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Los Angeles Times
15-05-2025
- Los Angeles Times
It's the summer of the motel. An epic guide to the best roadside havens in California
(Photographs by Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times; Al Seib, David Fotus, Jacob Tovar and Megan Morello / For The Times) The motel, a word born in California, turns 100 this year. And for road trip adventurers, there have never been more might stay at the legendary pink palace that is the Madonna Inn. Or Surfrider Malibu, where you can borrow a Mini Cooper and cruise along PCH. There's Sea & Sand Inn, which clings to a breathtaking Santa Cruz clifftop. And Pioneertown Motel, a charming desert outpost with Old West this guide, we jangle our room keys to explore the greatest motels across the state. Along the way, we stop to discover cool vintage history, iconic restaurants and essential roadside attractions. Ready to hit the road?
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Santa Monica and LA28 fail to reach agreement on Olympic beach volleyball venue
LA28 Olympic organizers were initially seeking to build a temporary venue near Santa Monica Pier for beach volleyball at the 2028 Olympics. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) One of the cornerstones in LA28's Olympic venue plan has fallen through. Santa Monica officials announced Tuesday that formal talks with the organizing committee for the 2028 Games about hosting Olympic beach volleyball have ended. Advertisement Santa Monica State Beach was tabbed to be the L.A. home for Olympic beach volleyball since the organizing committee's first bid in 2016. But when city officials and LA28 could not reach an agreement about community benefits, operational details and financial guarantees, LA28 informed Santa Monica last week that it will pursue a new venue to host the event, which has become one of the premier sports of the Summer Games. After getting several new sites approved through a Los Angeles City Council vote last month, the committee is expected to reveal an updated venue proposal to the International Olympic Committee on April 9. Read more: Rose Bowl to host 2028 Olympic soccer finals, BMO Stadium to host new sports 'There is no better place to host the Olympic beach volleyball competition than Santa Monica, where the sport was born. We would have loved to be a venue city in 2028,' Santa Monica Mayor Lana Negrete said in a statement. 'While we're disappointed that an agreement was not realized, we remain eager to share in the excitement the Olympics will bring to our region and are looking forward to being a regional partner in this historic event.' Advertisement A study released in October on the economic impacts of hosting the Olympic competition in Santa Monica found that being a venue city would result in a net loss of $1.45 million for Santa Monica while not hosting the beach volleyball competition could still generate $10.65 million in profit because of the city's status as a popular tourist attraction. Santa Monica could still be involved in the United States' first Summer Games since 1996 by hosting hospitality houses for visiting countries, broadcast centers, practice venues or watch parties. LA28 has already worked with other cities to finalize venue plans outside of Los Angeles, including playing soccer medal matches at the Rose Bowl and creating multisport attractions in Long Beach and Carson. Read more: Los Angeles 2028 Olympic organizers reveal venues for 19 more sports Advertisement 'Since the bid process, LA28 has sought to negotiate a Games Agreement exclusively with the City of Santa Monica to stage beach volleyball there,' an LA28 spokesperson told the Times in a statement. 'Following a thorough evaluation and careful assessment, LA28 has decided to conclude its efforts with the City of Santa Monica. The process for Santa Monica to become a Venue City for the 2028 Games was consistent and in line with all other Venue City negotiations. LA28 remains confident that beach volleyball's venue will be staged along the iconic Pacific coastline and deliver an incredible athlete and fan experience.' Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BMO Stadium to host two more 2028 Olympics sports under updated venue proposal
BMO Stadium, previously known as Banc of California Stadium, is expected to host flag football and lacrosse during the 2028 Olympics. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times) The city of Los Angeles and LA28 moved closer to locking in venues hosting the 2028 Olympics and Paralympic Wednesday, including finding a home for two of the Games' newest sports. An L.A. City Council ad hoc committee approved updated venue plans presented by LA28, the private organization responsible for hosting the 2028 Games. LA28 has shuffled some sporting event locations in an effort to drive up revenue and reduce risk. Advertisement Much of the revised venue plan was revealed during the summer , but changes to the original Games agreement reached when Los Angeles earned the right to host the 2028 Olympics had not yet been approved by the City Council. The adjustments from the Games agreement include moving basketball to the Intuit Dome and Olympic swimming to SoFi Stadium and shifting gymnastics to Arena. LA28 filed revisions to last July's plans on March 14, placing flag football and lacrosse at BMO Stadium and moving sitting volleyball from Pauley Pavilion to Long Beach Arena. Read more: Can fire-torn L.A. handle the World Cup, Super Bowl and Summer Olympics? Shuffling basketball to the new Inglewood venue that did not exist during the original bid for the Games allows artistic gymnastics, one of the Summer Games' premier events, to be in front of a crowd of roughly 20,000 compared to the Forum's approximately 17,000. The downtown arena also has a larger floor space than the Forum, which was originally supposed to host gymnastics competitions. Advertisement The initial bid called for a temporary pool to be built on USC's campus to house Olympic swimming, but the school has instead started construction on a football facility. Following the success of the 2024 U.S. swimming trials in Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium, LA28 proposed moving Olympic swimming into Inglewood's NFL stadium that will host a second Super Bowl in 2027. Using existing sports venues to keep expenses down while maximizing ticket sales is critical for LA28, which has promised to foot the estimated $7-billion Olympics bill through ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, merchandise and International Olympic Committee contributions. But city and state legislators have agreed to be a financial backstop. The City could be responsible for up to $270 million for any debt for the Games, with further expense going to the state and then back to Los Angeles taxpayers. 'We absolutely cannot afford that under any circumstance,' City Council president and ad hoc chair Marqueece Harris-Dawson said during the meeting. 'We can't even afford half of that, much less the full strength. So we have to make sure this is done and done right and done in a way like 1984 where the city of L.A. is left with assets as a result of the Summer Games as opposed to debt.' Read more: L.A. 2028 Olympics organizers say they are making significant fundraising progress Advertisement While the 1984 Games generated a profit of more than $250 million, the world's largest sporting event has grown in scope during the past four decades. Instead of 21 sports, L.A. will host 36 Olympic sports in 2028 and the United States' first Paralympics. The size of the Games has necessitated moving some events outside of city limits, including Inglewood and Long Beach, while adding the San Fernando Valley for the first time. The Sepulveda Basin will now host modern pentathlon, BMX, skateboarding and 3x3 basketball, while the latest proposal moved canoe slalom to an existing venue in Oklahoma City, equestrian to Temecula and shooting and para shooting to a venue that has not been determined outside of the city. In the original Games plan proposed before the construction of BMO Stadium, the venue was meant to house preliminary rounds for soccer. But the qualifying matches will now be held in stadiums across the country, as has been common during recent Olympics. Read more: L.A. 2028 Summer Olympics add SoFi Stadium, Intuit Dome to revamped venue plan Advertisement Flag football, which will make its Olympic debut, and lacrosse, which has not been a medal sport in the Olympics since 1908, will share BMO Stadium and bring more days of competition and more medal matches to the downtown area. They were among the new sports added to the Olympic program in October 2023 and not included on the last summer's initial venue release. Among other Olympic newcomers, squash and cricket have yet to be placed into venues for the 2028 Games, while LA28 has not finalized the location for baseball or the soccer finals. Softball, which re-joined the Olympic program in a joint bid with baseball, will be hosted in Oklahoma City, the site of the Women's College World Series. The updated venue plan would save about $156 million, according to LA28. While increasing the total number of tickets at events held inside the city, the new plan will also lower the percentage of tickets sold by 5%, according to a joint report from the city administration officer and chief legislative analyst dated Nov. 12, 2024. Read more: 'America will be open': Casey Wasserman assures IOC visa issues won't plague 2028 L.A. Olympics Advertisement The report called for LA28 to "conduct an independent economy impact study to highlight the anticipated impacts of the 2028 Games on the city and the region, which incorporates the requested venue changes, added sport disciplines and lessons learned from the 2024 Paris Games." The report is to be submitted to the city of Los Angeles no later than June 30. The city is moving forward with Olympic planning while assisting with rebuilding following devastating wildfires. 'I know firsthand the energy and inspiration Los Angeles brings to the world. Look, the 2028 Olympics is about ensuring our city, the creative capital of the world, is at the heart of this global experience," Harris-Dawson said in a statement. "We will remain focused on our recovery work while investing smartly and opening doors of opportunity for our communities. We are not just preparing for the world to visit us — we're setting the stage to inspire the world, as only Los Angeles can." With the Games set to begin in about three-and-a-half years, finalizing the plan for venues is a top priority before moving forward with other key concerns, including transportation and event operations. The full City Council will vote on the updated venue plan Friday and final confirmation of the plan is expected after review and approval from the International Olympic Committee executive board on April 9. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
