New projections put the average ticket price for the Olympics opening ceremonies—if the 2024 games are held in Los Angeles—in excess of $1,700.
According to documents released by the Olympics bid committee, popular events, including the gymnastics finals, would average a lower but still hefty price of $250 to $450 per ticket, reports the Los Angeles Times.
If LA is chosen, the opening ceremonies would be held at both the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Los Angeles Rams stadium, which is under construction right now. Tickets to that event would be in the range of Super Bowl or NBA Finals tickets, which most recently averaged from $1,500 to $4,000, the Times says.
One of the big selling points of LA’s bid for the 2024 Games is that the city has a good crop of preexisting venues (such as the Coliseum and the StubHub Center) that could be used to host events, avoiding a costly pre-games construction spree.
Still, the LA games have a $5.3-billion budget, and “organizers would seek to offset” that by offering some expensive tickets to the most sought-after events, says the Times.
In defense of the big-ticket prices, an LA 2024 committee member told the Times that, “The ticket prices are based on London 2012 prices.” He went on to note that, “With more than 10 million tickets available at a variety of prices, all Angelenos will be able to afford tickets to the Games.”
Some of events expected to offer more affordably priced tickets include the first rounds of rugby and shooting, for around $34 a ticket.
The LA committee is basing its ticket sales estimate on London Olympics attendance, and it expects to sell 97 percent of its available seats.
Los Angeles and two other cities—Paris and Budapest—are still in the running for the 2024 Summer Games. The International Olympic Committee will announce the winning city later this year.
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