Why LA28 Officials Asked Oklahoma City to Host Olympic Softball
Devon Park in Oklahoma City is more than just home to the Women's College World Series. That's why the Olympic rings welcome visitors upon their arrival.
It's also going to host the softball competition for the 2028 Olympic Games.
Playing the tournament in Oklahoma City wasn't the original plan. The International Olympic Committee voted on it after several discussions with USA Softball and its executive director, Craig Cress.
After softball was left out of the 2012 and 2016 Games, Tokyo added it for 2020. France chose to exclude it in 2024 but Cress knew in his gut that it would return for 2028.
The 𝗢𝗹𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 is back. 𝙒𝙚 are back.
— USA Softball (@USASoftball) October 16, 2023
🗞 LA28 and the IOC confirm the addition of softball and baseball for the @LA28 Olympic Games: https://t.co/MjYeGOZzV0@WBSC | @USASoftballWNT pic.twitter.com/QjcXV0J97x
“I knew we had a good chance in the U.S. because we are a bat and ball country,” Cress told Sports Illustrated's Mitch Goldich.
Cress detailed his initial pitch for where softball should be played in 2028, keeping the focus on Minor League Baseball facilities and college softball fields in Southern California.
“I never brought up Oklahoma City,” he added. “It wasn’t my job at that time to talk about Oklahoma City.”
As Cress continued with his pitch, he realized that most softball fields in or near Los Angeles wouldn't be able to host, and that's when he started to think about Oklahoma City instead.
Oklahoma City was the topic of discussion when Cress met with World Baseball Softball Confederation president Riccardo Fraccari in 2023.
“Riccardo asked me, ‘Where’s the best softball facility at?’” Cress remembered when speaking with Goldich. “And I said, ‘This is not going to sound real unbiased, but the best softball facility in the world is in Oklahoma City. What our city has built and what USA Softball maintains.’ And Nico kind of looked at me and goes, ‘Would you guys consider hosting the softball portion of the Olympics for us?’ And I said, ‘Absolutely we would.’”
Hosting softball in Oklahoma City makes sense. After all, the stadium was built after Los Angeles hosted the 1984 Games, and the city's Olympic Organizing Committee had a surplus of funds. USA Softball wanted to build its headquarters in Oklahoma City, and the rest is history.
— USA Softball (@USASoftball) December 16, 2025
Oklahoma City isn't exactly close to Los Angeles but USA Softball intends on giving athletes the Olympic experience they deserve. The players will participate in Opening Ceremonies and stay in the Olympic Village for a few days before traveling to the Midwest. The softball portion of the Games begins on Day 9.
For any returning Olympians for softball, the Opening Ceremonies would be a new experience. In Tokyo, softball started two days before the flame was lit and was on a travel day between games.
Cress and USA Softball want the athletes to feel like they aren't just playing in the WCWS with different uniforms. He fully intends for them to get a true Olympic experience and prove why Oklahoma City is the softball capital of the world.
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-1d7db99dccc9abef7b9378f016b22b68.webp "Maren Angus-Coombs")
Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.