Equestrian Olympic Events To Be Held In Temecula Under New Proposal

LOS ANGELES, CA — Organizers for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics announced a series of proposed venue changes Friday, including plans to shift equestrian events to Temecula.

If the Los Angeles City Council approves the proposed changes, Equestrian and Para Equestrian will move to Temecula.

"Equestrian and Para Equestrian competitions, previously assigned to the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area, will be held at an exceptional existing facility in Temecula, CA, that is the only such facility in Southern California large enough to accommodate all required disciplines in one location," LA28, the Olympics organizing committee announced in a written statement.

Patch left messages Friday with officials at Galway Downs regarding the LA28 statement. The 240-acre Galway facility at 38801 Los Corralitos Road on the outskirts of Temecula city limits features 400 permanent horse stalls, a 1-mile race track, 5/8 mile training track, 14 competition arenas, 15 miles of riding trails, 49 RV hook-ups and other amenities.

Equestrian comprises three disciplines at the Olympic Games — dressage, jumping and eventing — with men and women competing on equal terms.

The Temecula update is part of a series of proposed venue changes aimed at saving money, but it's the first major venue announcement since the city's 2017 bid to host the 2028 Olympics.

Under the proposed updates, gymnastics will be held at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles, swimming events will happen at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, and basketball will take place at the Intuit Dome, also in Inglewood. Athletics and para-athletics will remain at the LA Memorial Coliseum.

"Each venue shift announced today will achieve at least a $10 million estimated economic improvement, reducing the cost and complexity of temporary stadium builds, overlays and operations, and will accumulate an estimated $156 million in combined savings and revenue increases to support LA28’s balanced budget," LA28 announced in a written statement.

"LA28's updated venue plan will provide the ideal Hollywood stage for the world's top athletes, and choosing from spectacular existing venues, wherever they are, rather than building new permanent or temporary stadiums, achieves more than $150 million in savings and new revenue to help maintain a balanced budget," said Chairperson and President Casey Wasserman.

LA28's previous venue plan was developed in 2017 when the city of Los Angeles was bidding for the Olympic Games. Since then, several new state-of-the-art stadiums and arenas have become available, a previously assigned venue has become unavailable, new sports have been added to the 2028 program, and the International Olympic Committee developed a new policy to encourage organizers to prioritize using existing or temporary venues, even if they are located outside of the host city.

LA28 submitted these updated venue assignments to the city of Los Angeles, which must approve competitions that move outside of the city's boundaries. According to the committee, the venue changes have been assessed in consultation with the International Federation, and received approval from the International Olympic Committee Executive Board.

Any further venue changes that do not move events outside of the city or assign venues for new sports will be announced at a future date, the committee noted.

The update venue plan also proposes some events in the San Fernando Valley, which is a first compared to the games in 1932 and 1984. Skateboarding, or the BMX Freestyle and BMX Racing events, will be held at the Sepulveda Basin Recreation, as well as archery, for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Memorial Coliseum will become the only stadium in history to host track and field competition in three Olympic Games.

"The Olympic and Paralympic Games represent the pinnacle of athletic competition and achievement, and we're proud to host the Los Angeles 2028 Games in some of the greatest stadiums and arenas ever built," LA28 Chairperson and President Casey Wasserman said in a statement.

Diving events will return to the same pool that hosted the aquatics events in the 1932 Olympic Games — the 1932 pool in Exposition Park. The city of Long Beach will host artistic swimming and para swimming competitions, as well as other sports which will be announced at a later date.

Shooting and shooting para sport competitions, which were also to be held at the Sepulveda Dam Recreation, will take place elsewhere, though facilities are to be determined.

Taking place outside of Southern California, the canoe slalom and softball events will take place in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The organizers say there are no venues that exist locally or anywhere in the Western U.S. to meet the demands for these events.

Plans for the opening and closing ceremonies remain unchanged, with parts hosted at both the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and in Inglewood. The World Athletics and World Aquatics, the governing bodies of athletics and aquatics Olympic events, have approved and supported LA28's plan to adjust the traditional Olympic schedule.

Specifically, the 2028 Olympic Games Athletics competition will move to the first week of the Olympic Games while the swimming competitions will be held during the second week.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.