LA28 Basketball Venues: Intuit Dome in Inglewood and the 3x3 Arena in the San Fernando Valley

Two LA28 basketball venues, two very different experiences

Olympic basketball at LA28 is split between two sites that could hardly be more different. On one side, a brand-new NBA arena in Inglewood that hosts the entire 5x5 program, men and women, from the group phase to the gold medal games. On the other, a purpose-built temporary arena in a park in the San Fernando Valley, dedicated to 3x3 and sharing its surroundings with BMX and skateboarding. Knowing which one you are heading to shapes everything from where you stay to how early you leave.

A common assumption among fans is that Olympic basketball would be played at Crypto.com Arena downtown. It is not. In LA28’s official competition schedule, versions 3.0 and 3.1, Crypto.com Arena is not a basketball venue. There is also no separate preliminary-round arena: every 5x5 session is at the Intuit Dome.

Intuit Dome: the home of Olympic 5x5

The Intuit Dome is in Inglewood, in the southwest of the Los Angeles area, and sits in what LA28 calls the Inglewood zone. It is the arena of the LA Clippers and opened to fans in 2024. At its opening, the Associated Press reported a capacity of about 18,000 seats in its NBA configuration. LA28 has not published the arena’s Olympic seating capacity in the sources we checked, and Olympic setups can differ from everyday ones because of media, broadcast and accreditation needs. So treat 18,000 as the arena’s NBA number, not as an Olympic figure.

For a fan, the important point is that one building hosts all 5x5 basketball for 19 days. That means:

• The same venue on every ticket, whether you buy a group-phase double-header on July 12 or the men’s gold medal game on July 30.
• Up to three sessions on a busy group-phase day: a midday double-header from 12:00 to 16:15 PT and evening sessions at 18:00 and 21:30.
• Full arenas turning over several times a day, which means crowds arriving and leaving between sessions.

Inglewood is also where the stadium LA28 refers to as the “2028 Stadium” (SoFi Stadium) is located; it shares the Opening Ceremony on July 14 with the LA Memorial Coliseum. There is no basketball that day.

Getting to the Intuit Dome for LA28: practical, general advice

LA28 had not published detailed spectator transport plans for the Intuit Dome in the sources we use, so we will stick to advice that holds for any major event in Los Angeles:

• Plan for time, not distance. Los Angeles traffic in the afternoon can turn a short trip into a long one. For a 12:00 session, aim to arrive well ahead; for the 18:00 session, expect evening rush hour.
• Check the official spectator guidance closer to the Games. Olympic organizers typically publish venue-specific access, security and transport information before the event. Follow LA28’s official channels for it.
• Expect security screening. Olympic venues have entry checks. Arriving early is the simplest way to avoid missing tip-off.
• Think about the late session. The 21:30 session will end late at night. Plan your ride back before you go, especially if you are staying far away.

If you are staying near the airport or in the South Bay, Inglewood is relatively close. If you are based downtown, in Hollywood or in the Valley, build in more margin.

Valley Complex 3: the LA28 3x3 arena in the Sepulveda Basin

3x3 basketball has its own home: Valley Complex 3, a temporary venue in the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area, in the San Fernando Valley, part of what LA28 calls the Valley zone. FIBA describes an octagonal design, and the site forms a shared park hub with BMX freestyle, BMX racing and skateboarding. In other words, 3x3 sits inside a cluster of urban sports rather than next to the 5x5 tournament.

The 3x3 sessions start later than 5x5: 14:00, 17:30 and 21:00 PT during the pool round from July 16 to 20. On July 21 there is a play-in at 14:00 and quarter-finals at 17:30 and 21:00, and on July 22 the semi-finals at 17:00 are followed by the medal session for both men and women. The capacity of the temporary arena has not been published in our sources.

Because the venue is temporary and in a park, conditions can feel different from an indoor NBA arena. Summer afternoons in the Valley are often hot, so practical habits like sun protection and hydration make sense; check LA28’s spectator rules on what you can bring once they are published. Read more about the event itself on our 3x3 guide.

Can you do both LA28 venues in one day?

On paper, yes. Several days have 5x5 at the Intuit Dome and 3x3 at Valley Complex 3: from July 16 to July 21 the two run in parallel, and on Saturday, July 22 the women’s 5x5 quarter-finals (13:00 and 20:00) bracket the 3x3 semi-finals and medal session. In practice, Inglewood and the Sepulveda Basin are in different parts of the metro area, and moving between them takes time that is hard to predict in summer traffic.

A realistic approach is to combine an early 5x5 session with a late 3x3 session, or vice versa, and never to plan back-to-back sessions at two different venues. Our day-by-day schedule shows exactly which sessions overlap.

Choosing a base in Los Angeles for the Olympics

Where you stay matters more in Los Angeles than in most Olympic cities, because the Games are spread across several zones. A few general principles:

• If your tickets are mostly 5x5, staying closer to Inglewood and the southwest of the city reduces daily travel.
• If you are mainly there for 3x3, the San Fernando Valley side makes more sense.
• If you are mixing sports, look at where your other venues are before choosing. Being central is not always closest.
• Book flexibly until you hold tickets. The next LA28 sale is in 2027, and matchups will not be known until 2028. Refundable or changeable accommodation protects you.

Visitors traveling from abroad should also check entry requirements for the United States well in advance; that is general travel advice, not something specific to LA28.

Tickets for both LA28 basketball venues, and how to get alerted

Seats at both the Intuit Dome and Valley Complex 3 are sold through LA28’s official ticketing. As of October 9, 2026, no public sale is open; LA28 says the next one is a first-come, first-served sale in 2027, date not yet announced. Hospitality packages from On Location, LA28’s official provider, also cover basketball and 3x3. Our ticket guide explains each step, and the LA28 ticketing page is the official reference.

Our free email alert tells you when the 2027 sale opens and when LA28 adds a new ticketing phase, such as verified resale. We are an independent guide, not affiliated with LA28, the IOC, FIBA or the NBA, and we do not sell tickets.