Mission Viejo will serve as the Netherlands Olympic Team (Team NL)’s training site for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, the city of Mission Viejo and TeamNL announced.
The Dutch will start training as early as 2026 for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Facilities in Mission Viejo and surrounding communities will serve as their training spots for sports including athletics, swimming, and team sports such as handball and volleyball, among others.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for our community to be able to support athletes and coaches from TeamNL prior to their respective LA28 Games,” said Mayor Trish Kelley. “Mission Viejo has a long history of supporting Olympians and Paralympians from around the world, and we believe our world-class facilities will properly prepare TeamNL for LA28.”
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Many countries get to choose a place to train locally before the Olympics, and with teams currently focused on the 2024 Paris Olympics, Mission Viejo wanted to make sure to “be ahead of the game.”
“We are just outside the busy zone of LA, which adds to the appeal of Mission Viejo. Athletes can focus on training with limited distractions,” Mark Nix, director of Recreation and Community Services for Mission Viejo, said.
The city will not be doing construction nor making adjustments to what’s currently available to the Dutch, stating the community’s “warm welcome” is what won the team over.
“We are extremely grateful to Mission Viejo and the City’s willingness to support our Olympic and Paralympic athletes prior to the LA Games,” said André Cats, Technical and Games Director TeamNL. “Our staff and coaches have certainly been impressed with the resources the City is able to offer in order to make it a successful training experience for our delegations prior to the 2028 Games.”
The Netherlands has won nearly 500 Olympic medals, including 25 medals so far at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
