Santa Monica is cementing its place on the global sports calendar, with the City Council approving negotiations for an ESPN broadcast hub during the 2027 Super Bowl and a Swiss Olympic hospitality house during the 2028 Games — the latest in a growing portfolio of major activations the city is banking on to drive economic recovery.
The council voted Tuesday to authorize City Manager Oliver Chi to negotiate and execute a license agreement with ESPN Productions, LLC, for use of the Santa Monica Pier deck, adjacent beachfront and nearby parking lots as a temporary interactive broadcast and event space tied to Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium. The agreement would cover the period from Jan. 18 through Feb. 22, 2027, with ESPN paying the city a license fee of $1,057,654.
The council also authorized Chi to finalize a separate agreement with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs for use of the Camera Obscura building in Palisades Park during the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games. Switzerland's "House of Switzerland" hospitality and cultural venue would operate at the landmark 1450 Ocean Ave. location from June 14 through Sept. 21, 2028, with a base license fee of $300,000 and an option to expand into adjacent Palisades Park areas for an additional $200,000.
The council additionally adopted resolutions granting targeted waivers of city noise, construction hours, signage and operating restrictions necessary to host both events, as well as the previously authorized Club France hospitality house at the Annenberg Community Beach House during the 2028 Olympics.
ESPN Takes the Pier
The ESPN deal, which has been in negotiation since the council authorized exclusive talks last December, would transform the Santa Monica Pier and surrounding beachfront into a nationally televised broadcast campus for the Super Bowl. The activation would include live national and international productions, community programming and partnerships with local vendors.
Under the license terms, ESPN has committed to providing free public access to programming, funding a recreational legacy project to be donated to the city after the event, and prioritizing local hotels, restaurants and businesses. The company has also agreed to give priority consideration to additional activations on the Third Street Promenade and other city locations.
The city granted ESPN waivers from standard noise ordinances, entertainment closing hours and construction restrictions — citing the practical impossibility of running a major broadcast operation within normal municipal limits. ESPN's load-in, build-out, programming and full site restoration would span roughly five weeks.
Camera Obscura Gets a Swiss Makeover — And a Future
The Swiss agreement carries implications beyond the Games themselves. City staff told the council Tuesday that the Olympic partnership is being used as a vehicle to finally reopen the Camera Obscura building as a permanent park concession — potentially as soon as the summer of 2027.
The building, a mid-century modern landmark that has been largely closed to the public for years, has suffered from deferred maintenance including roof problems and mold. Under the arrangement, the city will fund structural repairs — HVAC, roofing, windows and other building systems — through its capital improvement program. Switzerland's contribution will be on the design side, with furniture, lighting and interior elements intended to carry a Swiss aesthetic as a post-Games legacy.
“So we're using the partnership with the Swiss Federation to build out an actual park concession so that hopefully maybe even next year we could open it as a park concession so people can get a drink or a quick bite to eat,” said Assistant City Manager Susan Cline. “We're used to seeing this more so throughout Europe and we want to make sure that we're providing moments of respite in our parks, along with all the recreation opportunities we have.”
She said the facility would hopefully operate in perpetuity once the Swiss activation ended.
Mayor Caroline Torosis, who pulled the item for clarification, pressed staff on both the funding arrangement and the preservation of the building's iconic character.
"I just want to make sure that we're keeping the mid-century modern look and feel," Torosis said, "because when I read 'Swiss design' I was a little bit confused, I'm just going to be honest."
The building's exterior and mid-century character would be preserved, Cline said, with the city's architecture division overseeing the remodel.
Club France at Annenberg
Also receiving a formal waiver resolution Tuesday was Club France, the French National Olympic Committee's hospitality house planned for the Annenberg Community Beach House from June 30 through Aug. 4, 2028. That agreement, previously authorized by the council, carries a $1.55 million license fee — the largest among the Olympic activations — and includes commitments to free or low-cost community events, paid student internships and support for city programming including Promenade activations and open streets events.
The Bigger Picture
Tuesday's actions are part of a broader strategy the city has been assembling for more than a year.
"Over the next several years, the Los Angeles region will become a global stage for some of the world's most watched sporting and cultural events," Chi wrote in his report to council. "Santa Monica's coastline, public spaces, public transit access, and established reputation as a world-class destination create a rare opportunity for the City to participate in and help shape this regional moment on the global stage."
That strategy kicks off next month. The Michelob ULTRA Pitchside Club fan experience opens June 11 on the Santa Monica Pier, running through June 25 as a free, 21-and-older soccer-themed environment timed to FIFA World Cup matches in Los Angeles. Capacity is expected to range from 1,000 to 5,000 guests at any time, with total attendance projected between 25,000 and 75,000 over the 15-day run.
Surrounding the Pier activation, producing partner Revel Republic is coordinating a broader slate of downtown and beach programming running the full length of the World Cup through July 19, including the Golden Hour series on the Third Street Promenade, the World Play Zone family activation at 4th Street and Colorado, wellness events in Tongva Park and a culminating COAST Open Streets Festival on July 19.
A Goldenvoice-produced music festival on the beachfront, targeting 30,000 to 35,000 attendees across multiple days, is also being planned for fall 2026 under a separate negotiating agreement with the AEG Presents division behind Coachella and Stagecoach.
The city's unified pricing framework requires all activations to be fully self-funding through license fees covering land use, parking displacement and city services, with no municipal subsidy. Final license terms for each event are subject to council review after environmental compliance is completed.