Amplify: LA28 will assign Canoe Slalom and Softball competitions to the world-class venues in Oklahoma City

LA28 Updates Venue Plan to Deliver Improved Athlete and Fan Experiences, More Sustainable Solutions, and Legacy Opportunity in LA, Resulting in over $150 Million in Cost Savings and New Revenue

LOS ANGELES, CA (JUNE 21, 2024) – Today, the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games proposed the first series of updates to its venue plan that will stage some of the most popular Olympic and Paralympic sports in world-class arenas and stadiums, creating the ideal experience for athletes and fans, and achieving more than $150 million in combined new revenue and cost savings.

Southern California’s abundance of high-quality athletic venues is the strongest possible foundation for hosting a spectacular and fiscally responsible Games. With these changes, LA28 assigns more sports to existing stadiums and uses fewer temporary venues, which provides significant financial and operational benefits.

Each venue shift announced today will achieve at least a $10 million estimated economic improvement, reducing the cost and complexity of temporary stadium builds, overlays and operations, and will accumulate an estimated $156 million in combined savings and revenue increases to support LA28’s balanced budget.

Additionally, LA28’s venue moves and reliance on existing stadiums makes the Games more sustainable; enhances the field of play and warm up areas for athletes; improves seating, hospitality, services and capacity for more fans; places competitions in the hands of experienced venue operators and staff to ensure smooth delivery and operations; and provides legacy opportunities in the City of Los Angeles.

LA28’s previous venue plan was developed in 2017 when the City of Los Angeles was bidding for the Games. Since then, several new state-of-the-art stadiums and arenas have become available, a previously assigned venue has become unavailable, new sports have been added to the 2028 program, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) developed new policy to encourage Games organizers to prioritize using existing or temporary venues, even if they are located outside of the Host City.

“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,” said LA28 Chairperson and President Casey Wasserman. “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.”

Under the updated venue plan, some of the most popular Olympic competitions will be held in venues considered among the finest in the world. Gymnastics will be held at the legendary and recently renovated Arena in Downtown LA that is home to the NBA’s Lakers, NHL’s Kings, and WNBA’s Sparks; the nation’s newest and most advanced large pro sports Stadium, located in Inglewood, CA, that is home to the NFL’s Rams and Chargers, will become the largest swimming venue in Olympic history, with 38,000 seats; and Basketball will be held at the nation’s newest and state-of-the-art indoor Arena in Inglewood, CA that will be home to the NBA’s Clippers. Athletics and Para Athletics will remain at the iconic and recently refurbished LA Memorial Coliseum, making it the only stadium in history to host Track and Field competitions in three Olympic Games. (Please note, per current guidelines, LA28 will not use existing corporate names for stadiums and arenas for Games purposes.)

LA28’s plans for Opening and Closing Ceremonies are unchanged, with parts hosted at both the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Stadium located in Inglewood, CA. Additionally, to accommodate these moves, both World Athletics and World Aquatics, the governing bodies of Athletics and Aquatics Olympic events respectively, have approved and support LA28’s plan to adjust the traditional Olympic schedule. Specifically, the 2028 Olympic Games Athletics competition will move to the first week of the Olympic Games while the Swimming competition will be held during the second week.

In the updated venue plan, LA28 reaffirms its commitment to the San Fernando Valley, which was not included in either the 1932 or 1984 Games. The Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area in the Valley will host the youthful, high-energy Olympic competitions for BMX Freestyle and BMX Racing along with Skateboarding Park and Street. The precision sport of Archery will also be in Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Diving will return to the same pool that hosted the Aquatics events in the 1932 Olympic Games, the 1932 Pool in Exposition Park, that will remain a legacy venue for generations of Angelenos to enjoy through the City’s Department of Recreation and Parks. The City of Long Beach will host Artistic Swimming and Para Swimming competitions, in addition to several other sports that will be announced at a later date.

While Southern California has more professional and collegiate sports venues than any area in the United States, there is no Canoe Slalom venue that exists locally (or anywhere in the Western US), and the largest Softball venue in Southern California seats fewer than 2,000 people, which does not meet the expected spectator demand for Softball at the Olympic Games. Instead of undertaking additional construction projects to build temporary venues for these sports, LA28 will assign Canoe Slalom and Softball competitions to the world-class venues in Oklahoma City. These assignments are 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. Both the Canoe Slalom and Softball venues in Oklahoma City are built to international competition standards, ensuring a high-quality experience for athletes and fans, while allowing LA28 to realize cost savings and revenue gains to support its balanced budget. LA28 also recognizes that the Oklahoma City community has consistently supported top events for both sports and is confident that they will for these Olympic competitions as well.

Equestrian and Para Equestrian competitions, previously assigned to the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area, will be held at an exceptional existing facility in Temecula, CA, that is the only such facility in Southern California large enough to accommodate all required disciplines in one location. Shooting and Shooting Para Sport competitions, which were also previously assigned to the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area, will be assigned to one of two possible sport shooting clubs, to be determined, both of which can leverage on existing shotgun facilities and are located in Southern California, outside the City of Los Angeles.

LA28 submitted these updated venue assignments to the City of Los Angeles, which must approve competitions that move outside of the city’s boundaries from the venue plan submitted during the bid. Download LA28’s submission here.

All proposed venue changes have been assessed in consultation with each respective International Federation. The IOC Executive Board has approved these venue assignments for Olympic sports, pending approval from the City of Los Angeles. Changes to venues for Paralympic sports will require approval from the IPC Governing Board in the future.

Additional changes to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic venue plan that do not move events outside the City of Los Angeles’ boundaries, or that assign venues for new sports added to the Olympic and Paralympic sport programs since 2017, along with the updated Paralympic venue plan will all be announced later.

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