By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES, Dec 15 (Reuters) - LA28 said on Monday that fans will be able to register starting January 14 for a random ticket draw covering all Olympic sports at the Los Angeles Games with
organizers promising at least 1 million tickets priced at $28.
Registration via the LA28 tickets page will give fans a chance to secure a time slot to purchase tickets in April, with fans who are not selected automatically registered for subsequent ticket drops.
"Every sport starts at $28 and that's not just lip service to a couple tickets in the corner of some venue, but a meaningful number of tickets," said Allison Katz-Mayfield, LA28's senior vice president of Games delivery revenue.
"We're looking at at least a million tickets at $28 and we've got about a third of our tickets under $100."
LA28's announcement comes amid backlash to high ticket prices for next year's FIFA World Cup.
Registration will be open until March 18 and there is no advantage to registering early. No purchase or payment is required to sign up for the draw.
"No matter when you go in, whether you're the first person in or the last person in, you have the same opportunity," Katz-Mayfield said.
She called the draw "the fairest way to ensure that the broadest number of people can get access to tickets and that no one is advantaged or disadvantaged."
She added that the registration process will help ensure the tickets get into the hands of fans and not brokers or bots.
LOCALS BOOSTED
Residents living near Olympic venues who register will also have a chance to obtain slots in a special locals' presale, allowing them to buy before tickets go on sale to the general public.
Paris 2024 sold a record 12 million tickets. LA28's registration puts it a year ahead of the timeline used for those Games, and ticket sales are expected to account for about a third of LA28's overall revenue target.
The ticketing process will be run by LA28's official ticketing service providers AXS and Eventim, and all tickets will be digital.
Tickets for the Paralympic Games will go on sale in 2027.
Officials encouraged fans to sign up to the LA28 newsletter for updates, including further details on the January 14 ticket draw registration launch.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
