LA’s Chief Tourism Officer Prepares for the World Cup, Super Bowl LXI, and the 2028 Olympics
From City Hall to the Convention Center, Doane Liu has spent two decades preparing the city for its next global moment
Written By: Arley Baker
Editor-in-Chief: Rick Gibson
Publisher & CEO: Christopher Luna
Four of LA’s major league teams — the Kings, Rams, Galaxy, and Clippers — were scheduled to play home games on the same Sunday in October 2018. It was “a sports equinox,” one of those epic, unforgettable days in the life of a city. A rabid sports fan, LA’s Chief Tourism Officer, Doane Liu (pronounced “Loo”), saw the big day coming weeks in advance, and then he realized: If the Dodgers survived to play game five against the Boston Red Sox, the World Series would return to Chavez Ravine, creating an unprecedented, five-game sports equinox.
Liu took the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“First, I called my son, but he had plans that weekend, so I called some longtime friends I grew up with, and they were telling me I was crazy,” he recalled with a laugh. “They had no interest in going to five games in one day.”
His friend and former City Hall colleague, Branimir Kvartuc, was up for the challenge. Five years earlier, Kvartuc had headed communications for 15th District Councilmember, Joe Buscaino, and reported to Liu, Buscaino’s chief of staff. The two hit the Kings-Rangers hockey game at the Staples Center first, then onto Carson for the Galaxy-Dynamo soccer game, then back up the 110 to the Coliseum for the Rams-Packers football game, then to Dodger’s stadium for a few innings, before going back to Staples Center for the Clippers-Wizards game…
Continue reading the full story in the Summer 2026 issue of California Leaders Magazine.
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