The 2028 Olympics may be hosted in Los Angeles, but the soccer tournaments will take place from sea to shining sea. Today, the committee for the 2028 Summer Olympics announced that six stadiums will join the Rose Bowl in hosting soccer matches for both the men’s and women’s soccer tournaments.
Group stage and knockout stage games will take place across six stadiums:
-Etihad Park, Queens (NYCFC’s new stadium scheduled to open in 2027) – 25,000 capacity
-ScottsMiracle-Gro Field, Columbus – 20,371 capacity
-Geodis Park, Nashville – 30,000 capacity
-Energizer Park, St. Louis – 22,423 capacity
-PayPal Park, San Jose – 18,000 capacity
-Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego – 35,000 capacity
Due to sponsorship conflicts, the stadiums will be referred to by generic city names (Columbus Stadium, New York City Stadium, etc.) as they generally are in the World Cup. The Rose Bowl (capacity 89,702) will retain its name for the Olympics.
The medal games, including the Gold Medal match, for both the men’s and the women’s soccer tournaments will be played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, bringing those teams back to the Los Angeles area to close out the tournament.
The Olympic soccer tournaments are traditionally played across the entirety of the country that is hosting the Olympics, freeing facilities in the host city for other events. When Atlanta hosted the Summer Games in 1996, soccer matches were played at RFK Stadium in DC, Sanford Stadium in Athens, Legion Field in Birmingham, the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, and the Orange Bowl in Miami. Atlanta didn’t even host a match during those tournaments, with the Gold Medal matches being played in Athens. When Los Angeles last hosted in 1984, the soccer matches were played at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, and Stanford Stadium in Stanford along with the Rose Bowl.
In 2028, the men’s and women’s soccer tournaments will do a flip in format. Before, the men’s tournament would consist of 16 teams, while the women’s tournament would only have 12 teams. In 2028, the women’s tournament will now have 16 teams, while the men’s tournament will be reduced to 12 teams. The United States, as the host country, will automatically have teams in both tournaments. For the men, that means the U-23s, with up to 3 overage players, already have a spot. The USWNT also have a spot in the Olympic tournament, which means that the Concacaf W Championship later this year will only serve as World Cup qualifying for them. The top 3 finishers not named the United States in that tournament will also qualify for the Olympics.
The six stadiums chosen to host soccer matches alongside the Rose Bowl are all Major League Soccer stadiums, with San Jose and San Diego also serving as National Women’s Soccer League stadiums. It also gives fans of the USWNT and U.S. Men’s U-23s a chance to see their team compete in the Olympics all across the country if they aren’t able to make it to LA for the Summer Games.
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