As hosts of some of next year’s World Cup events, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area are expected to reap over half a billion dollars each.

Similarly, when the Olympic Games return to Los Angeles in 2028, nearly 80,000 new full-time jobs are expected to be created, with an $11 billion economic impact statewide.

This is according to the office of state Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire, who recently tapped nine senators from Southern California, plus two more from the Bay Area, to serve on a new legislative committee tasked with ensuring the state is prepared to host these global events.

The 11-member Special Committee on International Sporting Events will be chaired by Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, with Sen. María Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, serving as vice chair.

The bulk of committee members hail from L.A. County, including Sens. Bob Archuleta of Pico Rivera, Lena Gonzalez of Long Beach, Laura Richardson of the South Bay, Susan Rubio of Baldwin Park, Lola Smallwood-Cuevas of Los Angeles and Suzette Martinez Valladares of Santa Clarita, who is the lone Republican on the committee.

The other committee members are Sens. Tom Umberg of Santa Ana, Dave Cortese of San Jose and Aisha Wahab from the Silicon Valley.

The committee is expected to hold a series of hearings in the coming months.

We spoke with Allen, the committee chair, about whether current national political issues under President Donald Trump and his administration may impact these events and about the work that lies ahead for committee members. Read on for a look at Allen’s thoughts on the committee’s work, with answers edited only for clarity and brevity.

Q: The Trump administration has threatened to withhold funding to California for various reasons. Are you concerned the state won’t have the federal money it needs to pay for all that goes into hosting these events?

A: The Trump administration wants to see this be a success. Both the World Cup and the Olympics will be a reflection on the United States — not just California, not just Los Angeles. There’s a shared goal here. … We are going to need federal support. … But so far those conversations seem to be going well.

And I will say we crafted a bid (for the Olympics) that is very focused on affordability and reuse. We’re using existing infrastructure. … From Day 1, financial sustainability has been at the heart of this bid.

(As for security), they already are actively involved — Secret Service, the entire FBI is very involved.

Q: There have been reports that tourism to the U.S. is down, perhaps because people are upset with or concerned about policies under the Trump administration. Do you think that will impact travel to the U.S. for these events?

A: The World Cup is a joint bid with the Canadians and the Mexicans. So it’s already an integrated operation that will involve everybody.

At the end of the day, the Olympics is truly something that people come to from all over the world.

California is in a psychologically and politically different place than the rest of the country. Our governor’s been making that case, and I’m going to be up in Canada this summer making that case.

Our tourism numbers have taken a hit. There’s no question about it. And it’s partly because of all the craziness that’s happening right now. … I think there’s a recognition of California’s special place in the country. I think there’s a recognition of how special and unique California is.

Q: In the hospitality industry, some hotels and restaurants have expressed concerns about labor shortage. How might that factor into the World Cup and Olympics?

A: A lot of the service economy does rely on immigration and immigrants. … You’re already starting to see the president start to waver on some of his more aggressive initial pronouncements. … I think he’s starting to realize that some of the things he proposed have had a very deleterious impact on the economy in ways that he did not, perhaps, fully anticipate. So I think you’re starting to see him recalibrate.

We also have a really great seasonal workforce to tap into with our large student population here. We could do some more coordinating to make sure students stick around that summer (of 2028) and help be a part of making (the Olympics) a magical one.

People love to volunteer. People come from all over the country to volunteer and be a part of the experience. We saw that in Atlanta in ’96, Salt Lake City in ’02, certainly in L.A. in ’84. You saw that in Paris. … There’s something really special about the magical convening power of the Olympics. People come together during those few weeks in a way like nothing else.

Q: Do you want to say anything more about your plans for the special committee? What topics will you dive into?

A: We want to make this a place for productive discussion. … We want to work in tandem with local leaders and event organizers to be involved with the decision-making and help provide us a path with clear guidance, shed some light on the support that we’ll need from the state.

We talked about workforce.

(There’s also) transportation. How do we bolster public transportation options with clean, electric fleets, with trains in the region? What sort of rules do we need to put in place to allow for the rollout of designated lanes for event traffic?

How do we prepare on the housing side?

We talked about public safety, with California Highway Patrol and local law enforcement and mutual aid between our different public safety entities.

It’s a place for all of these kinds of discussions.