Deputy City Manager to Outline Olympic Contracting Opportunities for Northwest Businesses

The Northwest Commission is scheduled to hear a presentation from the City Manager’s Office on Aug. 11 outlining how businesses in Northwest Pasadena could compete for supplier contracts tied to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Deputy City Manager Alexander Souto will present a report addressing LA28 impacts, preparation and opportunities for Northwest Pasadena. The item appears under new business as an information item.

The briefing would give Northwest Pasadena business owners an early look at the categories of goods and services the Olympic organizing committee expects to buy and when those purchases are expected to occur.

LA28 has created a program to provide access to resources, mentorship and opportunities for local businesses to become suppliers for the LA28 Games, according to the presentation slides. The plan is to ensure 75 percent of LA28’s addressable procurement spending goes to the Greater Los Angeles region, with 25 percent of procurement spending going to small businesses. The slides state the aim is to create pathways for businesses in Pasadena and across the region to help plan and deliver the Games and share in the economic benefits.

LA28 posts all of its competitive sourcing events through the Regional Alliance Marketplace for Procurement, referred to in the slides as RAMP. The presentation states that the RAMPLA.org homepage provides a search feature and displays LA28’s sourcing opportunities directly beneath it. It also states that LA28 encourages those interested to register with RAMP LA and to review RAMP LA at least every two weeks to stay current on new Requests for Information and Expressions of Interest.

The slides list five components of what LA28 describes as a comprehensive strategy to maximize opportunities for local and small businesses: increasing competitive purchasing through the public platform RAMP; right-sizing contract requirements to avoid unnecessarily favoring large incumbents; prioritizing local and small businesses through targeted outreach, capacity-building and evaluation criteria; strategically unbundling large contracts into smaller, more accessible opportunities; and creating pre-qualified vendor pools and multiple award contracts to streamline engagement.

A procurement forecast included in the presentation lists estimated timing and relative spending across eight categories: cleaning and laundry services; construction, sports and entertainment event commodities; food and beverage; health and safety; interior design services; textiles, apparel and footwear; security guards and patrol services; and translation and interpretation services. Several lines show sourcing beginning in 2026, among them catering services, concessions goods and services, food commodities, plumbing, event delivery services and physical security guard services. Others, including janitorial services, laundry services, interior design or decorating, and in-person language interpretation services, are forecast for 2027.

The presentation’s final content slide, titled “Moving Forward,” lists goals that include building public experiences so people can experience the Games in their communities and neighborhoods rather than only at venues or in a central district, encouraging Olympic visitors to explore neighborhoods beyond the venues, and developing cultural, dining and small-business itineraries around transit corridors. The slide also calls for securing private and philanthropic partners to support community engagement initiatives and for acknowledging and taking practical measures to mitigate any burden placed on host communities.

The slide deck further states that success should be viewed as more than ticket sales and hotel reservations, and that it is also measured by the level of community engagement and participation. The presentation ends with a slide inviting questions or comments.

The Northwest Commission is scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 11, in the Jackie Robinson Community Center, 1020 North Fair Oaks Avenue, in Pasadena. For more information call (626) 744-4124 or visit https://www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/agendas/.