A Goldman M&A Banker Helped Bring the Olympics to Los Angeles

Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal of Bloomberg's Odd Lots podcast recently sat down with Gene Sykes, a Goldman Sachs partner and the President of the US Olympic Committee, at the Future Proof conference in Huntington Beach. Their wide-ranging conversation covered the intricate economics behind hosting the Olympic Games, the evolving landscape of media, and the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on dealmaking.

The Scale and Economics of the Olympic Games

Sykes provided a fascinating look into the sheer scale of the Olympic Games, contrasting it with other major sporting events like the World Cup. He highlighted that while the World Cup had 104 matches and 600 athletes across 16 stadiums, the Olympics will feature 17,000 athletes, 900 separate medal events, and sell 15 million tickets. This dwarfs the World Cup's 6.5 million tickets, underscoring the significantly larger and more complex nature of the Olympics.

One of the most striking revelations was the funding model for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Sykes clarified that these games are "privately funded," meaning there is no government support for putting on the games themselves, with the exception of federal government involvement in security and related logistics. This is made possible by Los Angeles's existing world-class sports infrastructure, which means they don't need to build new stadiums or an athletes' village. UCLA's existing residences, for example, can house all the athletes. This approach significantly reduces costs and logistical hurdles, making it an ideal setting for the games.