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Organizers of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games released the first updates on venue planning for Los Angeles’ 2028 Summer Games on Friday. Among the biggest changes are the designation of Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium as the largest Olympic swimming venue ever, Crypto.com Arena replacing the Forum as the gymnastics venue, the soon-to-open Intuit Dome, home of the Los Angeles Clippers, as the basketball venue, and moving BMX, skateboarding and archery events north to the San Fernando Valley.
LA28 says using existing venues rather than building temporary facilities could generate an estimated $156 million in combined savings and increased revenue.
As part of the updated venue plan, two sports, canoe slalom and softball, will be held in Oklahoma City, which organizers said is due to a lack of facilities in the Los Angeles area but is also “an unusual move that aligns with the IOC’s Olympic Agenda 2020+5 recommendations, which emphasize sustainability by encouraging the use of existing venues outside the host city’s region.”
Those are two of seven sports proposed to be moved outside of Los Angeles, most notably swimming, one of the most highly-anticipated events at the Summer Olympics, to SoFi in Inglewood, which is also home to the Intuit Dome, which would seat 38,000 people and be the largest swimming venue in Olympic history.
The International Olympic Committee’s executive board has already approved venue allocations for the Olympic events, pending approval from the city of Los Angeles, which must approve any events that move outside the city limits from venue plans submitted in the city’s initial bid in 2017.
For the full LA28 venue proposal to the City, click here and see a table of the proposed relocations below.
“The Olympic and Paralympic Games represent the pinnacle of athletics and achievement, and we are proud to host the Los Angeles 2028 Games in some of the greatest stadiums and arenas in history,” LA28 chairman and president Casey Wasserman said Friday in a release announcing the plans. “LA28’s updated venue plans will provide the ideal Hollywood backdrop for the world’s best athletes. By choosing from existing great venues, regardless of location, rather than building new permanent or temporary stadiums, we will generate more than $150 million in savings and new revenue, helping to maintain a balanced budget. We look forward to partnering with these venues, and their experienced operators and employees, to deliver an unparalleled experience for athletes and fans in 2028.”
Additional sports relocating outside of the Los Angeles city limits include Olympic artistic swimming and Paralympic aquatics, which will relocate to join water polo in Long Beach, California, and equestrian events heading to Galway Downs in Temecula, California.
Meanwhile, some events will take place within city limits and don’t require city approval, highlighting Olympic and Paralympic archery, Olympic BMX freestyle and BMX racing and the Olympic skateboard park and skateboard street, which will now take place in the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area at the intersection of the 405 and 101. Of the three Olympic Games to be held in Los Angeles, this will be the first time that events will be held in the Valley.
Shooting and shooting parasports events that had been assigned to Sepulveda Basin will be assigned to one of two Southern California Sports Shooting Club locations outside Los Angeles. Diving will be moved from a temporary site planned for USC to the pool at Exposition Park that was used for the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.
Olympic and Paralympic athletics events will continue to take place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which will also host the opening and closing ceremonies along with SoFi Stadium. Due to the logistics of co-hosting, athletics will be moved to the first week of the Los Angeles Summer Olympics and swimming to the second week, rather than the other way around, as is traditional.
The 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games are scheduled to take place from July 14 to 30, 2028.
Relocation from the City of Los Angeles
(City approval required)
Olympic Swimming: Inglewood Paralympic Swimming: Long Beach Olympic Artistic Swimming: Long Beach Olympic Basketball: Inglewood Olympic Canoe Slalom: Oklahoma City Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian: Temecula Olympic and Paralympic Shooting: Existing venues outside Los Angeles
Relocation to Los Angeles
(City approval not required)
Olympic Diving to existing venues in Los Angeles, Olympic and Paralympic Archery to Sepulveda Basin, Olympic BMX Freestyle to Sepulveda Basin, Olympic BMX Racing to Sepulveda Basin, Olympic Gymnastics (Artistic, Rhythmic, Trampoline) to Downtown Los Angeles, Olympic Skateboard Park to Sepulveda Basin, Olympic Skateboard Street to Sepulveda Basin
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