2028 Olympic Trials speculation

[RedBirdie]

18,000 is comparable to your typical NHL/NBA arena. The Target Center in Minneapolis holds just about that number.

 

[MaryClare]

That seems really small

 

[rlayt]

St.. Louis filled their 22,000 seat arena and turned people away. They sold 65,000 tickets.

St. Louis had scheduled The Enterprise Center and the event was moved to the larger inAmerica’s Dome. https://www.ksdk.com/article/sports...rials/63-f401c149-f56b-447c-9b57-294029fe2b40

Some said it was due to ongoing Covid so seats would be skipped between parties. Then restrictions were mostly gone and every seat was open for purchase. It looked full from the first 8 rows.

Minneapolis numbers aren’t a direct comparison but they say 67,000 people attended over the 4 days. Economic impact: https://extension.umn.edu/community...c-team-trials-and-associated-events-minnesota

It appeared to be full. Some pass holders didn’t show up for men’s events though.

 

[Hatsumomo]

I would love for Trials to come to D.C. and be at the MCI CenterCapital One Arena. The Metro stop is literally right by the arena.

 

[KathySantoni]

I doubt Birmingham will trials but they should totally put their name out there for 2029 worlds.

 

[RedBirdie]

I would love for Trials to come to D.C. and be at the MCI CenterCapital One Arena. The Metro stop is literally right by the arena.

Alas, not to be. Trials dates conflict with potential Stanley Cup dates. Same reason why DC will never bid for worlds--conflicts with the start of NHL and NBA season. Ted Leonsis can make a heck of a lot more money squeezing in major concerts between hockey and basketball games than he can by turning over the arena for a week or more for gymnastics. And since Ted owns the building, unlike a lot of cities were technically the local government owns it because it was built with public money, Ted has to be on board with any bid.

If Trials were later in the summer, like they usually are, it might be feasible. But definitely not 2028.

ETA: Trials dates also technically conflict with the NBA playoffs, but lol Wizards.

 

[Sasha]

I doubt Birmingham will trials but they should totally put their name out there for 2029 worlds.

I'm once again confused about what country we're talking about.

 

[MaryClare]

I'm once again confused about what country we're talking about.

Haha well it won’t be Birmingham, England. Britain already has a worlds bid for that quad plus BG seemed to have replaced Birmingham with Liverpool when it comes to gymnastics events. Despite Liverpool being an absolute nightmare to get to within the UK

Has there ever been an official answer as to why the US never wants to host worlds?

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Birmingham Council are absolutely financially fucked after losing a massive equal pay claim. I read the city made a profit from hosting CWG, as did Liverpool from 2022 worlds, but I suspect it might be one of those situations where they can't speculate to accumulate.

Personally I'm all for it, Liverpool makes my life much easier!

 

[Hatsumomo]

Alas, not to be. Trials dates conflict with potential Stanley Cup dates. Same reason why DC will never bid for worlds--conflicts with the start of NHL and NBA season. Ted Leonsis can make a heck of a lot more money squeezing in major concerts between hockey and basketball games than he can by turning over the arena for a week or more for gymnastics. And since Ted owns the building, unlike a lot of cities were technically the local government owns it because it was built with public money, Ted has to be on board with any bid.

If Trials were later in the summer, like they usually are, it might be feasible. But definitely not 2028.

ETA: Trials dates also technically conflict with the NBA playoffs, but lol Wizards.

Pffft. DC teams don't win enough to justify all that.

 

[RedBirdie]

I'll be curious where Trials ends up. Any arena that has NHL and/or NBA teams is very limited in what they can host during the playoff time-frames. It's literally written into their agreements with the leagues. If you look at the schedules of any of those arenas, spring tends to be rather light on non sports events. A concert here and there, but not much. Definitely not a week-long event.

Besides Birmingham, here are some other potential hosts that don't have NHL and NBA team. Some of the arenas are smaller than what USAG would probably like.
San Diego
Baltimore
Greensboro
Jacksonville
Cincinnati
Louisville
Indianapolis
Ft. Worth
Omaha
Kansas City
Oakland
Hartford
Richmond

 

[Hatsumomo]

Richmond could be a good one. Baltimore is iffy, with that post-bridge collapse traffic. I'm surprised Indianapolis isn't on the list since that's USAG's HQ.