Lori Rovner of Manhattan Beach is a big sports fan, so there was no question that when tickets for the Olympic Games went on sale, she’d be signing up.
She scored a slot in the first ticket drop, which launched Thursday, and logged on right at 10 a.m., hoping to score tickets to the Opening Ceremonies and some finals too. After battling her computer to get through “access denied” screens and a lost shopping cart due to a 30-minute time limit, she bought 16 tickets.
It was only when she was about to purchase that she noticed the service fees, which were around 24% of each ticket. One $2,100 ticket had a $505 service fee, bringing the total cost to $2,604.63.
“It’s insane,” she said of the fee. “I don’t understand what the service is.”
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As the locals-only sale kicks off and Southern Californians have their first chance to buy tickets to the Olympic Games, some fans are wide-eyed at the high fees on all tickets and the prices in general, which start at $28 but go up to more than $5,500 a pop. Opening Ceremony tickets start at $328.68
The service fees aren’t a surprise add-on. The price fans see when browsing the site is the total cost, including the fee. Still, some who bought in the first phase of sales were surprised when they saw the fees add up.
One user on Reddit of shared their cart of 10 tickets, which added up to $11,264. That included $1,038 in fees alone. Commenters responded in shock and awe.
Service fees are standard in ticket sales, but the percentage they charge can vary widely. High fees have been a source of ire for music and sports fans for years. A 2018 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that the average fees on a primary ticket market were 27%.
LA28 did not respond to LAist’s requests for details on the service fee, like what it pays for or why it’s a percentage rather than a flat rate.
Not everyone seemed bothered by the prices. Some people LAist spoke with opted for only $28 or similarly priced tickets, even if it meant missing some of the biggest Olympic events. One user on Reddit said they purchased 18 tickets for around $550.
“I went with all $28 tickets,” they wrote in the online forum about the Olympics. “I got women’s soccer, gymnastics, beach and regular volleyball, track and field, baseball and a few others.”
For some, the ticket process, the prices and the dense web of events to choose from made it too hard to pull the trigger.
Jeff Bartow of Sierra Madre made a spreadsheet with some competitions he was interested in seeing before he logged on to buy tickets Friday.
“So many times, so many schedules, so many events,” Bartow said. “I think I initially thought I was going to go to a bunch, but thinking about how crazy it’s going to be … I might be a little more limited.”
This is just the first ticket drop. There will be more opportunities to buy tickets in the months to come — and on a resale market that launches in 2027.
Some ticket-buyers told LAist they already were contemplating which tickets they’d keep and which ones they’d re-sell, just minutes after buying them.
