people.
Here’s where opinions become extremely different in this city. The optimists say that the event will give employment to thousands of people in the form of temporary jobs and vendor deals. The pessimists, however, believe that the cumbersome bureaucracy will help only the corporations who know how to use the system of procurement.
“You could have a scenario where no L.A. business does any business with LA28,” said Marqueece Harris-Dawson, L.A. City Council President.
No one would think that the Games would provide a miracle cure for L.A.’s historic economic inequalities within the blink of an eye. Yet, if local politicians keep their word and ensure that contract money finds its way into the hands of neighborhood business owners, L.A. might succeed in creating something much more remarkable than an Olympic world record.
