No softball in 2028 Olympics

[nikkilugi]

A few others that first come to mind...
- Cal State Fullerton
- Bill Barber Park - Irvine
- Great Park - Irvine

Additional temporary seating would be easy to add to these venues, as well.

Great park is awesome!! That would be a great venue actually. Bill Barber too. Both would work.

 

[Hillhouse]

Aren’t there hundreds of softball facilities in southern CA, especially considering that womens’ professional fields have the same basic dimensions as youth softball fields?

I was on the executive committee of the ISC, a men's fastpitch organization and considered the top prize in men's fastpitch softball. The ISC holds an annual "World championship" each year. While 99% of the teams are from North America, the teams are comprised of players worldwide. Europe, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, etc. etc. worldwide.

To host the ISC tournament, a host city had to have certain requirements for the facility. Needing 5,000 seats minimum, concessions, alcohol sales, etc. All kinds of things that you might think are obvious but, still require some permits and work to be done on the field. Those requirements have only increased in recent years with the need for broadband internet and wifi for streaming, etc.

I would imagine the Olympics require somethings too, considering that is going to be on National TV while the ISC Men's tournament is not. But if the ISC requires all these things, the Olympics must have their own. And I'd suspect they require a lot more than the ISC does.... assuming they're going to have fans. Something Tokyo didn't have to worry about.

 

[Shiloh]

The reality is that Olympic softball isn't going to attract 10,000+ fans. Expanding the seating capacity of an existing facility isn't difficult.

Yes.

And the Angels won't release Ohtani. And the Nats won't release BH. etc, etc.

The money also isn't there because the MLB isn't there.

 

[JayW]

Yes there are.

But LA only hosts the Olympics once every 30-40 years.

Think of the other cities (Rio, Athens, London, Sydney, Paris in recent years) - how many women's FP and baseball stadiums to you think are in and around those cities?

Have no idea. Just commenting on the LA Olympics thread.

 

[Shiloh]

Have no idea. Just commenting on the LA Olympics thread.

Right, but LA can't be looked at in isolation.

If softball/baseball is going to really be in the Olympics it needs to be in every Olympics. And finding facilities to host the sport (along with baseball) is a problem.

Host city exemptions are fine, but they are one-offs.
Also hard to build a national development program around guesses about the future.

 

[Shiloh]

Part of the challenge with baseball facilities is that the Olympics overlaps with the regular season for pro baseball, so MLB and MiLB will be in use. Available existing facilities would be limited to college venues.

Excellent point.

 

[Eric F]

The same venue can be used for male and female competition in all of these sports, or, better yet, used by multiple sports:

pool - swimming, water polo, diving

A side note...For the Olympics, swimming, water polo, and diving haven't used the same pool in a long time. Most recently, swimming has been using temporary pools assembled inside stadiums to take advantage of the seating capacity. A temporary pool is a LOT cheaper than building a stadium.

 

[Eric F]

Right, but LA can't be looked at in isolation.

If softball/baseball is going to really be in the Olympics it needs to be in every Olympics. And finding facilities to host the sport (along with baseball) is a problem.

Host city exemptions are fine, but they are one-offs.
Also hard to build a national development program around guesses about the future.

This is the big hurdle, IMO.

 

[JayW]

I’d be fine if the Olympics were scaled back to include just the traditional sports such as track and field and swimming in the summer, and the snow sports, figure skating in the winter. The Olympics only really matter when winning a gold medal is the pinnacle of that sport’s possible achievements. NBA players in the Olympics is stupid. Olympic golf is ridiculous.

 

[Eric F]

I’d be fine if the Olympics were scaled back to include just the traditional sports such as track and field and swimming in the summer, and the snow sports, figure skating in the winter. The Olympics only really matter when winning a gold medal is the pinnacle of that sport’s possible achievements. NBA players in the Olympics is stupid. Olympic golf is ridiculous.

I wouldn't. One of the things I enjoy about the Olympics is watching sports I don't get to see regularly being played at a high level.