Los Angeles Olympics’ Revamped 2028 Venue Proposals: Swimming At SoFi, BMX & Skateboarding In The Valley, Softball To OKC
Organizers of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games on Friday unveiled its first batch of updates to its venue plan for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. The biggest moves including earmarking SoFi Stadium in Inglewood to become the largest-ever Olympics venue for swimming; setting Crypto.com Arena to host gymnastics, replacing the Forum; the Los Angeles Clippers’ soon-to-open home Intuit Dome to host basketball; and moving BMX, skateboarding and archery competitions north to the San Fernando Valley.
According to LA28, using more existing venues over building temporary facilities will result in an estimated $156 million in combined savings and revenue increases.
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As part of the updated venue plan, a pair of events — Canoe Slalom and Softball — will now take place in Oklahoma City, an unusual move organizers say was due to insufficient facilities in the L.A. region but also “in alignment with the IOC’s Olympic Agenda 2020+5 recommendation which emphasizes sustainability by encouraging the use of existing venues beyond the region of the Host City.”
The events are two of seven that have been proposed to move outside the L.A. city limits, most notable of those placing swimming, one of the Summer Games’ most high-profile competitions, at the Rams and Chargers home SoFi in Inglewood, which is also home to Intuit Dome. SoFi’s swimming venue would have a capacity of 38,000, making it the biggest swimming venue in Olympics history.
The International Olympic Committee Executive Board has already approved the venue assignments for Olympic sports, pending approval from the City of Los Angeles. The city must OK competitions that move outside of the city’s boundaries from the venue plan submitted in the city’s original bid in 2017.
Click here for the full LA28 venue proposal to the city and see a chart of proposed moves below.
“The Olympic and Paralympic Games represent the pinnacle of athletic competition and achievement, and we’re proud to host the Los Angeles 2028 Games in some of the greatest stadiums and arenas ever built,” LA28 chairperson and president Casey Wasserman said Friday in a release announcing the plans. “LA28’s updated venue plan will provide the ideal Hollywood stage for the world’s top athletes, and choosing from spectacular existing venues, wherever they are, rather than building new permanent or temporary stadiums, achieves more than $150 million in savings and new revenue to help maintain a balanced budget. We look forward to partnering with these venues, and their experienced operators and workforce, to deliver an unparalleled experience for athletes and fans in 2028.”
Additional events that would move outside the L.A. city limits include Olympic Artistic Swimming and Paralympic Swimming relocated to join Water Polo in Long Beach, CA; and Equestrian events heading to Galway Downs in Temecula, CA.
Several events, meanwhile, have moved into the city limits, meaning they don’t require city approval. Those are highlighted by Olympic and Paralympic Archery, Olympic BMX Freestyle and BMX Racing, and Olympic Skateboarding Park and Skateboarding Street now set at the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area where the 405 and 101 freeways meet; it will mark the first time in three L.A.-set Olympics that the Valley will play host to events.
Shooting and Shooting Para Sport competitions, which had been assigned to the Sepulveda Basin, will be assigned to one of two possible Southern California sport shooting clubs outside L.A. Diving will shift from a proposed temporary build at USC to the Exposition Park pool used during the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.
As previously set, the Olympic and Paralympic track and field competitions remain at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which along with SoFi Stadium will host the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Because of the co-hosting logistics, track and field events will move to the first week of the L.A. Summer Games and swimming will take place in the second week; traditionally, it’s the other way around.
The 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games are scheduled to run July 14-30, 2028.
Moving out of the City of Los Angeles
(requires City approval)
Olympic Swimming to Inglewood
Paralympic Swimming to Long Beach
Olympic Artistic Swimming to Long Beach
Olympic Basketball to Inglewood
Olympic Canoe Slalom to the City of Oklahoma City
Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian to Temecula
Olympic and Paralympic Shooting to existing venue outside of Los Angeles
Moving into the City of Los Angeles
(does not require City approval)
Olympic Diving to existing venue in Los Angeles
Olympic and Paralympic Archery to the Sepulveda Basin
Olympic BMX Freestyle to the Sepulveda Basin
Olympic BMX Racing to the Sepulveda Basin
Olympic Gymnastics (Artistic, Rhythmic, Trampoline) to Downtown Los Angeles
Olympic Skateboarding Park to the Sepulveda Basin
Olympic Skateboarding Street to the Sepulveda Basin
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