One of the last remaining events to disallow corporate-named venues has finally caved.
The 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles will be the first Olympic and Paralympic Games to allow venue naming rights during the games. Announced this morning, the pilot program allows certain partner names to appear on competition venues during Los Angeles 2028, with the first two announced as the Comcast Squash Center at Universal Studios and the Honda Center in Anaheim.
“From the moment we submitted our bid, LA28 committed to reimagining what’s possible for the Games,” said LA28 Chairperson and President, Casey Wasserman. “Today’s historic announcement delivers on that promise, creating the first-ever venue naming rights program in Olympic and Paralympic history while advancing LA28’s mission of a fully privately funded and no-new-build Games.”
The change contrasts with the longstanding IOC “clean venue” practice, where buildings with already existing corporate names were temporarily renamed to use generic labels during the Games. Past examples include Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Olympics, when General Motors Place became “Canada Hockey Place,” in 2002, Salt Lake City used “Salt Lake Ice Center” for events at the Delta Center. For the Summer Games, London 2012 listed The O2 Arena as “North Greenwich Arena.” Most recently, during the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Accor Arena operated under the “Bercy Arena” banner.
Under the LA28 program, qualifying partners can keep existing venue naming rights during the Games. Naming rights for up to 19 temporary venues will also be available to Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partners and LA28 partners; “clean-venue” rules will continue to apply for non-participating sites.
Comcast Squash Center at Universal Studios will host squash’s Olympic debut on Courthouse Square, a working backlot set that will stage the sport’s first Olympic appearance; Honda Center in Anaheim will host Olympic volleyball and become the first arena to retain its existing corporate name during an Olympic Games.
“We’re honoured to work with LA28 to help bring the most spectacular summer Olympic and Paralympic Games to the U.S. for the first time in more than 30 years,” said Jennifer Khoury, Chief Communications Officer, Comcast Corporation.
“As a Founding Partner of LA28, Honda is immensely proud that a world-class sports and entertainment venue like Honda Center will step onto the international stage to power Olympic dreams at the highest level,” said Ed Beadle, Vice President of Digital Services & Marketing, American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Additional naming-rights partners are expected to be announced as we get closer to the opening of the 2028 Summer Olympics on July 14, 2028.
