Anticipation is already electric for the LA28 Summer Olympics in a city long starved for an Olympic homecoming. Indeed, the last time Los Angeles hosted an Olympic Games was way back in 1984, and it featured 83 U.S. Olympians who won gold and even achieved a record for winning the most medals as the host nation, i.e., 174. So, ahead of the ticket sales, the LA28 organizers offered an advantage to the 4.6 million Americans living at the heart of the action.

As reported by NBC Los Angeles, people in Los Angeles and Oklahoma City have been given a privileged first step to secure a seat at a historic event. The Locals Presale, which will be an exclusive early-access window running from April 2 through April 6, 2026, is dedicated solely to residents of two areas.

To be eligible, a fan must register for the LA28 Ticket Draw by March 18 using a billing postal code located in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, or Ventura counties in California. A similar offer stands for Oklahomans in Canadian, Cleveland, and Oklahoma counties. Registration, which opened globally today, January 14, is the mandatory first step for anyone hoping to purchase tickets.

Talking about this initiative, Casey Wasserman, the chairman of LA 2028, said, “These Games belong to everyone. These Games have to be affordable and inclusive.”

There will be a massive range of ticket options that will be available to the public. Numerically, at least one million tickets will sell for $28. And there will be a third of all tickets that will sell under $100, potentially showcasing premium hospitality experiences. These affordable LA28 Olympics tickets come after the controversy that another major competition that will be hosted in the US caused.

The LA28 Olympics really avoided the fire from the fans

The Locals Presale initiative for the LA28 Olympics just showcased how much the organizers actually care about the local audience. However, this formula was something that FIFA missed out on, causing a major controversy among soccer fans in the US ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Even the newly elected mayor of one of the tournament’s host cities, Zohran Mamdani, joined the critics and became the voice of many New Yorkers who have stood against these soaring FIFA World Cup ticket prices.

“New York City is the most expensive city in the United States of America,” he said.

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“People are so excited about the World Cup. But when you look at the ticket prices being charged for these games and the fact that FIFA is going to be using dynamic pricing, which means that when you enter into that website to purchase your ticket, by the time you actually get out of it, it might be a different price.”

The NYC mayor also posed a question, asking, “I saw that there was a stadium in the U.S. charging $195 for parking passes. That’s just to park the car. What are we talking about? Am I gonna see Salt Bae in the parking lot!?”

So, the cheapest ticket to the FIFA World Cup ultimately costs a whopping $4,185. And yes, this pricing varies for nations competing in the event. For example, tickets for group games involving countries like England start at around $265. This means that a soccer fan must have around $6,900 to see their team reach the final. That is almost five times more than what they would have had to pay at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

New York City is also set to host eight matches, including the final at MetLife Stadium, which makes Mamdani even more cautious. Indeed, such prices can easily drive away the tourism that the city could have seen. It is already driving away the local fanbase, owing to the absurd pricing. So, only time will tell if FIFA will be willing to fix these issues before the tournament enters its early phase.