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CC – ACTION ITEM: (1) Discussion of Terms and, if Desired, Approval of an Agreement with the New Zealand Olympic Committee for Exclusive Use of Town Plaza during the 2028 Olympics for a Hospitality House and Fan Zone; (2) Designation of the New Zealand Hospitality House and Fan Zone as a City-Sponsored Event; and (3) Direction to the City Manager as Deemed Appropriate.
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Meeting Date: September 8, 2025
Contact Person/Dept.: Jesse Mays, Assistant City Manager
Phone Number: City Manager’s Office – (310) 253-6000
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Attachments: Yes [X] No []
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (9/04/2025)
Department Approval: John Nachbar, City Manager (09/02/2025) _____________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council (1) discuss terms of and, if desired, approve an agreement with the New Zealand Olympic Committee for Exclusive Use of Town Plaza during the 2028 Olympics for a Hospitality House and Fan Zone; (2) designation of the New Zealand Hospitality House and Fan Zone as a City-Sponsored Event; and (3) provide other direction to the City Manager as deemed appropriate.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
On April 28, 2025, the City Council directed staff to work with the Olympics Ad Hoc Subcommittee (Mayor O’Brien and Vice Mayor Puza) to negotiate the terms and conditions of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with New Zealand for a Hospitality House and Fan Zone in Town Plaza and return to the City Council for approval. New Zealand provided a draft Term Sheet establishing the broad principles of the potential collaboration. The Olympics Subcommittee reviewed the Term Sheet and requested some modifications, which were accepted by New Zealand. After the meeting of the Subcommittee, New Zealand proposed several additional changes to the draft Term Sheet, which are reflected as red text in the attached Term Sheet (Attachment 1). The Olympic Subcommittee has not had a chance to yet weigh-in on these proposed changes, prior to the posting of the agenda. The Term Sheet is non-binding until the parties agree to enter into a legal binding agreement. If approved by the City Council, staff will negotiate a legally binding agreement (such as a license agreement and/or MOU) based on the terms contained in the Term Sheet.
At the April 28, 2025 City Council meeting, the City Council directed staff to include in the MOU the following:
• Keep the process open to outreach to other countries’ Olympic committees if they want to participate in the event somehow.
• Ensure the cultures represented and the diversity that exists in Culver City could be represented in the programming through Team New Zealand.
• Have the performance space be open for other cultural programming that the City would want to do.
• Potential exploration into open streets.
The proposed term sheet includes the following language that addresses this direction:
• “[The New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC)] would be the National Olympic Committee (NOC) who would lead on activation within the Town Plaza. It is likely NZOC would invite and partner with Oceania NOCs if they had interest as part of the event, in some capacity to be involved. Any other NOC interested would require NZOC and CCC permission to be included in the content. NZOC and Culver City Cultural Affairs will partner on additional programming for Culver City cultural performances and activations at the Town Plaza.”
• The City will be responsible for input and event management support for local content, such as cultural performances.
• The City will be responsible for traffic management, and controlling access to Town Plaza and the Culver Steps for the duration of the event. While the NZOC is not seeking open streets for its event, the City may decide to close adjacent streets as desired.
After the Subcommittee met to discuss the Term Sheet, New Zealand requested a few changes to the Term Sheet. These have not been discussed by the Subcommittee prior to the posting of the agenda. The proposed changes, which are indicated as red-lines in Attachment 1, include:
• The New Zealand Olympic Committee will lead on programming within Town Plaza. The purpose is to allow for the opportunity of other nation’s Olympics committees to do cultural performances or other events, but have the coordination and access managed by New Zealand. New Zealand would also program with other non-Olympic committees, such as the Culver City High School Band, but would emphasize Olympic content by these performers.
• Additional clarification that New Zealand will be responsible for stages, AV setup, microphones, lighting, generators and technical support as needed.
• They have deleted from their list of responsibilities the following items, to narrow the focus of the event scope currently:
o “Establishing areas within the Culver Hotel and Upper Plaza (near the Laurel Grill) for private guests.”
o “Access to invitation only events for the community e.g. New Zealand Film Festival, or concerts.”
o “Access to the Upper Plaza” as a condition of the collaboration.
Outreach to Other Countries
In addition to New Zealand, City staff and the Mayor have discussed the Olympics with representatives from the following 32 countries: Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Belgium, Belize, Canada, Chile, China, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Guinea, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, Paraguay, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Spain, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. During these discussions, the countries were made aware that Culver City would be hosting New Zealand’s hospitality house and that Culver City was open to hosting additional countries. Based on these conversations, and through communications that staff and the Mayor have had with the LA28 Organizing Committee, staff believes it is well known within the international community that New Zealand has been working towards establishing its hospitality house in Culver City, and that Culver City is open to hosting other nations’ hospitality houses. At this time, no other nation has told the City it would like to host a hospitality house in Culver City.
2028 Olympic Games
The 2028 Summer Olympics will be hosted by Los Angeles from July 14 to 30, 2028 marking the city's third time as the Olympic host, following previous Games in 1932 and 1984. This edition of the games emphasizes sustainability and innovation, adhering to a "no-build" approach by utilizing existing venues across Southern California.
Culver City is not a host city in which Olympic events will take place. The nearest venues to Culver City will be SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, and the LA Memorial Coliseum. SoFi stadium will host swimming events and will co-host the opening ceremonies. The LA Memorial Coliseum will host track and field events, co-host the opening ceremonies, and host the closing ceremonies. The Olympics is prohibiting parking at event venues and will rely on spectators taking bus shuttles from remote parking lots around the region. It is yet unknown if Culver City will be asked to support one of the remote parking locations.
Cultural Olympiad
The LA28 Cultural Olympiad is a regionwide arts and culture program that will run in tandem with the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Serving as the artistic counterpart to the Games, the Cultural Olympiad will showcase the region’s diverse creative landscape through a wide array of performances, exhibitions, and educational initiatives. Cultural Affairs staff has been in conversation with regional arts leaders and the City Council 2028 Olympics Ad Hoc Subcommittee about the City’s role and participation in the Cultural Olympiad.
Olympic Hospitality House
An Olympic Hospitality House is a dedicated space established by participating countries, sponsors, or organizations during the Olympic Games to celebrate national culture, support athletes, and engage with fans and international guests. These houses serve as cultural hubs, offering a mix of entertainment, food, live event screenings, and networking opportunities.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, 26 nations had a hospitality house (https://sports.yahoo.com/inside-hospitality-houses-unique-olympic-201934936.html). Each house reflects its country’s unique identity, often showcasing music, cuisine, art, and traditions, while also acting as a home base for athletes, officials, and VIPs. Some hospitality houses are open to the public, while others require invitations. They play a key role in enhancing the spectator experience and fostering cultural exchange during the Olympics.
New Zealand’s Proposed Hospitality House and Fan Zone in Culver City
The New Zealand Olympic Committee has proposed a New Zealand Hospitality House in Culver City during the 2028 Olympics. The event will include a New Zealand themed Fan Zone throughout Town Plaza. A draft site map is attached (Attachment 2). The event would take place throughout the whole of Town Plaza, including The Steps, for the entirety of the Olympic Games (July 14 to July 30, 2028). This includes two weeks and three weekends. Setup would begin approximately seven days before and breakdown would last until two days afterwards. In total, New Zealand would use the space for a total of 4-5 weeks, including setup and breakdown. New Zealand is seeking to secure exclusive use of the Culver Hotel during this period for their partners’ accommodation, meeting, event, and media space.
The Hospitality House and Fan Zone activities would be open and free to the general public (with the exception of a private area for New Zealand Olympic Team supporters at the top of the Steps, and inside the Culver Hotel). Large viewing screens would be installed in the Plaza for public screening of Olympic events. Two renderings of what Town Plaza might look like are attached (Attachment 3). There would be daily programming of events, depending on the competition schedule. Popular Team USA and New Zealand Team events (such as gymnastics, basketball, swimming, athletics and rugby sevens) will result in a larger draw to the Fan Zone. The final competition schedule will be released 12-18 months ahead of the 2028 Olympics, although programming is flexible right up to the days of the events, as different team draws and results change throughout the competition. The stages within the Fan Zone would also be utilized for cultural performances, music and entertainment. The City could also utilize the stages for its own cultural activities. Further, the stages would also host medal ceremonies with New Zealand Team athletes coming to Town Plaza after their competition to celebrate, conduct live interviews, take photos with the community, and share their medals and stories.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee operated a smaller scale New Zealand House in Paris during the 2024 Olympics. During the event, 20,000 people attended 70 events and 27 cultural performances. New Zealand expects there would be many more visitors to the Culver City Hospitality House. Depending on the events taking place, the event could attract several thousand people per day.
Within Town Plaza, one of New Zealand’s ideas is to construct a series of pavilions along the walkways where displays or activities relating to New Zealand culture, tourism and trade, could showcase New Zealand to the wider community. Blending New Zealand’s culture with Culver City, other ideas include a possible New Zealand Film Festival at the Culver Theater or music concerts, blending sport and arts together during the Olympic Games. New Zealand’s intent (in the early conceptual stage) is that food and beverage will be provided by the existing local vendors and businesses. New Zealand has also proposed community activation, outreach and events to take place over the next three years, including partnering with schools and other local organizations. The current description, plans and details of the event are still preliminary and subject to change.
City Sponsorship
To be categorized as a “sponsored” event by the City, an event must meet the criteria set forth in the City Council Policy No. 2502 (Special Event Grant Program), confirming that the City is (a) participating in an official capacity in the planning, preparation or promotion of the event or activity; and (b) contributing 25% of the total estimated costs of the civic event or activity or at least $1,000, whichever is less. This contribution may take the form of funds, labor, staff time, materials, a coverage of fees, or any combination thereof.
The CCMC and Policy require conditions (a) and (b) to be satisfied. Additionally, City Council Policy requires that for an event to be considered a City-Sponsored event, the City Council is required to determine, by specific action, that the above criteria be met. This event would meet the criteria for City Sponsorship because the City will participate in the planning, preparation, and promotion of the event, and will contribute at least $1,000 in direct and in-kind services, as discussed in more detail in the Fiscal Analysis section of this report. As a requirement for event sponsorship, the organizers for the events must identify the City of Culver City as a sponsor of the event in all promotional materials.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
Since details about the event’s specific activities, design, operating hours, and attendance are still preliminary, there is uncertainty about the City’s final costs. Based on what is known at this time, staff estimates that hosting New Zealand’s hospitality house and Fan Zone for 19 days would result in a cost to the City’s General Fund of $717,763
This includes the following estimated costs:
Police Support: $300,000
Fire Support: $190,000
Environmental Programs and Operations $11,346
Public Works Support: $5,000
Finance: $557
IDS (Plaza Management): $13,300
Deposit for Plaza (refundable): $3,000
Reserved Parking at City Lots: $4,560
Fencing Rentals $85,000
Temporary Restrooms $100,000
Temporary Water Facilities $5,000
The City would incur these costs during Fiscal Year 2028-2029, so they would need to be included in that fiscal year’s budget.
Potential Revenue Generation and Cost Savings Opportunities
It is possible that the City’s net costs for the event could be reduced or eliminated through sponsorships and/or donations. The City has not begun to pursue these opportunities so the potential impact is unknown.
Besides sponsorships and/or donations, hosting the New Zealand hospitality house and Fan Zone could increase City tax revenues by an estimated $225,600 and provide an estimated $452,000 in potential cost savings to the City:
Hosting the New Zealand hospitality house might positively impact the City’s sales tax revenues by attracting additional visitors that might not otherwise purchase food, beverages, or other items in Culver City. The City’s large holiday events (Sledtacular and the Drone Show) attract between 2,000-3,000 visitors for an evening event. Using the high end of that range (3,000) over the course of 19 days, approximately 57,000 visits to the Fan Zone are expected. The average daily spend per person for daytrip visitors in Santa Monica in 2024 was estimated to be approximately $40 (https://sportetsociete.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Rapport-HRA-pour-SANTA-MONICA.pdf). Assuming the same daily spend per visitor in Culver City, the estimated spend in Culver City by Fan Zone visitors during the 19 days is $2,280,000. With the passage of the ¼ cent sales tax increase in August 2025, Culver City will receive 2 cents of sales tax for every dollar spent in Culver City. So, the resulting sales tax generated for Culver City would be $45,600. This is an overestimate of the impact of the Fan Zone because it includes visitor spend that would have happened regardless of the Fan Zone taking place.
Hosting the New Zealand hospitality house might positively impact the City’s transient occupancy tax revenues by attracting additional visitors that might not otherwise spend the night in Culver City, and by increasing the average nightly rates. Culver City’s hotels will likely be full during the Olympics regardless of whether the Fan Zone occurs, so it is not anticipated that the Fan Zone will have an impact on TOT generated by hotels. However, TOT generated by short-term rentals may increase due to more people choosing to rent out their homes to New Zealanders or others interested in being near the Fan Zone. During the 2024 Olympics in Paris, short term rental rates were estimated to be 85% higher compared to normal average rates (https://sportetsociete.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Rapport-HRA-pour-SANTA-MONICA.pdf). The City receives approximately $180,000 in revenue from short-term rentals during the month of July. A high estimated impact from the Fan Zone on TOT generated by short-term rentals would be for that amount to double Citywide and yield an additional $180,000.
Under the proposed agreement, New Zealand will be responsible for procurement, installation, and operation of items valued at an estimated $452,000: two large video screens ($200,000), additional seating options ($10,000), a stage ($60,000), a sound system ($114,000), lighting ($38,000), and theming/branding ($30,000) in Town Plaza. This is a potential cost savings, because it would eliminate the City’s need to pay for features which the City might want to have in Town Plaza during the Olympics even without the New Zealand Fan Zone.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2025-09-08 Proposed Term Sheet
2. 2025-09-08 Draft Site Map
3. 2025-09-08 Draft Site Renderings
MOTIONS
That the City Council:
1. Discuss the terms of and, if desired, approve an agreement with the New Zealand Olympic Committee for Exclusive Use of Town Plaza during the 2028 Olympics for a New Zealand Hospitality House and Fan Zone, as reflected in the Term Sheet attached to the staff report (with any modifications desired by City Council); and
2. Designate the New Zealand Hospitality House and Fan Zone as a City-Sponsored Special Event; and
3. Authorize the City Attorney to review/prepare the necessary documents; and
4. Authorize the City Manager to execute such documents on behalf of the City.