Rose Bowl to host 2028 Olympic soccer finals, BMO Stadium to host new sports
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The city of Pasadena announced the Rose Bowl is hosting men’s and women’s semifinal and final soccer matches as the 2028 Olympic venues list continues to take shape ahead of the Games.
Pasadena’s agreement with the LA28 organizing committee was announced on the same day the city of Los Angeles and LA28 worked through complex venue agreements that include finding a home for two of the Games’ newest sports.
An L.A. City Council ad hoc committee approved updated venue plans presented by LA28, the private organization responsible for hosting the 2028 Games. LA28 has shuffled some sporting event locations in an effort to drive up revenue and reduce risk.
Much of the revised venue plan was revealed during the summer, but changes to the original Games agreement reached when Los Angeles earned the right to host the 2028 Olympics had not yet been approved by the City Council.
The adjustments from the Games agreement include moving basketball to the Intuit Dome and Olympic swimming to SoFi Stadium and shifting gymnastics to Crypto.com Arena. LA28 filed revisions to last July’s plans on March 14, placing flag football and lacrosse at BMO Stadium and moving sitting volleyball from Pauley Pavilion to Long Beach Arena.
Widespread damage from wildfires has prompted calls for L.A. to drop its plans to host the World Cup, Super Bowl and Olympics over the next three years.
Shuffling basketball to the new Inglewood venue that did not exist during the original bid for the Games allows artistic gymnastics, one of the Summer Games’ premier events, to be in front of a crowd of roughly 20,000 compared to the Forum’s approximately 17,000. The downtown arena also has a larger floor space than the Forum, which was originally supposed to host gymnastics competitions.
The initial bid called for a temporary pool to be built on USC’s campus to house Olympic swimming, but the school has instead started construction on a football facility. Following the success of the 2024 U.S. swimming trials in Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium, LA28 proposed moving Olympic swimming into Inglewood’s NFL stadium that will host a second Super Bowl in 2027.
Using existing sports venues to keep expenses down while maximizing ticket sales is critical for LA28, which has promised to foot the estimated $7-billion Olympics bill through ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, merchandise and International Olympic Committee contributions. But city and state legislators have agreed to be a financial backstop. The City could be responsible for up to $270 million for any debt for the Games, with further expense going to the state and then back to Los Angeles taxpayers.
“We absolutely cannot afford that under any circumstance,” City Council president and ad hoc chair Marqueece Harris-Dawson said during the meeting. “We can’t even afford half of that, much less the full strength. So we have to make sure this is done and done right and done in a way like 1984 where the city of L.A. is left with assets as a result of the Summer Games as opposed to debt.”
L.A. 2028 Summer Olympics organizers say they are on track to reach about $2 billion in sponsorships by year’s end, moving closer to the $2.5 billion needed.
While the 1984 Games generated a profit of more than $250 million, the world’s largest sporting event has grown in scope during the past four decades. Instead of 21 sports, L.A. will host 36 Olympic sports in 2028 and the United States’ first Paralympics. The size of the Games has necessitated moving some events outside of city limits, including Inglewood and Long Beach, while adding the San Fernando Valley for the first time.
The Sepulveda Basin will now host modern pentathlon, BMX, skateboarding and 3x3 basketball, while the latest proposal moved canoe slalom to an existing venue in Oklahoma City, equestrian to Temecula and shooting and para shooting to a venue that has not been determined outside of the city.
In the original Games plan proposed before the construction of BMO Stadium, the venue was meant to house preliminary rounds for soccer. But the qualifying matches will now be held in stadiums across the country, as has been common during recent Olympics.
The Rose Bowl had long been expected to host premier men’s and women’s soccer matches, a plan officially confirmed Wednesday. The stadium has hosted events during two previous Olympics and iconic World Cup matches.
The city’s announcement noted there are more agreements scheduled to be negotiated and signed leading up to 2027 that will dictate exactly how the 2028 Olympic events will be hosted and how they will be funded.
“Pasadena is proud to be a venue city supporting the Host City of Los Angeles for the 2028 Games and we look forward to welcoming the world to the iconic Rose Bowl Stadium. We will ensure all visitors enjoy the best Games experience possible with all our city has to offer,” Pasadena Mayor Victor M. Gordo said in a news release.
Olympic swimming events at SoFi Stadium? Yes, say 2028 Olympic organizers, who plan to hold events at venues that will provide more seats and raise more money.
Flag football, which will make its Olympic debut, and lacrosse, which has not been a medal sport in the Olympics since 1908, will share BMO Stadium and bring more days of competition and more medal matches to the downtown area. They were among the new sports added to the Olympic program in October 2023 and not included on the last summer’s initial venue release.
Among other Olympic newcomers, squash and cricket have yet to be placed into venues for the 2028 Games, while LA28 has not finalized the location for baseball or the soccer finals. Softball, which rejoined the Olympic program in a joint bid with baseball, will be hosted in Oklahoma City, the site of the Women’s College World Series.
The updated venue plan would save about $156 million, according to LA28. While increasing the total number of tickets at events held inside the city, the new plan will also lower the percentage of tickets sold by 5%, according to a joint report from the city administration officer and chief legislative analyst dated Nov. 12, 2024.
Casey Wasserman says his committee has made strides with Trump over Olympians not having visa issues for the 2028 L.A. Games, despite the U.S. considering travel restrictions for 43 countries.
The report called for LA28 to “conduct an independent economy impact study to highlight the anticipated impacts of the 2028 Games on the city and the region, which incorporates the requested venue changes, added sport disciplines and lessons learned from the 2024 Paris Games.” The report is to be submitted to the city of Los Angeles no later than June 30.
The city is moving forward with Olympic planning while assisting with rebuilding following devastating wildfires.
“I know firsthand the energy and inspiration Los Angeles brings to the world. Look, the 2028 Olympics is about ensuring our city, the creative capital of the world, is at the heart of this global experience,” Harris-Dawson said in a statement. “We will remain focused on our recovery work while investing smartly and opening doors of opportunity for our communities. We are not just preparing for the world to visit us — we’re setting the stage to inspire the world, as only Los Angeles can.”
With the Games set to begin in about three-and-a-half years, finalizing the plan for venues is a top priority before moving forward with other key concerns, including transportation and event operations. The full City Council will vote on the updated venue plan Friday and final confirmation of the plan is expected after review and approval from the International Olympic Committee executive board on April 9.
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