Olympic Softball in Oklahoma City? Players, Coaches React to LA Divorce in 2028 Games

When softball returns to the Olympics in 2028, it will bear similarities to its first participation in the 1996 Games, but not just in the host country.

LA28 organizers unveiled an updated site plan last month, which includes softball and canoe slalom in Oklahoma City, 1,300 miles from the host city of Los Angeles. The move may seem odd, but it’s not necessarily an outlier. During the 1996 Atlanta Games, softball was held in Columbus, Ga., about 100 miles from the main site.

Still, the jump to two time zones in softball in 2028 is a lot bigger than the two-hour drive that separated them in 1996. For that reason, some Olympic athletes and coaches are wary of the changed experience.

“As good as the games are, as great as the fans are in OKC, it’s not going to be an Olympic experience, which is so special and rare,” said Nicole Mendes, an Oklahoma softball alum who played for Mexico in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “Honestly, it just made me really sad for these softball athletes.”

Los Angeles will host its third Olympic Games in 2028, but the city has never hosted softball before: the 1932 and 1984 games predate softball’s introduction to the Olympics. Softball was a staple of the Summer Olympics from 1996 to 2008, but since then the sport has only been played at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (which were moved to 2021 due to the pandemic). Softball is not on the agenda for this summer’s Paris Olympics.

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In October 2023, LA28 proposed adding softball back and the International Olympic Committee voted in favor of adding it, alongside baseball, lacrosse and cricket, plus the introduction of flag football and squash.

“I worry that it’s going to be out of sight, out of mind. But I think in this day and age, with television and all that stuff, it doesn’t seem like that anymore,” said Natasha Watley, a two-time U.S. Olympian. “It’s still going to be part of the Olympic movement, and so now it comes down to the experience of the athletes themselves. That’s the priority for me.”

In a statement issued to The AthleticsLA28 emphasized its commitment to the Olympic experience, including the Opening Ceremony, for softball athletes.

“LA28 is working with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the International Canoe Federation (ICF) and the City of Oklahoma City to ensure that athletes competing in events held in Oklahoma City will have an unforgettable Olympic experience, including the opportunity to attend and experience the Opening Ceremony,” LA28 said.

Olympic organizers chose Devon Park, home of the Women’s College World Series, as the host site for the 2028 softball tournament. The IOC’s Olympic Agenda 2020+5 encourages the use of existing or temporary venues, even if they are located outside the host city, which led organizers to OKC. Devon Park recently underwent a $27.5 million renovation to expand its capacity to 13,000 and is located within the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex. Many in the softball community call the venue “the Mecca of softball.”

“There is no better softball stadium in the United States to host an international tournament of that caliber,” said Ken Eriksen, a longtime Team USA assistant and head coach at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “You know, it’s a little disappointing because the athletes won’t get to experience what we experienced in 2004 and 2020 with being in the Olympic Village and the experiences that come with that.

“And then finally, once the competition starts, it’s about the games and it’s about winning the medals. So you’ve got to make a trade-off. Again, great location — you’ll miss the experiences, but then you’re playing for a gold medal.”

Team USA won silver at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (Kazuhiro Fujihara/ AFP via Getty Images)

While Oklahoma City has become a hub for elite softball, the sport’s roots also stretch west. With 12 national titles, UCLA is the winningest softball program in Division I. Watley, a former Bruin All-American, was surprised by the change of location, knowing the history of the sport in the region.

“To be honest, I was offended,” said Watley, a Los Angeles resident. “Softball wasn’t good enough, you know? That’s how I took it. It wasn’t good enough to get a return on their investment to invest in an existing stadium, to build a new stadium, to make it happen, because I feel like there’s still time.”

A spokesperson for LA28 said the organization worked with the WBSC and USA Softball to explore sites in Southern California, but “after evaluating a dozen locations, it became clear that hosting the sport locally would have required costly temporary construction or retrofitting of an existing baseball stadium, which would have resulted in a number of critical compromises that would impact athletes and fans.” In 2020, softball was played at the same venue as baseball, which was converted to accommodate both sports. Sara Groenewegen, a 2020 Olympian with Team Canada, said the conversion worked.

“It was a really great experience and we didn’t mind,” Groenewegen said. “It was honestly better than 100 percent of the international softball fields I’ve played on. The only people I’ve heard complain about our Tokyo 2020 arrangements were the fans watching on TV and saying how strange it looked.”

The 2028 Games will mark the first time in Olympic history that no new, permanent venues will be built for events.

“Do I think it would be that big of a deal to strip the grass at Dodger Stadium or Angel Stadium? Is that a possibility? Yes, it is a possibility. But it costs money,” said Laura Berg, an assistant coach for Team USA at the 2020 Games and a four-time Olympic medalist. “So I think the most important thing is that we’re first in the Olympics and secondly that we make it the best possible experience for the athletes.”

The Atlanta Games were far from the only time an Olympic event was held outside of its host city. Parts of the basketball tournaments at this summer’s Paris Games will be played 100 miles away in Lille, while surfing around the world will be held in Tahiti. Olympic soccer is played in a format more akin to a World Cup, with matches played across the host country rather than just in the host city — at this summer’s Paris Games, the tournament will be played at seven venues in seven cities.

In 1996, the athletes were close enough to attend the Opening Ceremony and had the opportunity to watch other sports, but they stayed in an Olympic Village separate from the one in Atlanta.

“We focused on our sport, right? Our art, our talent, our focus,” said Dot Richardson, a team member that year and a two-time Olympic gold medalist with Team USA. “Then, in 2000, we were in the Olympic Village. I think being in the village is fun, you meet a lot of other players, but it can also be distracting.”

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Groenewegen said a driving factor in her bid to play in the 2028 Games would be the changed Olympic experience of the 2020 Games, when restrictions were placed on fan attendance and athlete interaction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With softball now being played in Oklahoma City, that experience could take on new meaning again.

“Honestly, I’m afraid it’s going to feel like just another international softball tournament, while the Olympics should feel so much more than that,” Groenewegen said. “Softball deserves so much more. Why should we be happy with a crumb of an Olympic experience?”

There is no single aspect that completely defines the Olympic experience. It is not uncommon for teams to miss the opening ceremony if it falls too close to the start of competition — as was the case with Team USA softball in Athens in 2004. The Olympic Village inspires camaraderie among athletes, but the Games ultimately come down to a single goal.

“At the Olympics, you’re there for one thing, you’re there to win gold,” Berg said. “These athletes are going to be a little bit isolated and be able to focus 100 percent on bringing gold back to the U.S..”

Selecting the 2028 Olympic roster is an ongoing process for USA Softball, and this month’s World Cup in Castions di Strada, Italy, will help set the stage. Once the 2028 Games begin, the next question will be: How does softball earn a lasting presence on the world’s biggest stage?

According to Eriksen, separating the sport from baseball by not sharing the stadium would be a step in the right direction.

“Softball has to be separate from doing anything with baseball,” Eriksen said, “because in softball you get the best players in the world to go to that tournament. The Olympics in baseball, you haven’t had that because you have major competitions going on at the same time and a lot of teams and players don’t see that as the ultimate.

“If you continue to distance yourself from baseball, I think you have a better chance of staying in 2032, 2036 and so on, because the sport itself is truly phenomenal.”

(Top photo: Tyler Schank/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)