Organizers of the 2028 Olympics say they want much of the millions of dollars coming in from the games to stay local.
LA28 is aiming to direct 75% of its spending to companies in the Greater LA region, with 25% going to small businesses. More indirect opportunities will also come to the city from large companies and national sporting federations looking to temporarily set up camp during the Olympics.
“We have to lean in and uplift these micro businesses and small businesses,” said Erikk Aldridge, LA28 vice president of impact. He was in Inglewood for a small business panel discussion at COSM on Friday.
Those targets aren’t going to be met automatically, said Michèle Turner, the associate vice president of USC’s Office of Business Opportunity.
“As big as this region is, it’s hard to find these businesses,” Turner told The LA Local. “These next two years — 820-some-odd days — are going to be crazy.”
If you have a small business and want to get in on some of the LA28 action, here’s where local business leaders say to start.
Register for RAMP LA and Compete4LA
Contract opportunities could be posted on a range of platforms.
RAMP, a contract marketplace run by the city of Los Angeles, will be the core platform for contracts from LA28 organizers, according to John Reamer, LA’s Bureau of Contract Administration director. The platform, as of Friday, is already populated with requests for toilet providers and equestrian course builders.
Ken Billups, a vice president for AECOM, the engineering firm in charge of venue infrastructure, said the company has a handful of facility contracts it plans to post for bids on the platform soon.
Small businesses can also connect with contractors via Compete4LA, a small business database launched Friday by the LA Business Council Institute in conjunction with the city of LA and USC.
Shore up your operation’s resume
Reamer said small businesses will need to prove they are up to the task of Olympic-related work.
“LA28, make no mistake about it, they’re looking for the best,” Reamer said. “These are the Olympics. There are going to be standards and expectations.”
Leila Lee, assistant director of the LA County Department of Economic Opportunity, said small businesses should start now with a few non-Olympic contracts in order to beef up their resumes for the Olympics and longer-term success.
Businesses can also burnish their credentials by applying for a local small business certification from the county or city of LA. Reamer said the city wants to take care of its own.
“There are going to be a number of businesses that come here for the LA28 games that claim to be (local) and they are not,” he said.
Get connected, get trained
Billups, of AECOM, said businesses should take time to assess the market around them, understand how they fit, and build relationships with the people who control the purse strings.
One way to network is through any of the mentorship and training programs run by government agencies and large businesses. The nonprofit Local Initiatives Support Corporation, or LISC, runs a small business accelerator program called Ascend LA.
The LA County Department of Economic Opportunity runs its own program called The APEX Accelerator, which offers workshops, certification and contracting help to small business owners.
