Huntington Beach is known for its peaky waves, an expansive sandy beach that can hold a village, and plenty of beachfront hotels to accommodate crowds – an ideal venue to play host to action sports during the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, city officials say.
While it’s no big secret community leaders want the city to host the surf competition, the City Council made official last week its intent to throw Huntington Beach’s name in the Olympic rings. They also added skate and BMX to the discussion, hoping to be the hub for all three action sports.
Huntington Beach isn’t alone in its early planning to bid for a piece of the action, with leaders of other cities already discussing events they think their community would be ideal to host. Long Beach hopes to be the center for water polo, handball, triathlon (Olympic and Paralympic), marathon swimming, sailing – and also listed BMX as one of the sports it wants to host, according to past reports.
Redondo Beach also wants to put its name in the hat for open ocean swimming, in 2019 hosting a big event that drew 1,000 competitors from at least 20 countries as a way to show what competition during the 2028 Summer Olympics could look like.
Despite Redondo and Long Beach’s closer proximity to downtown Los Angeles, their coastline lacks one thing Huntington Beach can offer: a surf venue. And adding venues for the other action sports – BMX and skate – could make the city more appealing, officials said.
“We’ve been trying to be as measured as we can to continue to grow Huntington Beach’s reputation to put on world-class action sports here in Huntington Beach,” said Kelly Miller, CEO of Visit Huntington Beach, the city’s tourism bureau. “So when they turn their attention to the last piece of where the competitions are going to take place, we are in that conversation.”
An official resolution was unanimously passed by the Huntington Beach City Council on Sept. 21, showing the city is laying the groundwork for the event still seven years away. The sports – surfing, skateboarding and BMX riding – have yet to be named for the 2028 games, but are confirmed for Paris 2024, and officials expect they will be added to 2028 based on the International Olympic Committee’s intent to appeal to a younger audience.
Huntington Beach Director of Public Works Sean Crumby gave a presentation at the city meeting about the possibilities for Olympic events, saying the Surfing Walk of Fame, Surfers’ Hall of Fame, Huntington Beach International Surf Museum and and 50 competitions a year speak to why a surf contest here would make sense.
“Surfing is deep in our culture,” Crumby said. “Really, surfing is a no-brainer for Huntington Beach to host for the Olympics. I think we capitalize on the things we have going for us: our coastline, our culture of action sports, the success we’ve had in hosting events and the partnerships we have.”
Skateboarding is also embedded into the beach town’s culture, with a big Vans skatepark near the 405 freeway in the northern end of town. The city could talk with Vans about partnering or build a new one with the intent of using it long after the Olympics leave town, officials said.
“It is critical that whatever we build, it continues forever,” Mayor Kim Carr said.
There’s already been communication with Olympics decision-makers about the city’s infrastructure, such as parking and security that could be put in place, officials said. As part of a Sister City exchange program, Visit Huntington Beach representatives traveled to Tokyo in 2019 to meet with officials as they planned the 2020 Olympics.
“If there’s an opportunity to build a world-class skatepark, something we know would be utilized year after year, I’m very supportive of this,” Carr said. “I think we have a real shot at it.”
Surfing’s debut in Tokyo a few months ago gave a better understanding of what competitions looks like on the Olympic stage, though the vision of what it could be – a festival to introduce a world-wide audience to not just the sport but also the culture – didn’t come to fruition because of coronavirus restrictions.
“When you step back and look at all of the footprint, the ability to secure it for the games and have an efficient flow in and out for athletes and spectators and sponsors is really important, for the whole experience,” Miller said.
Huntington Beach hosts dozens of surf contests a year, including mega events such as the U.S. Open of Surfing, which just wrapped up Sunday. It has been the stage for several International Surfing Association World Surfing Championships, run by the same governing body that heads surfing in the Olympics.
Fernando Aguerre, president of the ISA, said he didn’t want to give a comment about what would be the best location, but said discussions between the IOC and Los Angeles organizers are underway.
“I think Southern California has amazing waves. Huntington would be one. Lowers would be another. There’s a lot of waves, San Diego County as well,” he said, noting the Paris games will host the surfing contest in Tahiti at Teahupoo.
Decision-makers will spend the next year collecting information from cities and venues, Miller said.
USA Surfing CEO Greg Cruse, who led the first-ever USA team to Japan, where team member Carissa Moore earned gold, wasn’t surprised by the recent official announcement.
“They’ve been going after this forever,” Cruse said. “Practically speaking, there’s no venue that can compare. They have the consistency of the surf, the space on the sand there can accommodate, there’s infrastructure and hotels across the street – no one else has that.”
But the IOC has said they are “athlete-centric” and ultimately Cruse would back wherever surfers chose as a venue, he said.
If it was just solely based on waves, Lower Trestles just south of San Clemente would be the better option, he said. But that surf break has its limitations, based on the small size of the beach, the complexity of getting to the shore and a land-lease agreement expiring in three years between State Parks and the military that may make planning difficult.
USA Surf Coach Brett Simpson, who has won two US Open of Surfing titles at the Huntington Beach Pier, suggested surfers might be more apt to agree to Huntington Beach if the northside is opened up for the contest, which tends to get better surf during summer, Cruse said.
Cruse also noted that Huntington Beach has put in the work to build itself as the epicenter of Southern California surf.
“They’ve been super supportive of the sport since I can remember. If anyone was to get it, they’d deserve it,” he said. “Huntington could control access and make a safe venue to allow hundreds of thousands in the stands to watch it. That’s my opinion.”
