Beach volleyball will need a new home for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles after Santa Monica announced it would not be holding an event.
In a news release Tuesday, the city of Santa Monica said discussions with LA28, the Los Angeles Organising Committee for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics, have ended after almost two years of negotiations.
“Despite good efforts to reach a deal that benefits both the Santa Monica community and the work of LA28, the two parties ultimately failed to agree to terms on community interests, operational details and financial guarantees,” the city said in a news release.
LA28 is planning to look for new sites for sports, the city said.
“There’s no better place to hold Olympic beach volleyball tournaments than Santa Monica, where sports were born. I wanted to be the venue city in 2028,” said Santa Monica Mayor Lana Naegretto. “We are disappointed that the agreement has not come to fruition, but we want to share the excitement the Olympics bring to our community and look forward to being a local partner at this historic event.”
The city and the organising committee have not reached agreement on several issues, including benefits to the community, operational details and financial guarantees. A financial impact survey by HR&A Advisors predicted that holding a beach volleyball tournament could result in a city of approximately $1.45 million losses.
Last month, Los Angeles City Council approved changes to its first proposed venue plan for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics. Plan revisions will be announced over the summer, with amendments requiring city consent.
The iconic venue was chosen to hold at least four matches for men and women’s soccer. Mekahlo Medina is reporting NBC4 News’ report on Wednesday, March 26th, 2025 at 4pm.
LA28 will be in front of the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday to present its final venue plan.
Amidst the summer’s proposed change and approved in March, basketball will move to Inglewood’s Int’t’ Dome, gymnasts will move to crypto.com arena in downtown Los Angeles and swim at Sophie Stadium in Inglewood.
Council action added two new sports to the LA28 Games. Flag Football made its Olympic debut in 2028, and Lacrosse is returning to its medal sports lineup for the first time in over a century.
The US failed to win the gold medal for women or men in 2024, the gold medal that the game was played in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, for the first time in Olympic history. The growth of sports has been accelerating over the years, with the number of schools and athletes competing almost tripled between 2012 and 2015, according to the NCAA.
By 2023, the NCAA reported 91 beach volleyball programs and 1,615 athletes.
The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics are scheduled for July 14th to 30th, 2028.
There are eight Olympic Games held in the United States. Only London hosted three Olympics, and Paris joined the three hosts at the 2024 Summer Games.
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