Indiana Sports Corp. and USA Swimming are expected to announce that the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana ahead of the Paris 2024 Games.

A news conference is scheduled for Tuesday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to make it official. Indianapolis beat out three cities which bid to host the event – Omaha, Nebraska, St. Louis and Minneapolis.

Since the trials were last held in Indianapolis in 2000, they have been held in temporary pools in Long Beach, California in 2004, and Omaha, Nebraska from 2008 thru 2021.

Mar 2, 2022; Indianapolis, IN, USA; A general overall aerial view of Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the Indianapolis Colts and the site of the 2022 NFL Scouring Combine. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Omaha’s CHI Health Center has hosted the past four trials where the seating capacity is around 15,000 fans, while Indianapolis’ proposed capacity is reportedly 30,000 to 35,000. Lucas Oil Stadium is home of the National Football League’s Indianapolis Colts and hosted the Super Bowl in 2012.

For the last century, the swimming Olympic Trials have been held in Indianapolis six times. The event was held at the Broad Ripple Pool from 1924 to 1952 and the Natatorium from 1984 to 2000.

Coincidentally, the trials would mean Indy-to-Paris for swimmers in both the 1924 Olympics and 2024 Olympics.

It’s believed decision-makers in the bid process were swayed by the venue’s flexibility as it hosted a two-court competition during last year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

The Paris 2024 trails are expected to be staged much the same way as basketball, implementing two 50-meter pools. One serving as the main pool for the competition, while the other would be used for warm-ups and cool down training.

Aside from the Indiana University natatorium, the city also has several other 50-meter pools that can be utilized, allowing competitors to train during the week of the trials.

The expected crowd will be around 30,000 spectators which would be the most ever for a swim meet under one roof.

According to the International Swimming Hall of Fame, the largest crowd for an Olympic swimming competition was 45,000 during the 1932 trials in New York. So 30,000 would make the Indianapolis trials the most ever for a swim meet under one roof.

The largest crowd for Olympic swimming was 25,000 in Berlin at the 1936 Olympics.

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