1 THESE MINUTES ARE NOT OFFICIAL
UNTIL APPROVED BY THE
CULVER CITY
CITY COUNCIL 2028 SUMMER OLYMPICS
PREPARATION AD HOC SUBCOMMITTEE
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE January 22, 2026
CULVER CITY CITY COUNCIL 2:00 p.m.
2028 SUMMER OLYMPICS
PREPARATION AD HOC SUBCOMMITTEE
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA
Call to Order & Roll Call
The special meeting of the City Council 2028 Summer Olympics Preparation Ad Hoc Subcommittee, Culver City Arts Foundation, and Representative of Cultural Affairs Commission was called to order at 2:01 p.m. in the Patio Meeting Room at City Hall.
Present: Freddy Puza, Mayor
Dan O’Brien, Council Member
Staff Present: Odis Jones, City Manager
Jesse Mays, Assistant to the City Manager
Elaine Gerety Warner, Economic Development
Director
Sally Unsworth, Cultural Affairs Manager
Ehsaan Mesghali, Cultural Affairs Commission
Chair
Sam Lee, Associate Analyst
Jim Clarke, Culver City Arts Foundation
Alicia Ide, Culver City Arts Foundation
Paal Anand, Culver City Arts Foundation
Hope Parrish, Culver City Historical Society
Michelle Villongco, Associate Analyst
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Pledge of Allegiance
Mayor Puza led the Pledge of Allegiance.
2028 Summer Olympics
Preparation Ad Hoc Subcommittee
January 22, 2026
2 o0o
Public Comment – Items NOT On The Agenda
Mayor Puza invited public comment.
Michelle Villongco, Associate Analyst, indicated no requests to speak had been received.
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Receipt of Correspondence
Michelle Villongco, Associate Analyst, indicated no
correspondence had been received.
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Order of the Agenda
No changes were made.
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Action Items
Item A-1
Discussion Regarding 1.) Culver City FIFA World Cup and Olympic Activations; 2.) Fundraising Strategies and
Objectives; and 3.) Community Cultural Programming and
Management
Jesse Mays, Assistant to the City Manager, introduced meeting attendees.
Discussion ensued between meeting attendees, staff, and Subcommittee Members regarding activations for FIFA in
Veterans Park with a screen to show games and food trucks in the evening of the first US match; an arts advisor interested in meeting regarding a FIFA-specific arts project activation; support for a visual arts show around FIFA art; sponsorship and use of Culver City space; placing the focus on
representative nations; using FIFA events as a precursor to the Olympics; doing a Veterans Park activation for USA games and an event in the Plaza for the World Cup Final; the New 2028 Summer Olympics
Preparation Ad Hoc Subcommittee
January 22, 2026
3 Zealand match with Belgium; support for using Veterans Park as it allows use of Culver City resources; dates; semi-finals; the Summer Music Festival; number of events; staff capacity; budget; the SoFi Express; having a New Zealand pre-game in Culver City before going to SoFi; the process to bring event ideas forward for an official FIFA-related event;
sponsorships; external events; understanding the budget before building a process; creation of a staff report for a budget amendment; the process and short timeframe; average event cost; branding; unofficial events; targeting national teams to establish fan zones; travelling fan zones; figuring out who is the lead for the events; collaboration with
Cultural Affairs and the Foundation for visual art events; open call for activities; the budget ask for the City Council; allowing the community to have events and participate without adding expense; city services for Culver City sponsorships; vetting appropriate events; the recommendation for a visual arts show with space allocated from a gallery or a Culver City space with help from the Chamber of Commerce and the DBA (Downtown Business Association); curation; types of
activation; sports-related events; allowing space for sports to do their own free community activations; and timeframe for activations.
Additional discussion ensued between meeting attendees, staff, and Subcommittee Members regarding gallery space; activating space; indoor and outdoor space at Veterans
Memorial or the Teen Center for art; art as part of the already planned outdoor activities; outdoor panels used for Art Walk; pop-up spaces; the international artist zone during Art Walk; the timeline to do something of quality; budget; number of organizations; organization type; screening of the art component by Cultural Affairs; assignment of a curator; the Community Equity Plan; and community activations.
Sally Unsworth, Cultural Affairs Manager, discussed the Olympics; the framework for the arts; programming for the New Zealand stage; the Performing Arts Grant program; proposals by David Mack and a consortium of dance organizations to do pop-up dance that requires permit and siting support; the possibility of a part-time cultural producer to tie
everything together; proposals received from the Jazz Bakery; jazz history in Culver City; regional partnership with
Leimert Park and Inglewood; utilization of the Frost
Auditorium for larger venue options; the film festival idea; the Charles Gaines piece going in; the rotating sculpture program; the poster project; neighborhood-specific branding 2028 Summer Olympics
Preparation Ad Hoc Subcommittee
January 22, 2026
4 identity; mural potential; scattered programming that might fold-in; LA28 cultural convenings; upcoming City-wide
cultural conversations; and anchoring Culver City as an arts and culture hub.
Jesse Mays, Assistant to the City Manager, discussed the draft MOU (Memorandum of Understanding); fundraising; programming; and the film festival.
Alicia Ide, Culver City Arts Foundation, discussed costs centered on New Zealand; the focus on the arts; the need for a broader project; the need for Culver City to decide what it wants to sponsor; the broad spectrum of programs; the package of programs to present to sponsors; and the need for a general list of programs that Culver City is officially sponsoring.
Jim Clarke, Culver City Arts Foundation, discussed the
mission of the Foundation and acknowledged that some of the money would be directed to support associated police and fire expenses, but the selling point is people are buying a package that includes cultural activities and helps to cover costs.
Discussion ensued between meeting attendees, staff, and Subcommittee Members regarding sponsorship levels; the need for a statement in the MOU indicating that the Foundation is authorized to act as an agent of Culver City to go out and raise money; sponsorship; delineating promotion; the need to agree on benefits; outreach to different departments;
expansion of the original New Zealand proposal for the arts; inclusion of sports and a possible Pan-African contingent; looking at covering everything; the original commitment of money toward New Zealand; the need to raise enough to cover costs and benefits; distribution of additional funding; money ultimately going to city services being sold as a larger package of arts and cultural activities that include
logistical costs; building infrastructure to support cultural programming for the New Zealand- curated fan zone; and going beyond the fan zone.
Additional discussion ensued between meeting attendees, staff, and Subcommittee Members regarding communication with New Zealand regarding separate sponsorships within the space; conversations with other potential partners; establishing a menu of different packages; sponsorship levels; creation of draft packages; feasibility discussions; e-blasts and social media; visibility; Vets Tower; production of the benefits; the need for partnership between Culver City and the
2028 Summer Olympics
Preparation Ad Hoc Subcommittee
January 22, 2026
5 Foundation in order to make the benefits happen; the inability for Culver City to communicate with the donors; concern with achieving a true partnership; making responsibilities clear; stage programming; the need to have a cultural producer and curator managing the stage; Culver City as the final word to ensure that they are represented well; and finding out what the available slots are to program from New Zealand.
Further discussion ensued between meeting attendees, staff, and Subcommittee Members regarding going after individual sponsors in addition to corporate donors; VIP ticketed
events; the commitment of the Foundation to raise money specifically for the Olympics with all money raised going to offset costs and support activities; the restricted funds; prioritization of funding; including a legacy project in the MOU; next steps; information provided by staff; banners; Culver Arts agreed to return with suggested packages; the timeline; bringing a term sheet to the City Council;
permission to negotiate based on agreed upon terms; proposals submitted to Cultural Affairs already vetted by the Cultural Affairs Commission; scaled up tiers to enhance events; and action items and date for the next meeting.
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2028 Summer Olympics
Preparation Ad Hoc Subcommittee
January 22, 2026
6 Adjournment
There being no further business, at 3:02 p.m., the 2028 Summer Olympics Preparation Ad Hoc Subcommittee, Culver City Arts Foundation, and Representative of Cultural Affairs Commission meeting adjourned to February 10, 2026 at 2:00 p.m.
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___________________________________________________________ Jeremy Bocchino
SECRETARY of the 2028 Summer Olympics Preparation Ad Hoc Subcommittee, Culver City, California
APPROVED
___________________________________________________________ Freddy Puza
MAYOR, 2028 Summer Olympics Preparation Ad Hoc Subcommittee Culver City, California