The LA 2028 Olympics venues are spread across more than 40 locations, organized by LA28 into 25 official zones — 18 across Greater Los Angeles and 7 more spread around the country in Oklahoma City, Columbus, Nashville, New York City, San José, San Diego, and St. Louis. Understanding the zone system is the single most important planning decision for any international visitor attending the Games. LA28’s official advice is clear: search for sessions within the same zone to maximize your day, and leave ample time between sessions even within the same zone. This guide covers the seven highest-traffic zones out of LA28’s 25 total zones, the key venues and sports in each, where to base yourself for each one, and how to plan a multi-session day without getting caught in LA traffic.
| Zone | Key Venue | Signature Sports | Best Base |
|---|---|---|---|
| DTLA | DTLA Arena, LA Convention Center | Basketball, Gymnastics, Judo | Downtown LA hotels |
| Exposition Park | LA Memorial Coliseum | Athletics (Track & Field) | USC/Exposition Park area |
| Inglewood/SoFi | SoFi Stadium (2028 Stadium) | Swimming, Ceremonies | Inglewood, Manhattan Beach |
| Pasadena | Rose Bowl Stadium | Football (Soccer) | Pasadena, Arcadia |
| Long Beach | Long Beach Arena | Handball, Water Polo | Long Beach waterfront |
| Valley | Sepulveda Basin | BMX, Skateboarding, 3×3 Basketball | Sherman Oaks, Encino |
| Carson | Cal State Dominguez Hills | Multiple sports | Carson, Torrance |
| Out-of-State | Various | Soccer prelims, Softball, Canoe Slalom | Book locally per city |
LA28’s remaining zones include Griffith Park, Port of Los Angeles, Riviera, Universal City, Venice, Anaheim, Arcadia, City of Industry, Pomona, Trestles Beach, and Whittier Narrows across Greater LA, each hosting one or two standalone venues.
How the LA28 Zone System Works
LA28 has organized its venues into geographic clusters called zones rather than listing individual venues in isolation. This is a deliberate planning tool — the zone is the unit you should think in when building your Games schedule, not the individual venue. Beyond the seven zones covered in depth in this guide, LA28’s remaining Greater LA zones include Griffith Park, Port of Los Angeles, Riviera, Universal City, Venice, Anaheim, Arcadia, City of Industry, Pomona, Trestles Beach, and Whittier Narrows — each hosting one or two standalone venues rather than a cluster, which is why we’ve focused this guide on the seven zones with the most session-planning complexity.
The official LA28 guidance: searching for sessions within the same zone helps you maximize your experience. If you want to explore multiple zones in one day, look for morning and evening sessions to allow plenty of time to move throughout the city.
Why this matters for accommodation: If you know which zone and sports you’ll visit most often, consider staying within or near that zone. A hotel optimized for the DTLA zone is not the right base if most of your tickets are at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. These are 20-30 miles apart in a city where traffic can make that a 60-90 minute drive on event days.
A critical planning note: LA28 will publish more detailed information on travel between zones closer to 2028. Until then, the key rule is to build significant time buffers between sessions in different zones — more than you’d think necessary based on a map.
DTLA Zone: The Urban Core
The Downtown LA zone is the most transit-connected part of the Games footprint and the natural hub for visitors without a car.
Key venues:
- DTLA Arena (Crypto.com Arena, renamed for the Games unless a sponsorship deal is reached) — Artistic Gymnastics and other indoor sports. One of LA’s premier indoor arenas, located in the LA Live entertainment complex.
- LA Convention Center — Judo and other mat sports. Walking distance from DTLA Arena, making same-day double sessions here genuinely practical.
- Peacock Theater (rebranded Peacock Theater if Comcast deal holds) — additional indoor competition venue
Transit access: The DTLA zone has the best Metro connectivity of any zone. The A Line (Blue), E Line (Expo), and multiple bus rapid transit routes all converge in Downtown. Union Station and 7th Street/Metro Center are the primary hubs.
Where to stay for DTLA zone sessions: Downtown LA hotels give you walking or one-stop Metro access to all DTLA venues. It’s the most expensive base option but the most logistically simple. For lower-cost alternatives with good transit connections, Koreatown (one Metro stop west) and Boyle Heights (one stop east) offer meaningfully lower nightly rates.
Best for: Visitors whose primary sports are gymnastics, judo, and indoor arena events. Also the best base for the Opening Ceremony at SoFi Stadium given the K Line connection.
Exposition Park Zone: Track and Field History
Key venue:
- LA Memorial Coliseum — Athletics (Track and Field). The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will host its third Olympic Games, a distinction no other stadium in the world can claim. The Coliseum hosted the 1932 and 1984 Olympics and will become the first venue in history to host three Summer Games. The closing ceremony will be held here.
Transit access: The E Line (Expo) Metro connects Exposition Park directly to Downtown LA and Santa Monica. The Coliseum station puts you steps from the venue.
Where to stay: The USC campus area and Exposition Park neighborhood are the most direct bases. Mid-Wilshire and Koreatown are 10-15 minutes by Metro and offer better accommodation variety at lower prices.
Best for: Track and field fans — this is where the 100m final, marathon finish, and all athletics events will be held. Also essential for anyone attending the Closing Ceremony.
Inglewood/SoFi Zone: Swimming and Ceremonies
Key venues:
- SoFi Stadium (2028 Stadium) — Swimming and the Opening Ceremony. SoFi Stadium will host swimming, becoming the largest swimming venue in Olympic history. The home of the NFL’s Rams and Chargers will be transformed into an aquatics venue for the Games. SoFi Stadium is the main ceremonies venue.
- Intuit Dome — Basketball (has paid to retain its naming rights for the Games)
- YouTube Theater — additional indoor venue
Transit access: The K Line (Crenshaw/LAX Line) connects the SoFi Stadium area to Downtown LA and the broader Metro network. Travel time from Downtown to the Inglewood station is approximately 30-40 minutes. On event days, the K Line will be the primary fan transport option — driving is not recommended given the scale of expected crowd movement.
Where to stay: Inglewood itself offers accommodation close to the venue footprint. Manhattan Beach and El Segundo (south of the airport) are slightly further but offer better variety. For the Opening Ceremony specifically, book as close to the K Line as possible — the post-ceremony crowd movement will be one of the largest single transit events in LA history.
Best for: Swimming fans (all events here), basketball fans (Intuit Dome), and anyone attending either ceremony.
Pasadena Zone: The Rose Bowl Returns
Key venue:
- Rose Bowl Stadium — Football (Soccer). The Rose Bowl Stadium will host its third Olympic Games. The iconic stadium in Pasadena hosted the 1984 Olympics and the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final. It will host football (soccer) again in 2028.
Transit access: The Rose Bowl is notoriously difficult to access by car on event days — the canyon roads leading to it become severely congested. The Gold Line Metro connects Pasadena to Downtown LA, with shuttle connections to the stadium. Plan for significantly longer travel times on match days than the distance suggests.
Where to stay: Pasadena itself offers charming Old Town accommodation with direct shuttle access. Arcadia and Monrovia (further east on the Gold Line) offer lower prices. For visitors primarily attending Rose Bowl events, staying in Pasadena eliminates the worst of the transit complexity.
Best for: Football (soccer) fans. The Rose Bowl will host group stage and knockout round matches — check la28.org for the full football schedule once released.
Long Beach Zone: Coastal Competition
Key venues:
- Long Beach Arena — Handball (Olympic) and Sitting Volleyball (Paralympic). The arena will be transformed into an aquatics venue (water polo) for the Summer Olympics. Long Beach Arena, nestled in the city’s downtown waterfront, has hosted Olympic volleyball competitions in 1984.
- Belmont Beach and Alamitos Beach — Beach volleyball and open water swimming temporary venues
Transit access: The A Line (Blue) Metro connects Long Beach to Downtown LA in approximately 45-55 minutes. Long Beach is the southernmost zone with Metro connectivity, making it accessible from DTLA without a car.
Where to stay: Long Beach downtown offers excellent waterfront accommodation with walkable access to the arena and beach venues. It’s also a genuinely enjoyable base — the waterfront, the Aquarium of the Pacific, and the Queen Mary are all within walking distance for non-competition days.
Best for: Handball fans, water polo fans, and beach volleyball fans. Long Beach also offers the most pleasant non-competition day experience of any zone base.
Valley Zone: BMX, Skateboarding and 3×3 Basketball
Key venues:
- Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area — BMX Freestyle, BMX Racing, Skateboarding, Modern Pentathlon, and 3×3 Basketball. The Sepulveda Basin and Lake Balboa will share the spotlight, hosting BMX, skateboarding, pentathlon and 3-on-3 basketball — for the first time, events will be held in the Valley as Los Angeles hosts the Summer Games.
Transit access: The Valley zone is the least Metro-connected of the LA zones. The Orange Line (rapid bus) and connections to the Red/Purple Line provide some access, but travel times from Downtown are significant. Shuttle services from Metro stations will be the primary fan transport.
Where to stay: Sherman Oaks and Encino are the most practical bases for Valley zone sessions. Van Nuys offers lower-cost options with bus connections. For visitors mixing Valley zone events with other zones, a DTLA base with planned early departures is more flexible than committing to a Valley-based accommodation.
Best for: Action sports fans — BMX and skateboarding events here will draw the most energetic crowds of any venue in the Games.
Out-of-State Venues: Football Prelims and Softball
LA28 designates these host cities as their own official zones — the OKC Zone, New York Zone, Columbus Zone, Nashville Zone, St. Louis Zone, San José Zone, and San Diego Zone — separate from the 18 zones across Greater Los Angeles.
Football (Soccer) preliminary matches will be held at:
- Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego
- MetLife Stadium, New York/New Jersey
- Ohio Stadium, Columbus
- Nissan Stadium, Nashville
- Busch Stadium, St. Louis
Softball: Devon Park, Oklahoma City
Canoe Slalom: Venue TBC
For fans following football (soccer) through the preliminary rounds, the out-of-state matches may require separate travel planning entirely independent of the main LA zone strategy. Book accommodation in each host city separately — the LA 2028 zone strategy doesn’t apply to these venues.
Planning a Multi-Session Day: The Zone Strategy in Practice
LA28’s recommended approach for maximizing your Games experience:
Same-zone days: Book morning and afternoon/evening sessions at different venues within the same zone. The DTLA example — Judo at the LA Convention Center followed by Gymnastics at DTLA Arena — is the ideal model. Both venues are walkable from each other and Metro-connected from any DTLA accommodation.
Cross-zone days: If you want to attend sessions in two different zones, build in at minimum 3-4 hours between sessions. LA traffic on event days will be significantly heavier than normal. Afternoon sessions that start 2 hours after a morning session ends in a different zone are high-risk.
Practical example: Rose Bowl (Pasadena) morning session + DTLA Arena evening session = approximately 30-45 miles apart. Allow a minimum of 3 hours buffer using Gold Line Metro + DTLA Metro connection.
Airbnb Accommodation Opens July 2026
As a Worldwide Partner of the LA28 Games, Airbnb provides a variety of accommodation options for visitors around the LA28 Games footprint. Airbnb accommodations will be available for booking starting in July 2026.
That window opens in approximately 4 weeks from publication. For visitors whose primary zone is confirmed from ticket purchases, the July 2026 Airbnb opening is the best opportunity to secure accommodation within or near that zone at reasonable rates — before the broader hotel market fully prices up for 2028.
For the full accommodation booking strategy and timing, see the LA 2028 Olympics Budget Travel Guide.
Essential Internal Resources
These guides on Parandjah Travels cover the related planning layers:
- For the full LA 2028 ticket and accommodation overview: LA 2028 Olympics Travel Guide
- For budget strategy, ticket deadlines, and flight timing: LA 2028 Olympics Budget Travel Guide
- For booking hotels in event host cities: Best Hotels for Event Travel
- For the cheapest airport to city transfer on arrival at LAX: Cheapest Way to Get From Airport to City
- For the full event travel planning framework: Guide to Planning Event Travel Itineraries
Master Your Destination: City Budget Guides
Planning to extend your LA 2028 trip to other US or international cities? These city guides cover where to stay for less:
Americas Budget Hubs
New York · Chicago · Toronto · Mexico City · Buenos Aires · Cape Town
European Budget Hubs
Madrid · Paris · Rome · Dublin · Lisbon · Budapest · Prague · Vienna · Istanbul · Amsterdam · Milan · Barcelona · Berlin
Asia-Pacific Budget Hubs
Bangkok · Tokyo · Sydney · Singapore · Seoul
Frequently Asked Questions
How many venues does LA 2028 have?
More than 40 venues across Greater Los Angeles and beyond will stage 51 disciplines — making LA28 one of the most geographically spread Summer Games in history. No new permanent structures are being built, a first for any Summer Games since London 1948.
Which LA 2028 venue is hosting the Opening Ceremony?
SoFi Stadium (referred to as “2028 Stadium” for the Games unless a naming rights deal is reached) will host the Opening Ceremony. The Closing Ceremony will be held at the LA Memorial Coliseum — making the Coliseum the first venue in history to host three Summer Games.
Where is swimming at the LA 2028 Olympics?
Swimming will be held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, which will be transformed into the largest swimming venue in Olympic history. The K Line Metro connects the SoFi Stadium area to Downtown LA.
Which LA 2028 zone has the best Metro access?
The DTLA zone has the best Metro connectivity — multiple lines including the A Line, E Line, and K Line all connect here, and the LA Convention Center and DTLA Arena are both walkable from the 7th Street/Metro Center station. The Valley zone has the most limited Metro access of any LA zone.
Want More Free Travel Resources?
Grab the free 2026 Travel Dupes Cheat Sheet for budget-friendly destination ideas to pair with your LA 2028 trip. Subscribe at the top of parandjahtravels.com to download it instantly.
Conclusion
The LA 2028 Olympics venues are organized into zones — and the zone you attend most is the zone you should base yourself in. Book the same-zone double sessions where possible, build significant time buffers for cross-zone days, and watch the Airbnb accommodation window opening in July 2026 if you want zone-specific accommodation at reasonable rates. The venue details above are confirmed as of June 2026 — check la28.org for any updates as the Games approach.
Marsha Rowe is the Founder and Travel Strategist at Parandjah Travels. She uncovers high-intent travel intelligence, specializing in slow travel frameworks and sports event logistics.