LA28 skywriting appears over the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in promotion of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles on March 14, 2026.
Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images for LA28
While the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games are still a ways off, fans are already queuing up for tickets to the dozens of events scheduled around (mostly) Southern California. So far, though, the process and communication to ticket buyers have been littered with rough patches, and that’s to say nothing of the prices themselves.
In an effort to alleviate fears that nearby Californians would be pushed out of the ticketing process altogether, presale access was given to folks with verifiable addresses in a group of Southern California and Oklahoma counties. Those interested in buying tickets to the LA28 Olympics and Paralympics first had to enroll in early registration for the ticket draw (that registration closed last month), then stalk their own email inbox for more information on when they could actually get into a digital queue to formally purchase tickets.
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The process kicked off an initial wave of frustration, as many Olympics fans (including those within California but not residing in Southern California specifically) tried unsuccessfully to register for the early presale window without realizing its geographic limitations. For greater LA locals who had managed to register last month, the only update on the actual window to purchase tickets came last week via a generic “Here’s what to expect from the buying process” email, which included a link to a roughly six-minute FAQ video.
Chief Athlete Officer Janet Evans speaks as LA28 hosts a press conference at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on the eve of Olympic ticket registration in Los Angeles on Jan. 13, 2026.
Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images
Since then, it’s been a whole lot of waiting for a whole lot of folks, and with little communication about what to expect next.
The March 27 email to registrants noted that ticketing windows would open in bunches between March 31 and April 7, giving tranches of fans access to a timed window wherein they could purchase tickets to various events, from early-round matches to medal-winning finales and the opening and closing ceremonies. It’s worth noting that LA28’s own website uses different language, saying the presale window runs from March 31 to April 4 only, not April 7.
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Days after some fans have gotten access and purchased tickets to coveted events, others — like this writer — are still completely in the dark, unsure whether they’ll even be given the chance to buy tickets between now and April 4… or April 7, maybe. Emails notifying some registrants that they have not been successfully selected to participate in this early ticket draw at all have been circulating around for days, but for many others, there has been no communication whatsoever. Instead, the information void is being filled within group chats and on social media as fans ask one another when (or if) they think they’ll be allowed to buy Olympics tickets.
The LA28 Olympic cauldron is lit during a ceremonial lighting at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles on Jan. 13, 2026, ahead of the launch of ticket registration for the 2028 Olympic Games.
Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images
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Even those select people let into the early ticket draw have experienced headaches. Southern California-based KNX News 97.1 FM posted a video on X in which an employee (one of the only people in the newsroom to even be given the chance to buy tickets) encountered repeated error messages during the buying window. Eventually, the employee reached out to LA28 directly via social media to help resolve the issue. The California Post, the new West Coast arm of the New York Post tabloid, spotted many other users who had turned to social media to lament the error messages they encountered.
What’s more, LA28’s own X account was forced to post about the ordering website’s design, informing fans that the checkout button could be hidden from view unless the page was manually resized by the user.
“We’re excited by the level of interest and enthusiasm in LA28 tickets,” LA 28 told SFGATE via email. “Any issues that have been reported have not been widespread and have been resolved. Fans have a 48-hour window to make their purchases, giving them plenty of time to shop. At any point in time, fans who experience technical difficulty can reach us on our support channel to help facilitate a smooth experience.”
The countdown clock shows 889 days to the opening ceremony of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
RvS.Media/Robert Hradil/Getty Images
As for the tickets themselves, many fans have been struck by the high cost, particularly for in-demand events. While the LA28 organization previously announced plans to sell 1 million tickets (of a total 14 million across the entire Games) at just $28, many of the other seats have gone for substantially more, plus service fees. Some tickets for the opening ceremony are going for as high as $5,519.34 per seat, and LA28 officials have said that future tickets could be subject to dynamic pricing, meaning they’d bump up in cost based on demand. There’s also expected to be a robust resale market for Olympics tickets coming in 2027, with no cap on the possible cost.
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There are reportedly 5 million people from around the world who are already registered to potentially purchase tickets for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the general presale process beginning for non-Southern California (and Oklahoma) residents on April 9. However, early social media rumors have suggested that some prime events, like men’s basketball, may already be sold out, though LA28 officials have said that future batches of tickets could be released for some events in later ticket draws.
The LA28 Olympic cauldron is lit during a ceremonial lighting at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles on Jan. 13, 2026, ahead of the launch of ticket registration for the 2028 Olympic Games.
Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images
In all, selected fans with access to the ticket-buying portal are given a 48-hour window in which to begin purchasing tickets. Once begun, buyers have a 30-minute window to complete all transactions, buying up to 12 total tickets in that time. The purchases aren’t for specific seats, however; they’re only for sections of arenas and stadiums that have been bundled together by price. Further refinement into specific seats is still to come — if you can even get in, that is.
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“This whole thing felt like a total scam, as it always does,” posted one Reddit user in the r/olympic subreddit this week.