Milbank LLP Global Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance partner Allan Marks participated in the panel “Going For The Gold: How Los Angeles Is Getting Its Infrastructure In Shape For The 2028 Summer Olympics” for S&P Global Ratings. Moderated by Trevor d'Olier-Lees of S&P Global Ratings, Mr. Marks and his co-panelists analyzed how Los Angeles plans to utilize pre-existing facilities to accommodate guests and events, while building new digital and transportation projects for the Summer Games that will have lasting benefits for the region. Mr. Marks’s co-panelists included Ernesto Chaves, the Interim Senior Executive Officer for Roads & Highways at LA Metro, Dale Bonner, the Executive Chairman of Plenary Concessions America, and Duane Callender, Director of Credit Programs Office at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau.
Mr. Marks discussed the impact of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) on potential funding for the games’ public transportation options, pointing out that the bill incentivizes funding for electric buses and other vehicles. Mr. Marks also explained how supply-chain, permitting challenges and risk management allocations could shape new project implementation. "I think we will see a change in how risks are allocated and perhaps more granularity in how those risks can be shared in ways that provide more value and don't add extra premium," he said.
Mr. Marks compared the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympic Games to the Olympics that Los Angeles hosted in 1984, noting that innovations in infrastructure coming out of the games forty years ago proved worthwhile long after the games were over. "[Bus-only lanes] were piloted and used during the '84 Olympics to great success… And bear in mind these venues are spread out across Southern California, an area that is considerably more populated now than it was in '84." He also highlighted how the 1984 Olympics led to the implementation of an automated traffic surveillance and control system (ATSAC) that currently smooths traffic flow city-wide at thousands of traffic intersections. With a strong foundation of existing stadiums, new transit lines and stations now opening, and billions of dollars in airport modernization projects already under way, according to Mr. Marks, Los Angeles is well-positioned to make significant infrastructure improvements by the time the Olympic torch is lit in 2028.
Read the full Q&A on S&P Global Ratings (subscription required), or watch a webinar replay here (registration required).
