Though it didn’t win its bid to host a sport in the 2028 Summer Games, the City Council doesn’t want Huntington Beach or its businesses to miss out on the financial windfall that the world’s premier sporting festival can bring.
The council has asked city staffers to game out several revenue-generating ideas, including using city-owned facilities as practice venues, specifically for events such as surfing and skateboarding, and making Surf City a “satellite location” for media coverage and live broadcasts of other competitions.
Councilmember Casey McKeon said the initiative is about creating an opportunity for the city “to capitalize on the draw” and tourism of the LA28 games.
“I know there was some heartburn that we didn’t land the surfing or volleyball in the Olympic Games,” he said. “But with those come a lot of heavy expenses for the city that don’t always translate to long-term lasting improvements.”
Huntington Beach had lobbied for years to host Olympic surfing, pitching its history of organizing large international competitions, as well as its trailblazing surf shops and ample infrastructure and hotel space to accommodate an influx of tourists. But in April, the International Olympic Committee chose Lower Trestles, south of San Clemente, as the surfing venue at LA28.
Beach volleyball went to Long Beach and skateboarding went to the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area in the San Fernando Valley.
Councilmembers also want the city to look into holding Olympic-related community events, such as beachside viewing parties, youth sports clinics and fan zones, in partnership with organizations such as USA Surfing or USA Skateboarding. Another idea is coordinating with Olympic delegations about establishing “base-of-operations or community engagement sites” in Huntington Beach, which could generate tourism revenue for restaurants, bars and resorts.
McKeon said the city will work with Visit Huntington Beach, the local tourism bureau, to develop a policy to “streamline the process” for organizing Olympic-related activities, such as expediting permitting applications and fact-tracking the approval of public facilities for training uses.
Amory Hanson, a historian and former City Council candidate, liked the council’s efforts and suggested that the city create a host commission to oversee the programming.
And, organizing Olympic-related events, he said, would allow Huntington Beach to “demonstrate its ability to host sports for future Olympics.”