LA’s Global Event Conundrum: Transportation
October 22, 2025
Posted on LinkedIn as an Article
In my most recent visit to Los Angeles, I had the opportunity to participate in a U.S. Green Building Council workshop on sustainability with stadiums and arenas in the region, as LA prepares for the world's biggest sporting events, the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.
The most common components of building a sustainable stadium program includes using clean energy, conserving energy and water, and reducing waste. All of this is crucial to lowering the massive carbon footprint that stadiums and arenas can have, but there is another aspect that has a much larger carbon footprint than stadium operations and is more difficult to address - fan travel. The emissions produced from transportation to and from a stadium or arena can account for as much as 50-80% of all emissions, and on the higher end of that estimate for especially car-centric environments.
With the combined strategies of developing a comprehensive TDM (transportation demand management) plan and creating a benchmark with ModeScore and ActiveScore certification, stadiums and arenas have the tools available to reduce their carbon footprint from fan travel. It requires a focused and concerted effort that is on par with other sustainability programming. ModeScore & ActiveScore complement LEED and other sustainability certifications by focusing more intently on public transit, active transportation, private vehicle reduction, and site-wide mobility.
Meeting Global Transit Expectations
International visitors expect extensive public transit systems, creating urgent pressure for the Los Angeles region and venues to demonstrate world-class sustainable transportation capabilities for these mega-events.
The stakes are high as LA's historically car-dependent infrastructure and limited public transit lacks seamless connections to major venues. A rethinking of how millions of visitors get to games and events is required. Most stadiums don't have very detailed data on how their fans arrive to and from a stadium, but can tell you the exact amount of energy saved.
Establishing baseline data on mode share is a good place to start. Large stadiums that are not very transit-accessible typically have 80-90% car mode share. By establishing benchmarks for car mode share, and tracking the percentage of fans arriving by car versus transit, biking, or walking, each venue can set targets to lower car trips, even if only slightly. Developing a solid TDM plan can move the needle just a few percentage points and make a meaningful impact to reduce congestion, improve air quality, and set a sustainable example for other venues and cities, and for the World Cup, align with FIFA's mission of reducing emission from fan travel.
Looking Ahead to the 28' Olympics
The 2028 Olympics plan relies heavily on a "transit-first" approach that represents a dramatic shift in the city's car-centric past, and a massive expansion of public transportation projects, including:
LA Metro's bus fleet expansion—requiring 2,700 additional buses to join the existing 2,400 ($2B funding status is pending federal approval)
D Line Extension: Three phases adding seven stations across nine miles from Koreatown to Westwood/UCLA, creating a 30-minute connection between UCLA and Downtown LA.
LAX Connectivity: The LAX/Metro Transit Center opened June 2025, connecting the airport to Metro's rail network for the first time in the city's history, which I was excited to ride and experience while visiting.
Historical Context & High Hopes
Today, Los Angeles stands on the shoulders of four decades of transit investment. The last time the city hosted the Olympics in 1984, the region had significantly less public transit infrastructure. It used 550 borrowed buses, coordinated work schedules, temporary bus-only lanes, and citywide Olympic messaging to move millions smoothly. The key was not just logistics, but a sense of unified purpose across the region. In theory, the city is better positioned now than ever to succeed at a more multimodal Olympics.
Establishing simple benchmarks for car mode share and requiring every venue to craft a practical, localized TDM plan to move the needle, even if just a little, will help to deliver positive results. In a megacity like LA, modest percentage changes can multiply into transformative impact on congestion, climate, and quality of life.
