Softball returns to the Olympics in 2028. And it’ll be played in the grandest stadium of them all, otherwise known as the second home of the Sooners, with the Cowgirls joining in.
The Los Angeles Olympic Committee announced Friday that it would use Devon Park, formerly known as USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex, for its competition in 2028. In addition, the LA Olympics committee also placed the canoe slalom events in OKC. That means two sports will be played two time zones away from the main venues in southern California.
In a statement, the LA Olympics committee said:
“Both the Canoe Slalom and Softball venues in Oklahoma City are built to international competition standards, ensuring a high-quality experience for athletes and fans, while allowing LA28 to realize cost savings and revenue gains to support its balanced budget. 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.”
Devon Park seats 13,000; largest softball venue in Cali is 2,000
The committee found that the largest softball stadium in California seats only 2,000 fans. Conversely, Devon Park has a capacity for 13,000 fans. Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said his city and the LA committee had been talking about moving softball there for the past six years. The stadium is the site for the annual NCAA Women’s College World Series. The Oklahoma Sooners recently won their fourth straight NCAA championship in front of a capacity crowd. It was their eighth overall. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State made its 12th appearance in the NCAA WCWS.
The stadium also hosts various high-profile tournaments and other softball events. The Oklahoma City Spark, OKC’s pro softball team, will take on Team USA there next week.
The Olympics added softball in time for the Atlanta Games back in 1996. Softball stayed in the Olympics through 2008. It was dropped for the games in London (2012) and Rio (2016). But it made an appearance at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021. It is not included at this year’s Olympics in Paris, which start July 26.
But the sport is back on the schedule for 2028. There are no set times for games, as yet, but the Opening Ceremonies are set for July 14, 2028.
The LA Olympics Committee also announced that swimming would be held at SoFi Stadium, the home to the NFL Rams and Chargers. The stadium will be configured to seat 38,000 fans. The current Olympic swim trials are being swum inside Lucas Oil Stadium, the NFL home of the Indianapolis Colts.
Basketball will be played at the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood. And gymnastics are headed to Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles. The track competition will be at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
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