With World Cup in rearview, LA must prepare for the Olympics — or prepare to fail

The World Cup is finally, sadly, over — and now it’s LA’s turn to prepare for the next big international event: 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The city is far from ready. The much-anticipated People Mover at LAX, which was supposed to be ready in time for the World Cup, is still delayed by testing and lawsuits.

The homeless encampments remain a major problem. No one is going to want to walk around a city in which you have to step over sleeping bodies or flee from raving madmen.

The damage from last year’s wildfires is still a major eyesore. The rebuilding effort should be an opportunity to showcase the can-do American spirit. Instead, the slow pace of progress is a grim testimony to LA’s dysfunction.

There have been some positive signs. 

After The California Post raised the question of how LA would pay for cost overruns, the city reached a deal with the LA28 organizing committee. 

That will protect taxpayers from a fiscal burden that could have stretched far into the future, long after the athletes and spectators had gone home.

The city has also shelved some of its differences with the Trump administration, and both are working together.

But more needs to be done. And a good place to start would be with the lessons of the World Cup.

What worked best was allowing ordinary people to share in the economic opportunities of a big international event.

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Social media channels were filled with excited videos of tourists hanging out in diners or trying on cowboy boots.

They were looking for an authentic American experience. They found it — and more: They met real Americans, far from the stadiums and hotels.

The 2028 Olympics should spread its venues around as widely as possible, to showcase all of Southern California’s charm.

And since fewer spectators typically travel for the Olympics than for the World Cup, LA needs to make itself as attractive — and affordable — a destination as possible.

Hold off on tax hikes and minimum wage boosts. Bigger crowds are good for everybody.

The worst thing about the World Cup was the ticket prices.

Sure, you could find $140 cheap seats in the nosebleed section of distant stadiums in group stage matches that didn’t really matter.

But the prices for most of the matches were exorbitant.

The 2028 Olympics risk the same mistake. Already, there are complaints about $5,000 tickets being the only ones available.

Add seats to the venues. Create more “fan zones.” Do whatever it takes to allow as many people as possible to enjoy the magic of the Games.

Two years is not a long time. But it’s still enough time to make the 2028 Games the best.