Why two 2028 LA Olympics are moving to Oklahoma City – NBC Los Angeles

Softball and canoe slalom Olympians will be 1,300 miles away from Southern California when the competition is staged for the third time in Los Angeles in 2028.

The partnership between the West Coast and Midwest cities, announced last week in an updated venue plan from organizers, is a move designed to utilize existing sports facilities and keep costs down.

LA28’s updated plan announced Friday that softball and canoe slalom will be moved 1,300 miles east of the host city to Oklahoma’s capital. The proposal has been approved by the International Olympic Committee, pending approval by the city of Los Angeles.

No new permanent locations are expected to be built in Los Angeles, which was named the host city in 2017. The city previously hosted the Summer Olympics in 1984 and 1932.

According to the updated site plan, gymnastics will take place at Crypto.com Arena in downtown LA, swimming will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood and basketball will take place at the under-construction Intuit Dome in Inglewood. Athletic events will continue to take place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which also hosted events in 1932 and 1984. Events are also planned for the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area in the San Fernando Valley, the USC campus swimming pool and locations in Long Beach.

Temporary locations and additional construction would be needed to host softball and canoe slalom, something LA28 has said it will avoid.

That’s where Oklahoma City comes in with two sets for part of this Hollywood story.

“Oklahoma City has hosted many international competitions at our unique, world-class whitewater and softball venues,” said Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt. “We are confident that we will be an excellent partner for LA28 in creating a dynamic environment for Olympians and fans. We are excited about the opportunity to support one of America’s greatest global cities, Los Angeles, and work closely with the LA28 Organizing Committee to ensure the 2028 Olympic Games are a success.”

Here’s what you need to know about the events in Oklahoma City.

About the softball location of the 2028 Olympic Games

In Friday’s announcement, LA28 said the decision to move softball to the 11,000-seat Devon Park, home to the annual Women’s College World Series, was all about logistics.

No softball field in the Los Angeles area can hold more than 2,000 fans.

The sport has deep roots in Oklahoma City, giving Team USA a home field advantage. Devon Park is located on the grounds of USA Softball’s headquarters and the USA Softball Hall of Fame.

Improvements have been made over the years. From 2013 to 2015, the facility added dugouts, underground locker rooms and training areas. In 2018, renovations to the exterior entrances and press boxes began, and around that time a three-story press box was added with new interview areas. After the 2019 World Series, approximately 4,000 permanent seats were added.

Os Angeles will host the 2028 Olympic Games at several pre-existing locations in the city and surrounding areas. Oklahoma City will host a number of events due to limited venue space and the goal of not building temporary venues solely for the Olympics.

These improvements, along with smaller improvements since then, allowed Oklahoma City to host the Games.

“Things cost a lot of money these days,” USA Softball executive Craig Cress said during the World Series earlier this month. ‘We are fortunate that the city has received us very kindly.’

The stadium hosted the 2015 U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup. Later this year it will host the World Baseball Softball Confederation Men’s Softball World Cup Group C.

The United States will become the only country to host two Olympic softball competitions in 2028. The sport debuted at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

“We are thrilled to announce Softball Park in Oklahoma as the location for LA28. It is the perfect stage for the best softball athletes in the world to realize their Olympic dream,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. “The state-of-the-art stadium, arguably one of the best softball stadiums in the world, will give us and LA28 the opportunity to spread the passion for Olympic softball in the US and around the world, while utilizing an existing facility for the Games, in in line with the recommendations of the IOC’s Olympic Agenda 2020+5, which emphasize sustainability by encouraging the use of existing stadiums outside the host city region.”

Paris 2024 chose to build just two new locations as a way to reduce their carbon footprint. Los Angeles will not build new venues for the 2028 Summer Olympics. National climate reporter Chase Cain visits the sites of the Olympic Games in Paris.

About the canoe slalom venue of the 2028 Olympic Games

The other venue to be used in 2028 is Riversport OKC in Oklahoma City, which hosted the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials in canoe slalom. There is no canoe slalom location in Southern California or the western United States, LA28 said in its announcement.

The campground is located along the Oklahoma River in the center of the Boathouse District.

Casey Eichfeld, a four-time Olympian, competed in the trials in April and had fond memories of the event, even though there were storms in the area on the second day.

“The crowd is great,” he said. “And even with that weather there were still a number of people who came to the race to cheer us on and watch. They endured the rain and the wind, and it was really cool to have that environment, even though the weather may have been a little less than ideal for an outdoor sport.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.