Santa Monica is lining up at least a dozen national hospitality houses for the 2028 Olympics, positioning the city as a beachfront gathering point for delegations, athletes and fans even though it won't host any competition venues.
Club France and House of Switzerland are the first two confirmed. The city's newsletter, published Tuesday, Sept. 22, said many more national teams are in talks with the city, describing Santa Monica as "establishing itself as a hub for hospitality houses during the Games."
The preparations come as a new study released Sept. 15 by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) projects the Games could generate between $20.5 billion and $40.6 billion in economic output across Greater Los Angeles. The study, commissioned by LA28 and conducted by the LAEDC's Institute for Applied Economics, estimates the Games could support 126,000 to 224,000 jobs regionally.
No Santa Monica-specific economic figure has been broken out from those regional totals.
LAEDC President and CEO Stephen Cheung said the projected impact spans jobs, labor income, local businesses, visitor spending and long-term investment, even under conservative assumptions. The study projects $1.6 billion to $4.3 billion in direct visitor spending from an estimated 2 million visitors, and $5.1 billion to $5.9 billion in combined tax revenue. Capital investment is the largest single driver, with about $8.35 billion in transportation, airport and venue projects accelerated in connection with the Games.
No independent review of the study's methodology has been published.
Hospitality houses take shape
The Santa Monica City Council approved license agreements for both houses on May 26. Club France will operate out of the Annenberg Beach House from June 30 through Aug. 4, 2028. House of Switzerland will take over the Camera Obscura building at 1450 Ocean Ave. from June 14 through Sept. 21, 2028.
Switzerland is paying a base license fee of $300,000 for the Camera Obscura, with an option to pay an additional $200,000 to expand into adjacent areas of Palisades Park, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press. The Swiss government has budgeted roughly 5.5 million Swiss francs, about $6.9 million, for its overall Olympic presence. Switzerland has staged a public House of Switzerland at every Olympics since the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.
Susan Cline, Santa Monica assistant city manager, has said the city plans to use the Swiss partnership to build out a permanent park concession at the Camera Obscura site after the Games.
Beach repairs and transit prep
The hospitality push is part of a broader buildup. The city is repairing beaches damaged by Hurricane Marie, which forced the cancellation of the Ocean Way Festival planned for Sept. 26–27. Both the city and promoter Goldenvoice have committed to relaunching the festival in 2027.
The Big Blue Bus logged nearly 11,300 passenger rides to SoFi Stadium during eight FIFA World Cup matches in Inglewood in summer 2026, about 1,400 per game. City Manager Oliver Chi called the service a "resounding success" and a trial run for the Olympics, the Lookout reported.
Mayor Caroline Torosis framed the stakes at her July 24 State of the City address on Main Street. "The events are not the prize," she said. "The city we create because of them is the prize."
Proposals for a café operator at the Camera Obscura site are due Oct. 1, with initial review tentatively set for Oct. 5. The LA28 Olympics officially run July 14–30, 2028.
