LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Olympic Games in Los Angeles 2028 will feature Dodger Stadium as the baseball venue, which is back in the program. It was also announced that surfing and cricket will be held outside the city.
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The announcement is part of an updated venue plan released by the Organizing Committee, an institution with private funding and minimal contributions from the city and the state of California.
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Baseball will have its first official event at Dodger Stadium
The Olympic Games will be held for the third time in Los Angeles, but the 2028 event will be the first time that baseball will be an official sport in the program. In 1932, it was not part of the competitions, and in 1984, it was only a demonstration sport with eight invited countries, where Japan won the final against the United States.
The 1984 championship was also held at Dodger Stadium, the historic venue built in Chavez Ravine in 1962 to host the Dodgers who moved from Brooklyn, New York, to Los Angeles.
Since then, the stadium has been the site of historic moments in Major League Baseball, such as the great campaign of Mexican pitcher Fernando Valenzuela in 1981, Kirk Gibson’s home run to win Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, and the recent 2024 World Series between Dodgers vs Yankees.
What were the other announced locations?
The surfing event will take place at Trestles Beach, a renowned collection of surf spots between northern San Diego and southern San Clemente in Orange County, approximately an hour’s drive south of downtown Los Angeles. It has previously hosted a World Surf League competition and attracts around 2.5 million visitors each year.
“We have promised the world an incredible Olympic Games and today we are proud to share the plan that will make it possible,” said Reynold Hoover, CEO of LA28 in a statement.
Cricket will return to the Olympic Games for the first time in a century in a temporary structure at the Fairgrounds in Pomona, about 35 miles from Los Angeles.
Squash will make its Olympic debut at Universal Studios lot in northern Los Angeles, famous for being the setting of movies and television shows.
Beach volleyball will move to Long Beach after negotiations with the city of Santa Monica failed.
The following venues were also confirmed:
- The triathlon will move from Long Beach to the famous Venice Beach on the west side of Los Angeles.
- In Long Beach, shooting sports will also come together at a temporary indoor shooting range at the city’s convention center.
- The sports climbing will take place outdoors in the parking lot of the Long Beach Convention Center.
- Venice Beach will also be the starting point for the marathon and road cycling.
- Boxing was confirmed in the Olympic program after being close to being removed after Paris 2024, and will compete in the preliminary matches at the Peacock Theater and then the finals at the Crypto.com Arena (the home of the Los Angeles Lakers, but which for the Games will be called “Downtown Arena”).
- Volleyball will be held at the Honda Center in Anaheim, about 27 miles from downtown Los Angeles.
- The city of Carson, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, will host archery at the Dignity Health Sports Park after the Rugby Seven tournament.
- The clay pigeon shooting will take place in South El Monte, about 14 miles from downtown Los Angeles.
- The horse racing is scheduled for the Santa Anita racetrack in the suburb of Arcadia, which was the venue for the sport during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
- Rhythmic gymnastics will take place at the USC Galen Center, the same venue as badminton.
Other sports already had their venues confirmed beforehand. For example, swimming will take place at the SoFi Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Rams and Chargers, which will be adapted for the competition; basketball will be held at the newly inaugurated Intuit Dome, and athletics will have its venue at the Los Angeles Coliseum, just like it did in 1932 and 1984.
The updated plan was announced after being approved last week by the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee. An updated plan for the Paralympic Games venues is still to come.