It’s official. Los Angeles will host the Olympic Games in 2028.
Following an agreement to allow Paris to host the 2024 Games, which L.A. had initially had been vying for, Mayor Eric Garcetti stated, “I am proud to announce that the Olympic Games are coming back to the United States of America. The Games in 2028 will give us the seed of a new Olympic legacy, here in Los Angeles, and around the world.”
In 1980, when the city last hosted the Games, there was no train system, but by 2028, one of the most important rail lines that officials hope will make the Games a success, is the Purple Line Subway Extension, which will run from Wilshire and Western all the way through Century City to Westwood.
The line is crucial, because the new terminal at the VA in Westwood will be used to transport attendees to the Olympic venues at UCLA, which will include the Olympic Village and Pauley Pavilion.
Metro officials have long said that they plan to have the line all the way to Westwood completed by 2024. However, in order to meet that deadline, the City needs to ensure that its federal funding for the completion of the line stays on track.
In November 2016, voters approved the Measure M sales tax that will go a long way to speeding up the completion of the line, and federal funding has ensured the completion of Phase 2 to Century City.
However, the City still requires additional federal funding to complete Phase 3, which will take the line to Westwood. That funding was due to be approved in 2018, but is now in jeopardy, with the Trump administration threatening to cut funding for the Department of Transportation’s Capital Investment Grant Program.
Metro Spokesman Dave Sotero said, “We would have to evaluate other options for funding at a later date if that funding doesn’t come through.”
However, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee just passed a spending bill that restored funding for the grant program. If both the House and the Senate sign off on the bill, then Phase 3 will be back on track.
