LA28 Makes Olympic History with Venue Naming Rights As Comcast and Honda Lead the Charge
In a groundbreaking decision, the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games will allow venue naming rights for the first time ever, a decision announced on August 14, 2025. This innovative pilot program aims to boost commercial revenues and has already brought Comcast and Honda onboard as inaugural partners.
Developed in collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), this initiative will enable qualifying LA28 partners to retain existing venue names during the Games while also purchasing additional marketing assets. Up to 19 temporary venues will be available for naming rights to worldwide Olympic partners and LA28 sponsors, while the traditional “clean venue” rules will still apply to non-partner sites.
Comcast will lend its name to the Comcast Squash Centre at Universal Studios, where squash will make its Olympic debut. Meanwhile, the Honda Centre in Anaheim will become the first arena in Olympic history to keep its name during a competition, hosting indoor volleyball events.
“Anytime you’re the first to do something in the context of the Olympics, it’s a big deal,” said LA28 chair Casey Wasserman. “It’s a big opportunity for us and a strong statement of support from the IOC. We believe it will serve as a powerful platform for commercial engagement.”
Wasserman emphasized that these deals represent a “new commercial model” for the Olympic movement, which traditionally enforces strict branding rules, often masking corporate signage at competition venues. The revenue generated from venue naming rights will be in addition to LA28’s ambitious sponsorship revenue target of $2.5 billion, the largest ever for an Olympic Games.
“We’ve been very conservative, so we have none of this revenue in our budget, so any revenue is upside,” he added. “We think it could be significant, providing our branded partners with an exceptional platform to engage with audiences globally.”
From a logistical standpoint, allowing venues like SoFi Stadium and Crypto.com Arena to maintain their names during the Games will assist fans in navigating the city more easily. “As a pure matter of wayfinding, it’s actually an important piece of the puzzle,” Wasserman noted.
Comcast, which holds US broadcast rights through NBC and Peacock, expressed its commitment to supporting LA28 across various platforms, including coverage of the new squash showcase. Honda, named the Games’ automotive sponsor in June, emphasized that the Anaheim venue would “step onto the international stage to power Olympic dreams.”
