The Honda Center has been confirmed to host indoor volleyball for the 2028 Olympics, LA28 officials announced Tuesday, April 15.
And, Mayor Ashleigh Aitken said, “Olympic volleyball is coming to the right place.”
“Anaheim has a long, storied history with volleyball,” she said in a statement, “and is the best place for the indoor sport in the 2028 summer games.”
Anaheim has been the training site for the U.S. national men’s since 2006 and women’s teams since 2009, has hosted international play and last year the Honda Center hosted an AVP Pro Beach Volleyball tour stop.
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In the coming months, Anaheim will work with organizing officials for the Olympics to create a host-city agreement detailing the logistics for holding the games at the Honda Center.
Aitken said the city is prepared to play host given its experience as a visitor city that draws in tens of thousands of guests daily to the city’s sports venues, convention center and theme parks.
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The Honda Center holds 18,000 spectators — leading up to and during the games, the Honda Center will be referred to as the Arena in Anaheim.
Karch Kiraly, longtime women’s team coach and now the men’s head coach, said it is “fantastic news” it has been settled that the team will compete just under two miles from where it practices.
“It doesn’t get much more convenient than that, that’s for sure,” he said.
Though the Honda Center has been talked about for years, Kiraly said he’d also heard tell of various venues in consideration, including a few years ago the Pauley Pavilion at UCLA, but he wasn’t involved in the process.
When he was invited to a Ducks game last week at the Honda Center, Kiraly said it dawned on him that he was standing where volleyball might be played in three years.
“During the American anthem, I just had a really powerful moment thinking ‘Huh, this could be it,’” Kiraly said. He won his own gold medals in indoor volleyball in 1984 and ’88 and one for beach volleyball in ’96.
The USA Volleyball men’s national team moved to Anaheim from Colorado Springs to center the team where the sport is popular throughout Southern California and because the ball travels differently at high altitudes compared to near sea level.
That move, Kiraly said, was a critical part of the team finding new success in the 2008 Olympics and after.
Kiraly said the team expects to practice at its Anaheim facility during the Summer Games, calling it a “true home-court advantage.” Kiraly said both the women’s and men’s teams will start up practices soon for competitions this year, but with an eye on the 2028 Olympics.
“It makes it even more special when that work starts in almost two weeks with the knowledge that the indoor volleyball venue has been locked in place,” Kiraly said.
The U.S. women’s team won silver at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris with Kiraly as their coach, and the men’s team secured a bronze medal.
Twelve qualifying men’s and women’s teams will compete at the Honda Center over two weeks in July 2028.
City spokesperson Mike Lyster said the city expects the games to be a net financial benefit for Anaheim.
“We are different than other cities,” Lyster said. “We already have the venue. We don’t need to build out anything on the sand or anything like that.”
Anaheim, along with Los Angeles and Long Beach, are the major hotel markets for Southern California and the city anticipates several teams and country delegations to make the city their home for the games.
During the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Anaheim hosted wrestling at the Anaheim Convention Center.
The Honda Center has long been identified as a likely venue for volleyball before Los Angeles was even awarded the games.
Lyster said there have been persistent talks about the Honda Center being a venue, “but the bottom line is you will never know until the venue list is put out.”
The Honda Center is home to the Ducks and in the past has hosted a Stanley Cup Series, the Lakers and Clippers. And, by the time the 2028 Olympics begin, much of the 100-acre OCVibe entertainment development that is anchored by the Honda Center will be finished. That will include several new performance venues, outdoor spaces, the Market Hall with over 20 restaurants, and two massive parking garages.
“We’re incredibly grateful to the LA28 Games, the International Olympic Committee, USA Volleyball, the International Volleyball Federation, and our local city officials for the opportunity to be part of this historic moment,” OCVibe CEO Bill Foltz said in a statement. “Being selected to stage the Olympic volleyball competition is an extraordinary honor for our organization. We’re proud to showcase our venue to a global audience, and we look forward to welcoming athletes, fans and spectators from around the world to experience the energy, hospitality and innovation that define our city.”
Neighboring the Honda Center is the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, or ARTIC, which is a central link for rail and buses throughout the region. A planned pedestrian bridge over Katella Avenue will link ARTIC to the Honda Center in time for the games.
The West Plaza at OCVibe will hold festivities for guests during the Olympics and the South Plaza will be the main entry and queuing area for the arena.
Lyster said parking will be accommodated at OCVibe’s new garage, but Angel Stadium, which has parking lots just a few hundred yards away, could play a role as well.
The 2028 Summer Olympics will occur July 14-30.
