Oklahoma City solidified its status as the "Softball Capital of the World" this week, when the city council unanimously approved a $25.4 million indoor facility at Devon Park.
The Oklahoma City softball complex breaks ground this summer, with completion scheduled for late 2027 ahead of the Women's College World Series and the 2028 Olympic softball tournament.
Oklahoma City-based STUDIO Architecture designed the two-story facility, which will sit on a parking lot west of Devon Park. The structure will be built into a hill on the west side of the property.
The indoor complex features two practice fields divided by a partition where teams can warm up before games. Each practice area includes a full infield with drop-down nets creating three batting cages and two pitching lanes.
First-floor amenities include two 800-square-foot locker rooms with 25 lockers each, plus restroom facilities with showers. Teams also get nutrition bars, an equipment room with laundry facilities, a 367-square-foot training room with six training tables, and an 806-square-foot weight room connected to a hydrotherapy room with four ice tubs.
The second floor houses a team meeting room with three rows of variable-height tables, a media room, administrative offices, and a central lobby.
A climate-controlled walkway will connect the practice facility to Devon Park stadium. The building additionally includes a secured, private entrance for softball teams.
Funding comes largely from a voter-approved bond, with the city receiving a final report from STUDIO Architecture in the coming weeks.
Devon Park currently hosts the NCAA Women's College World Series, the AUSL's Oklahoma City Spark, and USA Softball's Olympic trials.
US track star Allyson Felix is getting more specific about what her Olympics return might look like.
After announcing plans to come out of retirement and pursue a spot at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, Felix says her ideal path back would likely center around Team USA's relay pool rather than an individual event.
“My ideal situation would be to try to make the relay pool for maybe the mixed 4x400m relay,” Felix said Thursday on TODAY. “It’s a tall task to get back to that level, but I’m excited to really push for it.”
After retiring in 2022, Felix announced last month that she plans to resume full training in October with longtime coach Bobby Kersee as she prepares for what could be her sixth Summer Games.
The 2028 Olympics hold special significance for Felix, as they'll take place in her hometown of Los Angeles.
“If it wasn’t LA, I wouldn’t be as curious,” she said. “I just can’t imagine not going for it with it being in my hometown.”
Felix won 11 medals across five Olympics — including seven golds — making her one of history's most decorated track and field athletes.
If she qualifies for LA28 at age 42, she would become the first US track and field athlete to reach six Olympics.
However, the comeback won't be easy.
To make the relay pool, Felix would likely need a strong US Olympic trials showing, where spots traditionally go to athletes who reach the 400-meter final. USATF has not yet announced official qualification procedures for the 2028 Games.
Still, the track icon says she's at peace with the challenge ahead.
“There’s nothing to prove,” she added. “It’s just about testing the limits... Either way, I think it’s just about the success of courage, of going for it.”
40-year-old Allyson Felix announced a stunning comeback Monday, telling TIME Magazine she plans to compete at the 2028 LA Olympics at age 42 — four years after retiring from track and field.
The most decorated women's sports athlete in Olympic track and field history said she wants to prove women over 40 can still chase bold dreams. Felix drew inspiration from athletes like Tom Brady, LeBron James, and Lindsey Vonn, as all excelled past 40.
"So many of us have been told not to do the big, bold thing," Felix said. "You know, at this age, I should probably be staying home and taking care of my kids, doing all that. And just, why not? Let's flip it on its head."
Allyson Felix will begin training with legendary coach Bobby Kersee in October, targeting a competitive return in 2027 via certified events.
No US sprinter has ever reached an Olympics in their 40s.
Felix won 11 Olympic medals across five Summer Games — seven gold, three silver, and one bronze. She burst onto the scene at age 18 in Athens, winning silver in the 200 meters. She later dominated the field in Beijing, London, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo before hanging it up in 2022.
Her best performance came in London 2012, where Felix swept gold in the 200 meters, 4x100-meter relay, and 4x400-meter relay.
Since retiring, Allyson Felix joined the IOC's Athletes' Commission and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee's Board of Directors. She subsequently earned induction into the US Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame in 2025.
Felix also became an outspoken advocate for mothers in sports, fighting for better treatment for pregnant athletes and working mothers.
Even if she doesn't make the 2028 team, Felix said she'll attend the Games with her children, cheering on Team USA from the stands.
International soccer fans should start saving airline miles, as organizers for the LA Olympics announced on Tuesday that the 2028 Summer Games' soccer tournament will play out in seven stadiums across the US.
Giving the competition a coast-to-coast footprint, organizers tapped venues in New York, Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis, San Jose, and San Diego to host both men's and women's matches, before returning to the Rose Bowl in LA for both tournament finals.
All six venues outside LA house MLS clubs, with San Diego's Snapdragon Stadium and San Jose's PayPal Park also serving as home pitches for the NWSL's Wave and Bay FC, respectively.
"Bringing Olympic Football group-stage and knockout matches to stadiums across the United States means more fans will witness this global event and experience the Olympic spirit firsthand," said LA28 chief of sport and games delivery officer Shana Ferguson in a Tuesday statement.
Joining several other off-site LA 2028 events including Oklahoma City's softball tournament and canoe slalom races, the Summer Olympics' expanded soccer competition will likely kick off before the Opening Ceremony.
The tournament will also follow a progressive east-to-west itinerary to minimize travel demands for the teams, with dates and match distribution set to drop this April.
The LA Olympics' women's football final will take place on July 29th, 2028 — the Summer Games' penultimate day of competition.
As the 2028 LA Olympics come into focus, the FIFA Council unveiled the regional allocations for the Summer Games' first-ever 16-team women's soccer tournament this week.
According to the Council's Wednesday report, 2.5 slots will go to AFC (Asia), 2 to CAF (Africa), 3 to Concacaf (North and Central America), 2.5 to Conmebol (South America), 1 to OFC (Oceania), and 4 to UEFA (Europe), with one additional slot reserved, as always, for the host nation — the reigning Olympic gold medalist USWNT.
While the expanded competition allows for greater depth, one AFC and one Conmebol team will ostensibly have to face an inter-continental playoff to determine which region can send an additional team to the 2028 Olympics.
One the other hand, Concacaf's representation will double from 2024, growing from two to four teams given the automatic berth of the USWNT.
Similarly, after host nation France's autobid boosted UEFA'a 2024 allocation to three teams, this week's new distribution doubles the European confederation's previous non-host two-team max for the LA Games — meaning all four of the 2027 UEFA Nations League semifinalists will qualify to compete for gold in 2028.
Notably, CAF and OFC are the only confederations to not see an increase on their previous allocation from the FIFA Council.
The 2028 LA Olympics schedule dropped on Wednesday, featuring significant changes to the traditional Summer Games lineup — especially for women's sports.
The women's triathlon will hand out LA's first medals on July 15th, becoming the first-ever women's event to open the medal count at an edition of the Summer Games.
July 29th's "Super Saturday" is also a new addition, with the LA28 organizers creating a single day to showcase 26 high-stakes finals across 23 sports, including swimming, women's soccer, women's basketball, and the women's marathon.
The LA Games will be the first Summer Olympics to feature more women's sports competitors than men's, with all team sports featuring an equal or greater amount of women's squads and 50.5% of the total athlete quota allotted to women's events.
In one of the biggest changes to the Olympics schedule, swimming and track and field will swap weeks in 2028, with all three rounds of the women's 100-meter dash set for opening day while swimming closes out the LA Games on July 30th.
"To be the preeminent event on the first night of competition in the historic LA Memorial Coliseum, I think when we presented it to the athletes that way, there was excitement," chief athlete officer Janet Evans said of the switch.
"With Olympic ticket registration opening in January of 2026, now is the time to start planning," LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover said in a press release. "Athletes and fans from around the world now have what they need to plan an unforgettable Olympic experience."