Olympic fans shocked by ‘insane’ hidden charge for LA28 tickets

Fans scrambling to secure LA28 tickets are getting a nasty surprise at checkout – with hundreds of dollars in fees suddenly tacked onto their orders.

The first drop of presale tickets for locals to attend the 2028 Summer Olympics dropped on Thursday and Angelenos couldn’t believe the final purchase price included a whopping 24% service fee.

Tickets to the highly-anticipated Games start at just $28 but can cost as much as $2,000 depending on the event or the package.

So tickets packages to see the prestigious track and field gold medal events cost from $2,350 to $8,250 for premium seats.

Lori Rovner of Manhattan Beach told the LAIst she was finally able to purchase tickets to the games after receiving several “access denied” messages.

Her total for 16 tickets was $2,604.63, with the tickets costing $2,100, with a service fee of $504.63

“It’s insane,” Rovner said. “I don’t understand what the service is.”

One user on Reddit’s Olympics thread shared a screenshot of their cart. They purchased ten tickets to five different events, for swimming, basketball and soccer. The total cost for all of it was more than $11,000. 

But it was the service fee that really stood out, costing them $1,038.22.

People have slammed the high service fees, calling it out as a “money grab.”

“Almost 25% is outrageous. It’s all outside of my realm but I’m still shaking my head,” one person wrote.

Another added, “It also seems to be a percentage of the ticket price. Instead of just a flat service fee. Total money grab.”

“Are you F**King kidding me????? A 24% SERVICE FEE??? I hate this country so much sometimes,” a fourth added.

One person shared what they said they paid to see the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024 along with the service fees compared to LA, showing LA28 was four-times higher.

“Comparing pricing of the LA tickets vs what I paid for Paris is shocking. Approx. 400% increase / 4x jump in cost. Additionally the service fee for LA is 25% vs Paris 1.5%. I assumed LA would be more expensive….but 400% more?”

They then listed the price difference they said they paid.

• LA Athletics (Group B) $2,050 ticket ( including $510 service fee)
• Paris Athletics (Group B) $550 ticket + $16 service fee

Still there were those who said the person who shared the thousand dollar plus screenshot of fees was paying for a premium package and that they had managed to get tickets for much less.

“For those who want to throw up at the prices, I got 18 tickets for 9 events and paid a little over $550. I went with all $28 tickets,” the person wrote. “I got women’s soccer, gymnastics, beach and regular volleyball, track and field, baseball and a few others.

“This guy went all out. I would never spend that amount.”

A former Reddit thread pointed out that TicketMaster service fees to see things like a concert has always been between 15-20% of whatever the ticket cost, putting the Olympic ticket’s fee just above that.

An LA28 spokesperson confirmed to The Post that “the service fee is based on the percentage of the ticket price you pay.”

“LA28’s ticket program is rooted in heavy analytics and extensive market demand research around entertainment and live sports in the U.S.,” a statement read.

“Tickets are comparable to – or well under in many cases – professional sporting and major entertainment events in the U.S.”

“Pricing is based on a variety of factors and heavily informed by what fans have told us, as well as venue capacity, type of session, seat location and historical demand.”

“That said, LA28 tickets go up to the thousands in select cases for the most premium seats at a handful of the most anticipated events. The most expensive tickets represent a small portion of the overall inventory, and there are also accessibly priced options at these same sessions we know will draw headlines.”

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“Roughly 5% of tickets are over $1,000. More than 75% of all Olympic tickets – which includes finals – are under $400, and nearly 50% of all Olympic tickets are under $200.”

The window to buy presale tickets opened on Thursday to eligible residents in LA and Oklahoma City and immediately fans were met hurdles and the ticket website spewed errors, frustrating fans and delaying purchases.

People started sharing their frustration online about not being able to buy tickets, sharing screenshots of error messages they were getting and being told their access was denied.

A spokesperson later told The Post that “any issues that have been reported have not been widespread and have been resolved.”

“Fans have a 48 hour window to make their purchases, giving them plenty of time to shop and at any point in time, fans who experience technical difficulty can reach us on our support channel to help facilitate a smooth experience.”

The Olympic Games kick off with the Opening Ceremony on July 14, 2028 and run through July 30, 2028. The LA28 Paralympic Games are scheduled from August 15, 2028, to August 27, 2028.