Incredible ticket prices and a not-that-surprising hidden cost have stunned fans hoping to secure their seats for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. While tickets for the Olympics have always been on the higher side compared to regular sporting events, the scale of the prices, coupled with hefty service fees, has caught many off guard as the locals-only sale kicked off.
For Lori Rovner, things took a turn for the worse. By the end of it all, Rovner had battled through several “access denied” screens, lost her shopping cart, and even encountered server issues — only to find that additional service fees had significantly inflated the final ticket price.
As per an interview she gave to the LAist, Rovner was waiting eagerly for the locals-only tickets to drop, hoping to get passes for the opening ceremony and more at LA 2028. However, what awaited her instead was a website that defined the word chaos and forced her to go to war with her computer before she could even reach the checkout page.
And then came the service fee. It meant that each ticket carried an additional service fee of about 24% of the ticket price, raising the cost of a $2,100 ticket to about $2,604. And she wasn’t the only one, as fans across Reddit and the internet shared similar experiences, with service charges piling on top of already steep prices for LA 2028.
One Reddit user’s cart for 10 tickets included service fees of $1,038 alone, while others were more stunned by the ticket prices themselves. One fan wrote on Instagram, “The tickets are way more expensive than expected/should be, even before the service fee.”
And to make matters worse, technical problems also plagued the launch of the locals-only sales phase. Now, after the first window, supporters are left feeling shut out, with the dream of attending the Olympics feeling more expensive than ever.
Angelenos slam ticket prices for the LA 2028 Olympics
“I think it’s wild that they also have a “commemorative” ticket that they wanna charge 18 extra dollars for, and it has to be all the tickets not even one. like the least you could do is give me a ticket stub 
pretty sad that this is all so unaffordable,” one fan vented on Instagram.
And the frustration only continued as more reactions poured in online, reflecting a growing sense of anger among fans. That is especially after LA 2028 organizers boasted that at least 1 million tickets were being sold at $28 each (14 million across the entire event). While that is the case, many of the “exciting” seats go for considerably more, plus the service fee, which only adds to the frustration for many.
“Ticket prices are ridiculous. Rather watch on tv,” echoed one fan.
And that is, however, completely understandable, especially given the ticket prices for previous Olympics. While expensive, they have been within reasonable limits. The 2024 Paris Olympic Games, for example, had tickets ranging from $135 to $ 1,059, with the latter being the highest-priced.
That was lower than at the 2012 London Olympics, where the ticket price for the men’s 100m final, the highest-priced event, was nearly $ 1,300 after inflation. American fans, however, did have to spend more than that on travel, accommodation, and other things, essentially making a trip to the 2024 Olympics cost at least $ 5,000.
That price did drop for the 2026 Winter Olympics to around $3,000 for the entire trip, with tickets starting at $36 and going up to $1,600 for the men’s hockey final. But what further frustrated Angelenos was the fact that they simply couldn’t get into the website. Error messages, server issues, and other problems prevented them from accessing the website during their time slot, much like Rovner.
One Instagram user wrote, “What’s ridiculous is the website wouldn’t let us in to our time slot for 45 minutes,” while another echoed their frustration, “They are ridiculously expensive and not even available. It’s a JOKE!!! @la28”.
And as if that isn’t enough, this is only the first block of ticket sales for the LA 2028 Olympics, with many now fearing that upcoming phases and dynamic pricing could push costs even higher.
Not only that, an official resale market is expected to go live closer to the Games, and early reports suggest there may be no strict cap on resale prices, further concerning fans. With millions still expected to enter the general sale phases, how organizers respond could determine whether tensions continue to rise or begin to settle.
