2028 Olympic Trials speculation

[rlayt]

Pretty far ahead still. But speculation is fun.

Birmingham says they have bid for the trials and it isn’t one of my choices of places to go. https://www.wbrc.com/2025/06/17/birmingham-finalist-host-trials-2028-us-olympic-gymnastics-team/

Any rumors on who else may have bid?

 

[MaryClare]

I really really want to go to this. I’ve always wanted to go to Olympic trials but they’ve always coincided with other things. I think I need to have a baby next year so that I definitely don’t have one in 2028. What’s the time line of nationals and trials? We normally spend the summer in France but maybe I can persuade Mr MC to spend the summer in the US instead

 

[rlayt]

The Olympic Qualifications start July 15.

 

[rlayt]

I had it pretty close. Maybe I looked it up once and remembered it.

 

[rlayt]

Trials dates:

 

[MaryClare]

Ah I’d forgotten how early in the summer the Olympics is.

 

[rlayt]

May 25 Nationals.
June 11 trials.
july 15 Qualifications.

 

[Hatsumomo]

I want to go to Trials but it's Birmingham and it's Birmingham in the middle of summer...

 

[rlayt]

Birmingham will suuuuuuucccckkkk.

 

[Sasha]

I was so confused about what country we were talking about for a minute...

 

[rlayt]

I wonder if there are more than two Birminghams? My ancestors who were deported to the colonies were homesick so they re-used names from home.

 

[RedBirdie]

There's a handful of other Birminghams, but the ones in England and Alabama are by far the largest.

 

[OnoNoKomachi]

The Birmingham being referred to is indeed in Alabama, but it has not been confirmed as the final choice. It's supposedly one of the 4 finalists.

https://alabamanewscenter.com/2025/...host-2028-u-s-olympic-gymnastics-team-trials/

I hope they pick somewhere else. That place will be miserable in the summer. I'd rather go to Phoenix.

 

[KorbutFan]

I was so confused about what country we were talking about for a minute...

For a moment there I thought this was a thread about Birmingham, UK, bidding on the next Olympics.

 

[RedBirdie]

Going to Birmingham would be a major step down, imo. Trials has been in very high profile cities. The last time trials was held in a city that didn't host at least 1 of the Big 4 North American pro sports leagues (NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB) was Jacksonville in 1984--and Jacksonville has grown considerably since then and gained an NFL team. I'm not seeing that in Birmingham's future.

1980: Jacksonville
1984: Jacksonville
1988: Salt Lake City
1992: Baltimore
1996: Boston
2000: Boston
2004: Anaheim
2008: Philadelphia
2012: San Jose
2016: St. Louis (MAG)/San Jose (WAG)
2021: St. Louis
2024: Minneapolis

The three "smaller" cities all are connected to some of the biggest metro areas in the county: Baltimore to DC and the greater Baltimore-Washington region, Anaheim to LA, and San Jose to San Francisco-Oakland. Birmingham has.........Birmingham.

I'm curious who the other 3 cities are. At least one of them has to be a more attractive option.

 

[Sasha]

What's the importance of it being in a bigger city? Is it about airport connections and airfares, or the attractiveness of the city itself. Personally, (if I were in the US) I'd be fine with a smaller city if it was an interesting/nice place to visit. Which a lot of smaller cities are. Birmingham in the summer sounds neither interesting nor nice.

 

[MaryClare]

What's the importance of it being in a bigger city? Is it about airport connections and airfares, or the attractiveness of the city itself. Personally, (if I were in the US) I'd be fine with a smaller city if it was an interesting/nice place to visit. Which a lot of smaller cities are. Birmingham in the summer sounds neither interesting nor nice.

I think it’s a case of USAG setting out their requirements for the host city, and then it goes to a bid process? Olympic trials will always fill the stadium so the location is less important than say nationals where they might want to go somewhere that has a number of local clubs or the hometown of a prominent gymnast to bring in the crowds.