The 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles are undergoing major renovations, with organizers proposing changes such as moving basketball to the brand new Intuit Dome, installing a temporary pool in the middle of SoFi Stadium and shifting softball games 1,300 miles east to Oklahoma City.
A revision to the original master plan would incorporate Southern California's newest sports venue and make thousands of additional tickets available to fans, generating an estimated $156 million in savings and revenue, according to the private LA28 Committee.
“Some people would prefer a compact Olympics,” said Victor Matheson, a sports economist at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts who studies Olympic operations, “but from an economic perspective, it seems like a distributed event makes sense.”
An artist's rendering of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum during the 2028 Summer Olympics.
(LA28)
Friday's announcement marks the first of several expected updates to the concept, which was conceived when organizers were first bidding to host the Olympics, several years before SoFi and Intuit in Inglewood were built.
“The venue landscape in Los Angeles has changed dramatically since 2016,” said LA28 president Casey Wasserman. “The worst thing we can do is not change and not adapt.”
Leaders of the International Olympic Committee conditionally approved the proposal, pending a vote by the Los Angeles City Council. Under a provision of the Olympic Agreement with the organizers, Los Angeles has the right to consider changes within its city limits.
Wasserman expressed confidence in moving forward with what he called a “unique opportunity that we cannot afford not to take advantage of.”
Such personnel changes are nothing new for Olympic host cities, especially with the Opening Ceremony just four years away. During the “execution” phase, the optimism of brainstorming and planning often gives way to the realities of meeting deadlines and balancing budgets.
While one element of Los Angeles' plan, which also includes the 2028 Paralympics, has been immutable from the start — the Coliseum, the historic center of the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics, will be elevated and renovated to house track and field events — nearly everything else is up for review.
When the Intuit Dome opens later this year, it will create an opportunity to move basketball from Crypto.com Arena to the sport's newest venue, and it could also move another marquee sport, gymnastics, from the old Forum to Crypto.com. The downtown home of the Lakers and Kings has more seating and was designed to accommodate a hockey rink, allowing more floor space for various gymnastics events, such as vault and uneven bars.
LA28 estimates the Intuit and Crypto.com changes will increase its budget by $38 million, and relocating swimming events could be even more financially beneficial.
The original plan was to build a temporary venue in the University of Southern California's baseball field, but now organizers hope to emulate the success of the record-setting 2024 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials and install a pool inside the Indianapolis Colts' football stadium.
According to LA28, SoFi's luxury suites, restaurants, and swimming pool with an estimated capacity of 38,000 people could bring in an additional $106 million in revenue. As with the other properties, the math gets a bit complicated as this increase will be partially offset by a $58 million increase in rent and other expenses, bringing the bottom line to an estimated profit of $49 million.
An artist's rendering of the gymnastics events at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics at Crypto.com Arena.
(LA28)
But the organizers' ability to choose — the Forum could be reassigned to a different sport in the future — underscores Los Angeles' status as one of the few cities in the world with enough existing facilities to host the Olympics without permanent construction. This excess is a benefit to fans.
“All of these venues have very high capacity,” Wasserman said, “which allows for a much wider range of opportunities to participate in events.”
The estimated $7 billion cost of the games is also an issue, as organizers have pledged to cover all costs through ticket sales, corporate sponsorships and other revenues — and if they can't, taxpayers will foot the bill, with city and state lawmakers agreeing to act as financial backstops.
You can avoid this possibility by changing to a larger venue and adding more seating.
1
2
3
Four
1. A rendering of the dive venue at Exposition Park. 2. A rendering of the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area, which is planned to host multiple Olympic sports. 3. A rendering of the canoe slalom venue in Oklahoma City. Four. An artist's imagination of the basketball competition at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, which will be held at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood. (LA28)
“The more money we can raise through our fans, the better,” Matheson said. “Money we can raise through our fans is money we don't have to take from taxpayers.”
Another Olympic scholar agreed, but with limits. Jules Boykoff, a political science professor at Oregon Pacific University, is critical of the fees imposed on host cities. He noted that LA28's budget was initially set at $5.3 billion, but could grow in coming years.
“Certainly $150 million is a lot of money,” Boykoff said, “but it's not a huge savings.”
The surprising decision to hold the softball and canoe slalom events four states apart was driven by financial reasons, but not solely by them.
The move fits with a recent trend as the IOC scrambles to appease cities wary of the risk of taking on huge debts in their bids to host the Olympics, and IOC leaders have encouraged them to look for cost-cutting wherever they can.
Oklahoma City was shortlisted for LA28 because it already has two of the necessary venues.
The 13,000-seat softball stadium is larger than any baseball stadium of its size in Southern California, adjacent to the sports hall of fame and boasts a proven track record of drawing fans.
A world-class canoe slalom venue just south of the city center would save the city $39 million it would cost to build a temporary course. City chamber of commerce officials upped the ante by offering to assume all the risk: If the event goes over budget, the chamber will foot the unpaid bills for the two venues.
“We believe we will be a great partner with LA28 as we create a dynamic environment for Olympic athletes and fans,” Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said in a statement.
Organizers may have had another, more subtle motive for looking further afield: Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, who chairs the powerful House Appropriations Committee at a time when LA28 is lobbying for federal help with security and transportation funding for the Olympics.
The San Fernando Valley site plan will be overhauled as canoe slalom may move from its original site in the Sepulveda Basin, shooting will also be pulled, as will equestrian events, with the basin not being large enough to accommodate the IOC's desire to keep show jumping, dressage and eventing in the same location.
LA28 offered to host the equestrian events at Galway Downs in Temecula, and in return the Valley would host three of the more popular sports: skateboarding, BMX cycling and archery.
Other changes include the LA84 Foundation/John C. Argue Swim Stadium, a 1932 Olympic venue adjacent to the Coliseum, being renovated to host diving events in 2028. Artistic swimming (formerly known as synchronized swimming) will share a planned water polo venue along Long Beach's seafront.
The status of potential sites such as baseball's Dodger Stadium, soccer's Rose Bowl and beach volleyball's Santa Monica are expected to be announced in the coming months. Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson is still scheduled to host some events, but it could be a year before a list is finalized.
Four years later, when the Olympics finally arrive in Southern California, IOC sponsorship rules mean all corporate venue names will temporarily disappear — Crypto.com, for example, will become “Arena in Downtown Los Angeles” for 17 days.
LA28 officials have vowed to continue scrutinizing the plan and seek further savings. Wasserman pointed to the example of Peter Ueberroth, the organizer of the 1984 Summer Olympics, whose dedication to cutting costs helped the event finish with a multimillion-dollar surplus.
“When you have to pay your own bills, you have to watch every penny,” Wasserman said. “We have an 84-year history, and that holds us to a very high standard.”
