Sure, Paris has the Eiffel Tower, but does it have the clock tower from Back to the Future? Nope—and squash players will get to compete before that uniquely L.A. landmark when the city hosts the Summer Games in three years.
LA28, the local organizing committee for the Olympic Games, just unveiled a new handful of venues for competitions, including ones in Long Beach and the Valley. Tuesday’s additions join the already-announced L.A. Memorial Coliseum, which also played a starring role when Los Angeles hosted the games in 1932 and 1984; the Rose Bowl Stadium, which will host Olympic soccer for the third time; the new Intuit Dome; and SoFi Stadium (officially referred to in the plan simply as “Stadium”), where a temporary swimming pool will be constructed atop the football field.
The International Olympic Committee Executive Board approved the new venue plan, which prioritizes using the city’s existing world-class venues and avoids the need for new permanent construction—and, in the meantime, will show off the best of L.A. to the rest of the world. “We’ve promised the world an incredible Olympic Games, and today we’re proud to share the plan that will make it happen,” said LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover, adding that the games’ “most exciting sports [will be] staged at some of the world’s top-tier existing stadiums and arenas, famous beaches and purpose-built temporary structures.”
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As mentioned earlier, squash will take place on the Universal Studios Lot, specifically at Courthouse Square, where To Kill a Mockingbird was filmed in addition to Back to the Future. The cinematic backdrop is fitting for the Olympic debut of the traditionally English sport. Deeper in the Valley, the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area will host modern pentathlon and 3x3 basketball.
Another quintessentially L.A. location—our scenic coastline—will also play a starring role in the Summer Games. Venice Beach will be the site of the triathlon and also serve as the starting point for both the marathon and road cycling routes.
And across town, Dodger Stadium will fittingly host baseball’s return to the Olympic Games. (It also hosted baseball in L.A.’s 1984 Olympics, but back then baseball was only included as a “demonstration sport,” and no medals were awarded.)
Long Beach (which, if you remember, served as a stand-in for Venice in the closing ceremony’s handoff from Paris to Los Angeles), will also be a hub for Olympic activities: Alamitos Beach will now host beach volleyball (which was originally proposed for beach volleyball’s birthplace, Santa Monica, but the city recently backed out of hosting duties), while the Waterfront will welcome coastal rowing—also making its Olympic debut. Nearby, the Long Beach Convention Center will host sport climbing and rifle/pistol shooting. But surfers will have to head down to Orange County to catch waves at Trestles Beach in San Clemente.
Meanwhile, the Peacock Theater and the Downtown Arena (that’s the Olympics’ branding-free name for the Crypto.com Arena) will share boxing hosting duties; the USC Sports Center (the Galen Center) added rhythmic gymnastics to its lineup; cricket will be held at Fairplex in Pomona; more competitive shooting events will take place at the Shotgun Center (L.A. Clays Shooting Park) in El Monte; and equestrian events will be back at their 1984 Olympic home: the Equestrian Center (Santa Anita Park) in Arcadia. (This also marks a recent change to the plans, as Temecula’s Galaway Downs had been tipped to host the horse-focused events.)
The LA28 Games will take place from July 14 to 30, 2028, followed by the Paralympics from August 22 to September 3, 2028.