The 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles are undergoing an extreme transformation, with organizers proposing changes that would move basketball to the brand-new Intuit Dome, install a temporary swimming pool in the middle of SoFi Stadium and move softball games 1,300 miles east of Oklahoma City. .
Revisions to the original master plan would incorporate Southern California’s newest sports venues, make thousands of additional tickets available to fans and generate an estimated $156 million in savings and revenue, private committee LA28 said .
Friday’s announcement marks the first in a series of expected updates to a concept conceived years ago, before SoFi and Intuit were built in Inglewood, when organizers first submitted their bid for the Games.
Artistic rendering of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum during the 2028 Olympic Games.
(LA28)
“The venue landscape in Los Angeles since 2016 has changed a lot,” said Casey Wasserman, president of LA28. “The worst thing we can do is remain static and not adapt.”
Leaders of the International Olympic Committee conditionally approved the proposal, pending a vote by the Los Angeles City Council. Under a Games agreement with organizers, Los Angeles has the right to vote on changes made within its borders.
Wasserman said he was confident about moving forward with what he called “too unique an opportunity to pass up.”
This type of shuffling is nothing new for Olympic host cities, especially with four years to go until the opening ceremony. During the “delivery” phase, the optimism of brainstorming and planning often gives way to the reality of meeting deadlines and balancing budgets.
One element of Los Angeles’ plans, which includes the 2028 Paralympics, has been untouchable from the start. The Colosseum, the historic centerpiece of the 1932 and 1984 Summer Games, will be modified with a raised floor to accommodate athletics. Almost everything else has been reviewed.
The opening of the Intuit Dome later this year provides an opportunity to move basketball from Crypto.com Arena to the sport’s newest venue. This also moves another flagship sport, gymnastics, from the old forum to Crypto.com. The downtown home of the Lakers and Kings has more seats and, because it was designed to accommodate a hockey rink, more floor space for multiple gymnastics events, like vault and the uneven bars.
LA28 estimates that the changes to Intuit and Crypto.com will result in a net budgetary gain of $38 million. Moving the sport of swimming could be even more economically beneficial.
Original plans called for building a temporary site on the USC baseball field. Now, organizers hope to emulate the success of the 2024 U.S. Olympic swimming trials, which set attendance records, by placing a pool inside the Indianapolis Colts football stadium.
SoFi’s luxury suites, restaurants and estimated 38,000 swimming capacity could generate $106 million in additional revenue, LA28 said.
Although the Forum may be assigned another sport in future revisions, its current exclusion highlights Los Angeles’ status as one of the few cities in the world that has enough existing facilities to host the Olympics without permanent construction . Excess is a plus for fans.
Artist’s rendering of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics gymnastics competition at the Crypto.com Arena.
(LA28)
“All of these sites have so much capacity,” Wasserman said. “The opportunity to attend events is much broader.”
Adding seats is also critical to a company with an estimated price tag of $7 billion.
Organizers have promised to cover all costs through ticket sales, corporate sponsorships and other revenue. If they fail to meet their goals, taxpayers will pay the difference, as city and state lawmakers have agreed to serve as a financial safety net.
LA28’s proposed venue changes could help balance the budget. To arrive at the estimated $156 million benefit, some calculations need to be done per site.
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1. A rendering of the Parc des Expositions dive site. 2. A rendering of the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area, which is expected to host several Olympic events. 3. A rendering of the canoe slalom site in Oklahoma City. 4. Artist’s rendering of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics basketball competition at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood. (LA28)
At SoFi, for example, the estimated $106 million increase in ticket sales and other revenue would be partially offset by a $58 million increase in rent and other costs. This would bring the estimated net profit to $49 million.
Money is also, but not only, part of the surprising decision to hold softball and canoe slalom in four states.
The move aligns with a recent trend that has seen the IOC scrambling to placate cities fearful of bidding for the Games and risking massive debt. IOC leadership has encouraged the search for cost reductions wherever they can be achieved.
Oklahoma City came into the picture for LA28 because it already has two needed sites.
Its 13,000-seat softball stadium is larger than any comparable stadium in Southern California and, located next to the Sports Hall of Fame, has a reputation for attracting fans.
The world-class canoe slalom venue, located just south of downtown, will save money on the construction of a $39 million temporary course. Chamber of Commerce officials further sweetened the deal by offering to assume all risks; if the Games go over budget, they will cover outstanding expenses for both of their venues.
“We are confident that we will be an exceptional partner for LA28 in creating a dynamic environment for Olympians and fans,”
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said in a statement.
There could have been another, more subtle motivation for the organizers to look away. Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole is chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee at a time when LA28 has been pushing for federal aid for Games security and transportation funding.
With canoe slalom potentially moving from its original location in the Sepulveda Basin, plans for the San Fernando Valley location would be completely revamped. The shots would go off. The same goes for horse riding, because the pool is not large enough to satisfy the IOC’s desire to keep the three disciplines of this sport – show jumping, dressage and eventing – in the same place.
LA28 offered to hold equestrian events at Galway Downs in Temecula. In return, the Valley would receive an arguably more popular trio of skateboarding, BMX cycling and archery.
In other changes, the LA84/John C. Argue Foundation Swimming Stadium, a 1932 Olympic venue adjacent to the Coliseum, would be upgraded to accommodate diving in 2028. Artistic swimming – formerly known as synchronized swimming – would share a planned body of water. polo venue along the waterfront in Long Beach.
The status of other potential venues – Dodger Stadium for baseball, the Rose Bowl for football, Santa Monica for beach volleyball – will be announced in the coming months. The Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson is expected to host a number of sports, but it could be a year before the list is finalized.
When the Olympics finally come to Southern California four years from now, fans may notice that due to IOC sponsorship rules, all corporate venue names will temporarily disappear. Crypto.com, for example, will become “the arena of downtown Los Angeles” for 17 days.
As LA28 leaders continue to review their plans, they pledged to seek more savings. Wasserman referred to Peter Ueberroth, the chief organizer of the 1984 Summer Games, which ended with a multimillion-dollar surplus, in part because of his penchant for cutting expenses.
“When you have to pay your own bills, you have to watch every penny,” Wasserman said. “We absolutely have a 1984 story that sets the bar very high for us.”