The following statements have been provided by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). To read the full release, visit WBSC.org.
PULLY, Switzerland (June 21, 2024) — The 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games announced today that the Softball Park in Oklahoma City, OK will be the venue for the LA28 softball competition — an iconic stadium for softball’s sixth appearance at the Olympic Games.
“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 WBSC 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 emphasises sustainability by encouraging the use of existing stadiums beyond the region of the host city.”
With a capacity of 13,000 spectators, the stadium hosted the U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup 2015 and later this year will stage the WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup Group C. It’s also the house of the NCAA Women’s Softball World Series, which annually draws over 190,000 people from outside Oklahoma to enjoy softball.
“The leadership of the City of Oklahoma City, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, Riversport OKC and USA Softball can confirm that their organizations have been working closely with LA28 to develop a plan to support Los Angeles’ delivery of the 2028 summer Olympics by hosting all Canoe Slalom and Women’s Softball events in Oklahoma City,” said USA Softball CEO, Craig Cress.
Located in the Adventure District in Oklahoma City, OK, since 1987, the venue recently received a $27.5 million facelift with an added upper deck that increased capacity by 4,000 seats, a three-story press box as well as upgraded ticket windows and complex entrances.
In 2028, USA will become the first nation to host an Olympic softball competition twice, after the sport’s historic debut in the Olympics in Atlanta 1996. This will be softball’s sixth appearance in the Olympic Games program, having also featured at Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and Tokyo 2020, where softball opened the Olympic Games sports program with an historic game between Japan and Australia in Fukushima.
For further questions or requests for information, please contact press@la28.org.