Orange County regularly sends more athletes to the Summer Olympics than most countries do, and they often return from faraway lands – or waters, of course – with shiny medals.
And with resort destinations, more than 40 miles of coastline and 3.2 million residents, the OC area seemed like an obvious choice to play host to some of the 2028 Olympics that nominally belong to a county to the north but realistically will be Southern California’s games.
That became official Tuesday when Lower Trestles was announced as the location for surfing and Honda Center was locked in for indoor volleyball.
That’s far less than Los Angeles County will hold and even fewer sports than Orange County had the most recent time the Summer Olympics came to the region. Yet it feels nearly right.
Only the addition of beach volleyball at Huntington Beach would’ve given the OC area the finishing touch on the presence it should have when the world turns its attention our way in a little more than three years. Instead, Alamitos Beach in Long Beach landed that event in a decision that clearly makes some sense, but also raises some questions.
Indoor volleyball at Honda Center, however, seemed like a no-brainer since the LA28 group secured the games, though the lack of a contract – one still hasn’t been signed, by the way – let a little doubt creep in recently. That doubt ended Tuesday.
United States’ coach Karch Kiraly talks to players during the Group A women’s volleyball match between the United States and Serbia at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Karch Kiraly led the U.S. women’s volleyball team to a silver medal in the Paris Olympics and then was selected to coach the men’s team in 2028 Summer Games. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Caroline Marks, of the United States, won the gold medal at the recent 2024 Olympics and has clinched a World Title. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Surfers ride a wave at Lower Trestles, south of San Clemente, CA on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. Olympic organizers announced that Lower Trestles, known for its consistent, quality waves, is set to be the stage for the LA28 Olympics. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Honda Center has been selected to host volleyball for the 2028 Olympics, LA28 officials announced on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG) Men’s Individual Road Race champion Alexi Grewal reacts after winning the event during the 1984 Olympics in Mission Viejo. (Photo by Todd Buchanan, Orange County Register) Surfing fans watch the best surfers in the world compete in the World Surf League Finals held at Lower Trestles at San Onofre State Beach on Sept. 6, 2024. LA28 announced Tuesday, April 15, 2025, that Lower Trestles would be the site for Olympic surfing in 2028. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 6United States’ coach Karch Kiraly talks to players during the Group A women’s volleyball match between the United States and Serbia at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Karch Kiraly led the U.S. women’s volleyball team to a silver medal in the Paris Olympics and then was selected to coach the men’s team in 2028 Summer Games. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) ExpandA quick aside:
Three or so years ago, one of the greatest Olympians ever sat eating lunch, unnoticed by nearly everyone who walked by him at an outdoor dining area maybe 2 miles from the arena. Karch Kiraly, then the coach of the Anaheim-based U.S. women’s national team, blended in among the athletic-looking OC types out for a healthy bite, but I instantly recognized someone I’d covered at the end of his indoor career, through much of his domination on the beach and even when he’d spoken at an OC Varsity event as he coached St. Margaret’s High.
In July 2028, Kiraly won’t go unnoticed as the coach of the U.S. men’s national team in the competition at Honda Center, where he’ll have a chance to guide a second team to a gold medal – after winning three as a player.
The volleyball competition will be held in the middle of OCVibe, which some are hopeful will become an entertainment mecca for those who don’t necessarily want to wear mouse ears all day … though those visitors certainly will be welcome to part with their time and money, too.
For inland Orange County, it might be the best possible way to show off during the Olympics. The bar is rather low, by the way. In 1984, the handball competition at Cal State Fullerton was remembered more for the collapse of a railing in the stands – and injuries to four of the eight people who fell – than the winners (the former Yugoslavia for both the men’s and women’s competitions).
The county’s coastal area, however, had one guaranteed opportunity to grab the world’s attention, and a second seemed possible.
Once the surfing competition was down to Huntington Beach and Lower Trestles, one spot was locked up. And when Santa Monica no longer was in consideration for beach volleyball, Huntington Beach appeared to be a strong candidate for that sport.
After all, it regularly holds huge events with the US Open of Surfing and Association of Volleyball Professionals competitions.
When Huntington Beach was left without an event Tuesday, however, it was impossible to dismiss some recent city controversies and legal tussles with the state as a potential reason. Could concerns about potential politicization of events affect the way the city stacked up against the competition? Possibly.
More likely, however, it was a matter of the organizers’ long-discussed goal of creating event clusters of sorts to bring fans together in a few key areas around the LA28 footprint. Long Beach will be home to 11 sports, making for quite a cluster.
Of course, there could have been a mini-cluster for Huntington Beach if it had landed both beach volleyball and surfing, but the search for ultimate waves thwarted that notion.
OK, this is where we acknowledge that Lower Trestles isn’t technically in Orange County. It’s just across the county line from San Clemente – the city surfers go through to reach said waves – but definitely in San Diego County.
That’s nice, but we’re annexing Lower Trestles in this space for the sake of argument and pride – notice our persistent use of the term OC area – as well as the reality that it’s home to the OC-adjacent break county surfers cherish.
Games organizers made the right choice here, picking the best surfing conditions over the ability to sell a lot of tickets to spectators who will want to see San Clemente resident Caroline Marks defend her Olympic title and other international stars ride the local waves.
It’ll also make for better TV than smallish or occasionally nonexistent waves elsewhere. And TV – or some streaming version of it – is how most of the world will view the competition.
Sure, it’s a little odd that Orange County had handball (Fullerton), individual road cycling (Mission Viejo), modern pentathlon (Coto de Caza and Irvine) and wrestling (Anaheim) in 1984 when it had 1 million fewer people and only two sports now that it’s the sixth-largest county in the country.
But considering that neighboring counties such as Riverside and San Bernardino have been shut out so far – the equestrian competition was pulled recently from Temecula and will be held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia – and OC residents don’t have to go far for many events, this is an acceptable resolution.
It might even keep locals from fleeing out of fear of traffic in Orange County the way my in-laws did in 1984; they went to Hawaii rather than the Olympics. Those of us who couldn’t take an island vacation found the roads remarkably easy to navigate and events easy to reach.
Mainly, we’re looking forward to the Summer Olympics where Orange County’s world-class athletes will get their opportunity for gold close to, or maybe even right at, home.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Olympics spotlight once again will shine on Orange County area )
Also on site :