Reports: 2028 U.S. Olympic Trials Returning to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
The most recent edition of the U.S. Olympic Trials became the most attended swimming competition ever, with more than 285,000 spectators attending the 17 sessions inside Lucas Oil Stadium last June in Indianapolis. Now, an encore is set for 2028, according to a report from the Indianapolis Business Journal.
USA Swimming and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee will again hold the event in a temporary pool built inside the home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. The successful 2024 edition of the Trials suggested that the meet would remain inside such a large venue, either in Indianapolis or elsewhere. The 2028 Los Angeles Olympic swimming competition will be held inside another NFL stadium, but when it became clear SoFi Stadium could not be set up for both Trials and the actual Games, a return to central Indiana became the most likely scenario.
Former USA Swimming CEO Tim Hinchey said at the time, “Once you take something to the next level, it’s hard to kind of go backwards. So I think we’ve set an expectation. And there’s a lot of things we’ve learned from this, there’s a lot of things we can do better. And I’m excited about that prospect.””
At last year’s meet, the opening-night attendance of 20,689 was the largest crowd to ever watch swimming, and the record was broken four nights later with 22,209 fans. The day two prelims session had 17,697 fans in attendance, the most ever for a qualifying session and larger than any session’s attendance for Olympic swimming in Paris.
Caeleb Dressel called the setup “one of the most beautiful pools I’ve been in,” while Katie Ledecky said “it blew away all of our expectations.” A similar scenario could unfold in three years.
According to the IBJ (paywalled) and the local CBS affiliate station, an official announcement of the Trials’ return to Indy is expected Tuesday, coinciding with the start of U.S. Nationals a few blocks away from Lucas Oil Stadium at the Indiana University Natatorium.
