The University of Southern California’s football team will likely be forced to play its 2028 home schedule away from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum due to preparation for the Olympics and Paralympics and installation of a $100 million temporary track.
Sources familiar with the matter told The Los Angeles Times on Thursday that the move would be necessary and the field would not be ready in time for USC’s football season and the Trojans would have to shift to nearby SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. It would also mean USC and UCLA would have to alternate Saturdays to accommodate each of the teams’ home schedules.
The opening and closing ceremonies, along with track and field will take place at the Coliseum, displacing USC and forcing it away from the only home the team has played at since 1923.
SoFi Stadium, which opened in 2020, is home to the NFL’s Rams and Chargers and by 2028, with USC playing at the venue, the teams may also be joined by UCLA, which has been rumored to be in talks to shift its home games to the stadium.
The Olympics begin on July 14, 2028 and end on July 30, while the same facilities for the Los Angeles Games will be used for the Paralympics which start August 15 and conclude on August 27 — just 13 days before USC’s home opener.
Track and field will kick off the first day of competition at the Olympics on July 15 at the Coliseum following the opening ceremonies.
Removal of the temporary track, which will sit on the dug up grass field, could take more than two weeks. Once the Paralympics, installation of a new grass surface would not be ready in time.
LA2028, the organizing group in Los Angeles, is still planning when to begin preparation at the Coliseum in the months before the Olympics since USC’s 2027 football season will end long before crews begin any changes. But other non-football events hosted at the site might also need to be moved other venues.
USC has not commented on a possible 2028 move to SoFi Stadium or its plans if the Coliseum field will be unplayable following the Olympics and Paralympics.
“USC and LA28 are working in lockstep on all logistics for the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” USC athletics spokesperson Cody Worsham said in a statement. “We will share details with the public when they are finalized.”
