Oklahoma City to host two events for 2028 Summer Olympics

Oklahoma City will get the opportunity to host two events for the 2028 Summer Olympics, though the bulk of the Summer Games will be hosted in Los Angeles.

According to the press release, LA28 plans to stage some of the Olympics and Paralympic sports in word-class arenas and stadiums outside of Los Angeles instead of building new permanent or temporary stadiums. This change is expected to save more than $150 million.

Two of the events to be hosted at Oklahoma City venues include softball and canoe slalom.

“Today I can confirm that for the past six years, we have been working closely with leaders from LA28 and the City of Los Angeles to develop a plan to support L.A.’s delivery of the 2028 summer Olympics by hosting all Canoe Slalom and Women’s Softball events in Oklahoma City,” Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt in a post on Facebook.

LA28 said that while Southern California has more professional and collegiate sports venues than any other area in the United States, there is not a canoe slalom venue anywhere in the western U.S. It also said the largest softball venue in the area holds fewer than 2,000 people, which does not meet the expected demand.

As Oklahoma City has a softball and canoe slalom venue that are built to international competition standards, LA28 chose to assign these events to Oklahoma.

“We're thrilled with the announcement of Softball Park in Oklahoma as the venue for LA28, it's the perfect stage for the best softball athletes in the world to realise their Olympic dream," said World Baseball Softball Confederation President Riccardo Fraccari. "The cutting-edge stadium, arguably one of the best softball stadiums in the world, will give us and LA28 the opportunity to spread the passion for Olympic softball in the US and around the world, while using an existing facility for the Games, in alignment with the IOC’s Olympic Agenda 2020+5 recommendations, which emphasizes sustainability by encouraging the use of existing stadiums beyond the region of the host city."

Devon Park inside the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City has a capacity of 13,000 and is the home of the Women’s College World Series.

“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,” the release said.

Opening Ceremonies for the Los Angeles Olympics is set for July 14, 2028. The dates for the softball and canoe slalom have yet to be announced.