The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics has announced changes to its venue plan, aiming to achieve an estimated $156 million in combined savings and revenue increases. The updated plan features a significant shift in several sports’ locations, utilizing existing venues and minimizing the need for temporary structures.
Swimming will now be held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, a venue with a capacity of 38,000, making it the largest Olympic swimming venue in history. Basketball will be played at Intuit Dome, also in Inglewood, while gymnastics will take place at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles. Athletics will remain at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The opening and closing ceremonies will remain unchanged, with portions hosted at both the Coliseum and SoFi Stadium. However, the traditional schedule for athletics and swimming will be adjusted, with athletics moving to the first week of the games and swimming held during the second week. The governing bodies of both sports have approved and support these changes.
Softball and canoe slalom events will be held in Oklahoma City. LA28 explains that the largest softball venue in Southern California seats under 2,000 people, and they anticipate strong attendance, while there is no existing canoe slalom venue in the region. Moving these competitions avoids the construction of temporary venues and aligns with the International Olympic Committee’s focus on sustainability, encouraging the use of existing venues outside the host city.
The Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area in the San Fernando Valley will host BMX freestyle, BMX racing, skateboarding park and street competitions, and archery. Diving will take place in the same pool that hosted the aquatics events at the 1932 Olympics in Exposition Park south of downtown Los Angeles. Long Beach will host artistic and para swimming competitions, along with other sports to be announced later.
Equestrian and para equestrian competitions will relocate from the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area to an existing facility in Temecula, located 1 1/2 hours from Los Angeles. This facility is large enough to accommodate all disciplines in one location. Shooting and shooting para sport competitions will also move from the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area to one of two possible sport shooting clubs outside of Los Angeles, with the specific location yet to be determined.
LA28 states that each venue shift is expected to achieve at least a $10 million economic improvement, reducing the cost and complexity of temporary stadium construction, overlays, and operations. The organizing committee has submitted the updated venue assignments to the city of Los Angeles, which must approve competitions moving outside the city’s boundaries from the venue plan submitted during the bid process. The initial venue plan was developed in 2017 during the city’s bid process. Since then, several new stadiums and arenas have become available, leading to these updated venue plans.
