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2028 Los Angeles Olympics: Swimming to move to SoFi Stadium, softball to take place in Oklahoma City

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2028 Los Angeles Olympics: Swimming to move to SoFi Stadium, softball to take place in Oklahoma City

Olympic swimming will move back to the second week of competition to accommodate the change in venue to SoFi Stadium. (Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images)

The organizing committee for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics announced on Friday that the swimming competition will move to SoFi Stadium and softball will take place in Oklahoma City.

The U.S. Olympic swimming trials are being held in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, home of the NFL’s Colts, giving Olympic organizers an idea of what the event would look like inside a football stadium.

SoFi Stadium, home of the NFL’s Chargers and Rams, is expected to hold up to 38,000 fans for swimming. Preparations for the event will force the Olympic schedule to be adjusted, putting track and field in the first week and swimming into the second — a change that has been approved by their respective governing bodies, World Athletics and World Aquatics.

“To put one of those big three Olympic sports in a spectacular venue with the capacity we could have to showcase that sport was frankly just too good an opportunity,” Casey Wasserman, chairman of the organizing committee, told the New York Times.

Part of the 2028 Olympic Opening Ceremony will take place at SoFi Stadium, meaning the competition and warm-up pools will have to be covered and organizers will need time to prepare the venue for swimming.

Due to lack of seating at potential venues in Southern California, it was announced that softball will move to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Canoe slalom will also head east as there is nowhere in the area to hold the event.

The IOC and LA28 decided this was a better way to go rather than building temporary venues.

“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 said in a statement. “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.”

Softball has a history in Oklahoma City with the Women’s College World Series having taken place there every year but one since 1990. The event is not part of this summer’s Olympic program in Paris.

The venue changes for swimming, softball and canoe slalom, among others LA28 announced on Friday, still require approval from the host cities.

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