The LA28 ticketing process, in other words, is complicated. It\u2019s more akin to the 2026 FIFA World Cup process<\/a> than to anything U.S. sports fans regularly experience. And the following is an attempt to explain it.<\/p>\n How to get 2028 Olympics tickets<\/p>\n There will be multiple routes to the L.A. Olympics. As of mid-January 2026, the known ones are:<\/p>\n Official lotteries: Beginning Wednesday, you can go to Tickets.LA28.org<\/a> and register for the \u201cLA28 Ticket Draw.\u201d After the registration period closes on March 18, organizers will randomly select some applicants for either a \u201clocals presale\u201d or a mid-April sales window. If selected, you\u2019ll get a specific time slot to purchase tickets; if not selected, you\u2019ll automatically be registered for future lotteries.<\/p>\n Subsequent ticket phases: The April 2026 window will not be the only sales phase. The LA28 organizing committee has not announced details or dates of subsequent phases, but said in a news release that \u201cthere will be rolling ticket drops\u201d beginning with the April opportunity.<\/p>\n The resale market: As with most U.S. sporting events, fans will be able to buy and sell 2028 Olympics tickets on resale sites. In fact, LA28 has already promoted<\/a> AXS and Eventim as its \u201cpreferred secondary ticketing provider.\u201d Other platforms could join the network of advertised resale sites in 2026.<\/p>\n Hospitality: Hospitality packages, which include tickets, are not yet on sale but can be reserved with a deposit<\/a>. You can put down either $1,000 (for a standard package) or $10,000 (for a premium suite package), and then, once the packages go on sale, you can either put your deposit toward a purchase or get a refund. And yes, the full prices will likely be higher \u2014 perhaps much higher \u2014 than the $1,000 and $10,000; they\u2019ll vary by offering and event.<\/p>\n Volunteer: If you\u2019d like to be involved in the Olympics and would rather work for free than pay to enjoy the Games as a spectator, you can register your interest in volunteering here<\/a>. The official application process for Games-time volunteer positions will open in the summer of 2026, according to LA28<\/a>.<\/p>\n Local organizations: LA28 says<\/a> that, via donations from local sports teams, philanthropists and other partners, it will hand out tickets to local organizations who\u2019ll distribute those tickets within their communities, presumably for free. It hasn\u2019t yet publicly identified those organizations.<\/p>\n How does the LA28 ticket lottery work?<\/p>\n It begins with the registration period, which opens at 10 a.m. ET\/7 a.m. PT on Wednesday. Then:<\/p>\n LA28 will sort all registered fans into two buckets: \u201clocals\u201d and everyone else. You don\u2019t need to. The earliest applicants don\u2019t get any priority in the random draw. Someone who applies on Jan. 14 has the same odds as someone who applies on Feb. 14 or March 14. You can log on and register anytime before March 18.<\/p>\n Who qualifies for the locals presale?<\/p>\n People from the following California counties are considered locals: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Ventura and San Bernardino.<\/p>\n People from three Oklahoma counties \u2014 Oklahoma, Canadian and Cleveland \u2014 also qualify because softball and canoe slalom will be held in Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n You are \u201cfrom\u201d one of those counties if your billing zip code corresponds with one. You\u2019ll have to enter that zip code when you register. Falsifying your zip code to get priority access \u201cmay result in disqualification from the draw, account suspension, and\/or the voiding of any resulting ticket purchase(s) without refund,\u201d LA28 says<\/a>. One way it will detect false zip codes \u2014 though not necessarily the only way \u2014 is by cross-checking the zip code provided with the billing address tied to a person\u2019s eventual ticket purchase.<\/p>\n \n The LA28 logo at Venice Beach in Los Angeles. California\u2019s largest city will host the Olympics in July 2028, with events throughout the area.<\/p>\n If I win the lottery, what tickets can I buy?<\/p>\n Organizers say that tickets to all sports, plus the opening and closing ceremonies, will be available in April, but there are a few caveats:<\/p>\n They have not said how many tickets will be available. Each person may buy up to 12 tickets in total. That\u2019s the limit in this sales phase and across all sales phases, according to an LA28 spokesperson.<\/p>\n So, if you buy 12 tickets in April, you won\u2019t be eligible for future ticket draws. If, on the other hand, you purchase fewer than 12 tickets (or none at all), you\u2019ll be automatically entered in those future ticket draws.<\/p>\n If you want more than 12 tickets, you\u2019ll likely be able to buy beyond the limit on resale sites.<\/p>\n How much do Olympics tickets cost?<\/p>\n That\u2019s what everyone wants to know. Organizers haven\u2019t released a price list. They have said that the cheapest tickets will be $28; and that 1 million of those $28 tickets will be available in the locals presale. But fans won\u2019t know most prices until March or April (or a later date).<\/p>\n Organizers also say that a third of the roughly 14 million tickets overall will cost less than $100. That, of course, means that a majority of tickets will cost more than $100.<\/p>\n Shana Ferguson, LA28\u2019s chief of sport and Games delivery, said in November<\/a> that the organizing committee has \u201cdone years of studies,\u201d looking into \u201cnot only what the market will bear but what these tickets are really worth.\u201d They\u2019ve used past Olympics as data points, but also \u201cother events in the region,\u201d Ferguson said. That likely means that the 2028 Games will be the most expensive Olympics ever, because U.S. sports prices tend to be significantly higher than in Europe and elsewhere around the world<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Paris, at the 2024 Olympics<\/a>, ticket prices ranged from \u20ac24 ($26 at the time) to \u20ac980 ($1,075).<\/p>\n In Milan, for the 2026 Winter Olympics<\/a>, figure skating prices range from \u20ac280 ($327) in Category C to \u20ac750 ($876) in Category A. A men\u2019s ice hockey ticket costs \u20ac30-190 in the group stage, more in the elimination rounds, and \u20ac450-1,400 for the gold medal final.<\/p>\n \n SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., will host the opening ceremony before converting into the swimming venue in the Olympics\u2019 second week. (Luke Hales \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n Will LA28 use dynamic pricing for Olympics tickets?<\/p>\n They\u2019ve said they won\u2019t within this first sales phase \u2014 meaning the prices on April 2 will remain the prices on April 19 \u2014 but they haven\u2019t ruled out changing prices in the future.<\/p>\n What are the ticket \u201ccategories\u201d?<\/p>\n Olympics tickets, like World Cup tickets, aren\u2019t sold by seat, row and section. They\u2019re sold by category \u2014 typically Category 1, 2, 3 and 4 or Category A, B, C and D. Category 1 or A encompasses the best seats; Category 4 or D is the least desirable. LA28 will likely release color-coded maps of each venue, like FIFA has for the World Cup<\/a>, to show fans where they might be placed if they buy in a given category; they\u2019ll then learn the exact location of their seats much closer to the event.<\/p>\n What if I don\u2019t win the lotteries? Could I also buy tickets on resale sites?<\/p>\n Yes. Sites like StubHub and SeatGeek aren\u2019t listing any 2028 Olympics tickets yet, but eventually, there will be a resale market.<\/p>\n What we don\u2019t yet know is how it will function, whether it will serve all 51 sports and thousands of events, and how high (or low) prices will be.<\/p>\n An LA28 spokesperson told The Athletic that they \u201cwill have more to share on secondary (ticket sales) later this year.\u201d<\/p>\n Can I buy tickets if I live outside L.A., or outside the U.S.?<\/p>\n Yes! Locals are getting priority access, but not exclusive access. Anybody, from any country, can register for the ticket draws.<\/p>\n How will this compare to 2026 World Cup ticket sales?<\/p>\n Well, for one, details are being proactively communicated more than two years prior to the Olympics. FIFA, on the other hand, withheld nearly all World Cup ticketing details until nine months before the tournament<\/a>.<\/p>\n LA28\u2019s head start will allow for longer application windows and less drama. Its process also should be less competitive and controversial. Unlike the World Cup, which is 104 high-profile games of the world\u2019s most popular sport, the Olympics comprise dozens of lower-profile athletes and events, in addition to the stars. And many of the events will be concentrated in Southern California. If you\u2019re eying tickets to the women\u2019s gymnastics all-around final or the opening ceremony, of course, you\u2019ll need some luck and\/or a lot of money; but if you just want tickets to something at the Olympics, getting them shouldn\u2019t be as difficult or maddening as the World Cup lotteries<\/a>.<\/p>\n Do we know the 2028 Olympics schedule yet?<\/p>\n
\nIt will randomly select an undisclosed number of locals and give them an opportunity to purchase tickets from April 2-6.
\nIt will then randomly select another batch of fans \u2014 locals who weren\u2019t chosen for the presale and non-locals \u2014 for ticket-buying time slots from April 9-19.
\nIf selected, you\u2019ll get an email from LA28 between March 31 and April 7 with details.
\nSo I should rush to register on Jan. 14?<\/p>\n![\"LA28\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2170266386-scaled.jpg\")
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\nThe most coveted tickets will likely be bought in the earliest time slots, including in the presale, and might not be available come your time slot.
\n\u201cAll sports\u201d does not mean all matches, sessions and events. The inventory includes tickets to basketball games, for example, but not necessarily tickets to the men\u2019s basketball final. Organizers haven\u2019t released detailed listings.
\nHow many tickets can I buy?<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2242848850-scaled-e1764851088146.jpg\")
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