Organizers for 2028 Olympics in LA set swimming at SoFi Stadium, basketball at Intuit Dome

LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- LA28, the organizing committee for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games, on Friday proposed the first series of updates to its venue plans, which they say will save more than $150 million and move some events outside of the city.

Under the proposal, gymnastics will be held at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles, swimming events will happen at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, and basketball will take place at the Intuit Dome, also in Inglewood. Athletics and para athletics will remain at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum -- the only stadium in history to host track and field competition in three Olympic Games.

"The Olympic and Paralympic Games represent the pinnacle of athletic competition and achievement, and we're proud to host the Los Angeles 2028 Games in some of the greatest stadiums and arenas ever built," LA28 Chairperson and President Casey Wasserman said in a statement.

He added, "LA28's updated venue plan will provide the ideal Hollywood stage for the world's top athletes, and choosing from spectacular existing venues, wherever they are, rather than building new permanent or temporary stadiums, achieves more than $150 million in savings and new revenue to help maintain a balanced budget."

LA28's previous venue plan was developed in 2017 when the city of Los Angeles was bidding for the Olympic Games. Since then, several new state-of-the-art stadiums and arenas have become available, a previously assigned venue has become unavailable, new sports have been added to the 2028 program, and the International Olympic Committee developed a new policy to encourage organizers to prioritize using existing or temporary venues, even if they are located outside of the host city.

LA28 submitted these updated venue assignments to the city of Los Angeles, which must approve competitions that move outside of the city's boundaries. According to the committee, the venue changes have been assessed in consultation with the International Federation, and received approval from the International Olympic Committee Executive Board.

Any further venue changes that do not move events outside of the city or assign venues for new sports will be announced at a future date, the committee noted.

The update venue plan also proposes some events in the San Fernando Valley, which is a first compared to the games in 1932 and 1984. Skateboarding, or the BMX Freestyle and BMX Racing events, will be held at the Sepulveda Basin Recreation, as well as archery, for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Diving events will return to the same pool that hosted the aquatics events in the 1932 Olympic Games -- the 1932 pool in Exposition Park. The city of Long Beach will host artistic swimming and para swimming competitions, as well as other sports which will be announced at a later date.

Equestrian and para equestrian competitions, which were previously assigned to the Sepulveda Dam Recreation area, will be held at a facility in Temecula. The event space is the only facility in Southern California large enough to accommodate all required disciplines in one location, officials with LA28 said.

Shooting and shooting para sport competitions, which were also to be held at the Sepulveda Dam Recreation, will take place elsewhere, though facilities are to be determined.

Taking place outside of Southern California, the canoe slalom and softball events will take place in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The organizers say there are no venues that exist locally or anywhere in the Western U.S. to meet the demands for these events.

The committee says that the proposed changes will achieve a $10 million boost in revenue, and a reduction of cost at about $156 million.

Plans for the opening and closing ceremonies remain unchanged, with parts hosted at both the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and in Inglewood. The World Athletics and World Aquatics, the governing bodies of athletics and aquatics Olympic events, have approved and supported LA28's plan to adjust the traditional Olympic schedule.

Specifically, the 2028 Olympic Games Athletics competition will move to the first week of the Olympic Games while the swimming competitions will be held during the second week.