Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t mince words when it comes to his home state’s readiness for the 2028 Summer Olympics. Despite leaving office 15 years ago, the action star turned politician remains deeply connected to California’s political landscape, and what he sees concerns him.
During a recent appearance on Front Office Sports Tonight, Schwarzenegger laid out his worries about Los Angeles hosting the games. His concerns center not on the city’s spirit or its people, but on something far more fundamental: crumbling infrastructure and political inaction.
“I’m just concerned, in general, that we are going to have a tough time [doing] the Olympics here,” Schwarzenegger said. “And of course, the people will be welcome. Los Angeles people love seeing foreigners come here and tourism and all of that stuff and I think that they are going to do everything that they can to make it entertaining and to be hospitable.”
The former governor pointed to a systemic problem that extends far beyond California’s borders. Across the country, aging infrastructure threatens to undermine basic services, and he believes politicians bear the responsibility.
“I just think that the only ones that are really an obstacle are the politicians. The reason that I’m saying that is because we are not building enough infrastructure,” he explained.
Schwarzenegger painted a troubling picture of the state’s current conditions. Water systems more than a century old routinely break down, causing flooding. Sewage systems fail so frequently that beachgoers receive regular warnings about contamination. For a state with California’s economic power, he argues, this is unacceptable.
“California is like the hottest place in the world. Everyone wants to come to California. We are the number-one state in the union with the biggest GDP. We are the fourth-largest economy in the world, and we are operating like we’re a third-world country,” he said.
His frustration became particularly evident when discussing the January 2025 Pacific Palisades fires, where firemen faced critical water access issues during their response efforts. The incident exemplified his broader point about infrastructure failures having real-world consequences.
“There’s no reason we ever have a drought; there’s no reason why we don’t have a high-speed rail; there’s no reason why we don’t have a light rail, which we had 60 to 70 years ago in Los Angeles, and then they ripped it out. Why? To sell out to the tire, oil, and car companies. They were in cahoots!” Schwarzenegger said.
He noted the historical irony of Los Angeles once having an extensive tram system connecting Long Beach, the Valley, Santa Monica, Malibu, and downtown, only to dismantle it decades ago. Now, the region must invest massive resources to rebuild what was lost.
“Now, we have to rebuild all those tracks again. Imagine if we had trams going from Long Beach to the Valley to Los Angeles to Malibu to Santa Monica, everywhere. It was ripped out, so now we have to build the thing again,” he said.
The solution, according to Schwarzenegger, lies in political will. If leaders would simply commit to building and modernizing infrastructure, California could showcase itself properly on the world stage in 2028. Without that commitment, however, the Olympics could highlight the state’s shortcomings rather than its strengths.
