The NAIA, Explore Asheville and Airstream Ventures have announced Asheville, North Carolina, as the host city for the NAIA Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in 2026 and 2027.

“We are honored to welcome the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships to our community in 2026 and 2027,” said Vic Isley, president and chief executive officer of Explore Asheville and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority. “Hosting this prestigious event underscores Asheville’s standing as a leading sports destination in the Southeast while also fueling our local creative economy and supporting the recovery of small businesses following Hurricane Helene.”

The three‑day event brings together approximately 1,300 athletes representing men’s and women’s teams, along with their families and fans. The championships will take place at UNC Asheville’s recently renovated Karl Straus Track, with expansions made possible in part by a $1.5 million Tourism Product Development Fund investment through the tourism development authority.

“The NAIA is excited to partner with Airstream Ventures and Explore Asheville to provide a first–class experience to the student–athletes competing for outdoor track and field national championships,” said Austin Bennett, NAIA vice president for championships. “The Karl Straus Track and the amenities the area brings to the table will allow the NAIA to provide an event that will make lasting memories for our student-athletes, coaches and fans.”

For its first year in Asheville, the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships will take place May 20–22, 2026. In 2027, the event is set for May 26–28.

“Hosting the NAIA championships at Karl Straus Track is a tremendous honor and opportunity,” said Janet Cone, athletic director at UNC Asheville. “Our facilities are designed to support elite level competition, and we are committed to providing an exceptional experience for athletes, coaches and spectators. We’re proud to bring national attention to Asheville and UNC Asheville and thankful for this partnership with Airstream Ventures, Explore Asheville and the NAIA.”

KemperSports has announced a multi–year partnership with Perfect Game to bring youth baseball events to Fields at Station 63 in Mansfield, Texas.

Through a partnership between the city of Mansfield and KemperSports, Fields at Station 63 has undergone a multi-million-dollar renovation with upgraded playing fields. The park now features eight turf baseball diamonds, a renovated central plaza, improved concessions and family spaces.

The venue will re-open on September 6. Beginning in the fall, Perfect Game will host 35 weekends per year of youth baseball tournaments at the newly renovated venue.

“This isn’t just another tournament series,” said Steve Goris, senior vice president of KemperSports Venues. “We’re combining Perfect Game’s industry-leading tournament platform with KemperSports’ expertise in hospitality, facility management and event operations. Together, we’re creating an environment that delivers a best-in-class experience for players, families, and fans — from the moment they arrive at the park to the last out of the weekend.”

The partnership will combine Perfect Game’s network of players, coaches, scouts and media with KemperSports’ service, facility expertise and community engagement.

“We are excited for the future of Perfect Game in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro,” said Taylor McCollough, vice president, operations at Perfect Game. “We look forward to working with KemperSports to provide quality competition and the first-class experience that our teams expect at Perfect Game events now at Fields at Station 63.”

The 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games has proposed the relocation of diving to the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center in Pasadena and asked for approval from the Los Angeles City Council on the decision.

The venue plan for LA28 had diving being held at the 1932 Pool in the Exposition Park Zone. LA28 says the potential move would achieve up to $17.6 million in combined savings and revenue growth. Any changes to the venue proposal for LA28 must be approved by the city.

LA28 said in its proposal to the City Council that the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center offers an existing pool that meets Olympic diving standards and requires fewer improvements to host diving in 2028.

It also said in the proposal that World Aquatics told organizers that the Exposition Park outdoor pool did not meet Olympic diving standards. The pool in Exposition Park, located next to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, was constructed for the 1932 Games and hosted diving, swimming, water polo and the swim event for the modern pentathlon.

LA28 said in its proposal to City Council that the venue “would require a complete reconstruction in order to meet Olympic standards. Futhermore, this construction cannot occur simultaneously with the LA Memorial Coliseum track construction projects due to limited space within the surrounding footprint.”

“This presents a significant opportunity to deliver successful marquee events, with greater budget certainty, while also ensuring an exceptional competition venue for our diving athletes, with their safety remaining our top priority,” said Reynold Hoover, LA28 chief executive officer. “The decision to stage diving at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center is beneficial on all fronts and we’re grateful to our host city and venue city partners for their unwavering support and collaboration as we finalize the 2028 Games plan.”

The NFL and immersive technology company Cosm have announced an extension of their partnership that will see Cosm continue to produce and distribute live games in shared reality at their venues throughout the 2025 season and beyond.

This season, Cosm will again feature Thursday Night Football and Sunday Night Football, as well as an offering of games on CBS and FOX, at its venues in Los Angeles and Dallas. For the second consecutive year, Cosm will also showcase NFL postseason games, including Super Bowl LX.

“This multi-year partnership with the NFL and its broadcast partners underscores our shared commitment to fans,” said Jeb Terry, Cosm president and chief executive officer. “With multiple high-resolution immersive camera angles from the sideline to the end zone, integrated broadcaster commentary and live TV feeds, NFL gamedays at Cosm offer a unique shared reality experience where fans can celebrate watching NFL football together.”

NFL games debuted at Cosm during the 2024 NFL season on Cosm’s 87-foot-diameter, 12K+ LED domes. Cosm opened its first venue in Los Angeles at Hollywood Park, adjacent to SoFi Stadium, in July 2024, and second venue in Dallas at The Colony’s Grandscape in August 2024. The company will open its third venue in Atlanta’s Centennial Yards in early 2026, as well as its fourth venue in  Detroit later in the year. Cosm recently announced its fifth venue will anchor Cleveland’s Rock Block development, expected to open in 2027.

Cosm will kick off its slate of NFL games on September 4 with the 2025 NFL Kickoff Game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles, along with Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football. The Week 2 matchup between the Washington Commanders and Green Bay Packers on September 11 will be the first Thursday Night Football game this season available in the Dome at Cosm.

Within a year’s time, more attention than ever will be focused on Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

With the Super Bowl coming in February and then six matches in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the stadium recently unveiled $200 million in renovations as it welcomed hundreds of season ticket holders for “Levi’s Stadium Under the Lights.”

“We were super proud and very grateful that the feedback was enormously positive,” said Stephanie Rogers, the San Francisco 49ers’ executive vice president of marketing. “Everybody has seen the construction happening at the stadium for several months. To show it off was a jolt of energy not only for season-ticket holders at the building but partners there who were able to see their hard work come to life.”

Levi’s Stadium, capacity 68,500, opened in 2014. The renovation project features new video boards over 70% larger than the previous boards. Other upgrades include new LED field lights, new Wi-Fi and cellular networks, over 120 renovated luxury suites and club spaces and a renovated team store.

“We’re all very proud and super grateful to have this opportunity,” in 2026, Rogers said. “When you talk to anybody who works in sports and you ask them what their bucket list events are, you’d be hard pressed to find anybody who doesn’t put a Super Bowl or World Cup among their top five. We know it’s a huge undertaking and a huge responsibility to deliver for the fans of these sports, and we are excited and proud of the chance to deliver it.”

Construction began last December with preparation starting the day after the 49ers regular season ended. Work was completed in July but planning for renovations began nearly two years ago.

“We have very consistent ongoing dialogue with everybody in the stadium, whether season ticket holders or suite holders or partners,” Rogers said. One example is that fans wanted more core football statistics on the video boards to see easily, so the 49ers worked to develop a video board layout that will ensure a spot with only football-specific content the whole game.

There are also plenty of small but noticeable touches intentional throughout the venue including the production control room, which has 49 monitors and was of big interest from season-ticket holders who had never seen the area before, Rogers said.

“One of the things that I’m really proud of for the team is that all the tech in the room is not out of date, it’s going to grow and evolve,” said Rogers, which is in part credit to the team’s partners in the Silicon Valley region. “What we’re trying to build here, we want to be sustaining the next 8-10 years the next wave of buildout.”

The venue hosted the Super Bowl in 2016 and next summer will host five FIFA World Cup group stage games and a round of 32 game. Rogers said since the venue opened, Levi’s Stadium has driven over $2 billion in estimated economic impact to the region. In 2026 alone it expects to drive $1 billion.

“I think having these events certainly was a motivation and a mark on the calendar,” Rogers said. “But also making these investments and enhancements to the fan experience not only sets us up well to deliver an incredible show for those massively global stages but also long-term, we want to solidify ourselves as a global sports and entertainment destination venue.”

Between the Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup, there will not only be hundreds of thousands of fans attending the games but millions more around the world watching and seeing the venue. The 49ers also have global marketing arrangements in the United Kingdom, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates with a large fan base in Germany added in for even more eyeballs on Levi’s Stadium.

“I hope they see a venue that they immediately add to their bucket list if it isn’t already on there,” Rogers said. “We strive to deliver a fan experience that you can’t get anywhere else in the world. We want fans to come here from afar to enjoy Levi’s Stadium. When they’re watching the big game or any of the FIFA matches, I hope they see a stadium that’s gorgeous and technologically advanced and looks like a place they want to come and experience incredible sporting experiences for themselves.”

Ripken Baseball has signed a 10-year extension with the city of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, to continue operating The Ripken Experience Pigeon Forge through 2035.

The Ripken Experience Pigeon Forge opened in March 2016 with six turf fields modeled after historic and modern Major League ballparks. In 2023, the complex expanded to include four additional renovated fields at Wear Farm City Park, bringing the total number of playable fields to 10. The venue is designed to replicate the journey from the Minor to Major Leagues, with field layouts inspired by iconic stadiums such as Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore), BB&T Ballpark (Winston-Salem) and Fluor Field (Greenville).

“Our partnership with the city of Pigeon Forge has created one of the greatest destinations in all of youth sports,” said Bill Ripken, co-founder of Ripken Baseball. “From the moment families arrive at the complex and see the backdrop of the Smoky Mountains, they know they’re somewhere special. We’re proud to keep building unforgettable baseball moments in Pigeon Forge.”

Since launching The Ripken Experience Pigeon Forge in the Smoky Mountains region, the facility has welcomed nearly 10,000 youth baseball and softball teams that played 30,000 games. Over 750,000 unique visitors have generated 480,000 room nights and driven an estimated $320 million in economic impact. Tournaments run nine months out of the year and attract teams from more than 30 states and several countries.

“Ripken Baseball has been a valuable partner for nearly a decade and this extension allows us to continue that momentum,” said Pigeon Forge Mayor Kevin McClure. “The Ripken Experience has delivered measurable economic results while also providing our residents with access to upgraded sports facilities and year-round opportunities.”

Plans to expand Villa Park, the home of Premier League club Aston Villa since 1897, is on the verge of being approved by local city council with the target of being ready to potentially host matches as part of the 2028 European Championships.

Birmingham City Council’s planning committee will gather August 28, reported The Athletic, with a view to voting on redevelopment plans to increase the number of seats available in the North Stand to more than 12,000. Villa Park currently holds 42,640 spectators and is the 11th largest stadium in England.

“Once operational, the project will contribute an estimated £119.9m to the West Midlands economy each year, creating hundreds of jobs during and post-construction, and attracting 1.65m visitors to the local area annually,” Aston Villa said in a section on the club website about Villa Park’s future.

Villa has been aiming for the redevelopment to be completed in the second half of 2027 ahead of the Euro 2028. This is so that the stadium is ready for UEFA Euro 2028, which it is due to be a host venue for.

The Athletic said it has seen draft papers with details of the application and that “it has been recommended for approval by council planners and, therefore, work on extending the North Stand should be authorized.”

Villa has long planned to update the venue. Planning permission was secured in December 2022 before the project was postponed in 2023. The Athletic’s story said the planning application includes research on how fans get to Villa Park with 59% by car, 30% on train and 3% via bus.

“We continue to work closely with all stakeholders to ensure the elements of the project which Aston Villa does not control, such as transport system and infrastructure works, are prioritized to ensure the best outcome for our fans, the local community, the city and the wider region,” the club said on its website.

Villa Park has hosted 55 FA Cup semifinals, more than any other stadium. It hosted three matches in the 1966 World Cup won by England and four matches during Euro ’96 along with the 1999 European Cup Winners’ Cup (now known as the Europa League) and 2012 Community Shield.

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds have announced a planned expansion to the South Shore stadium of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and Pittsburgh Riveters that would see capacity increase to 15,000 with more premium seating areas, a club with banquet space and suite options.

The expansion positions the Riverhounds to meet U.S. Soccer’s Pro League Standards requiring a capacity of 15,000 for Division One sanctioning. Earlier this year, the United Soccer League announced plans to launch a Division One men’s league competing at the top tier of the sport in the United States with a 2028 launch date. The USL is currently in the process of reviewing applications from clubs interested in its Division One league.

“Since 2014, we have invested significant capital and effort into this stadium and growing soccer around the area. Now, we have a major opportunity to continue that growth,” said Riverhounds Owner Tuffy Shallenberger. “This expansion is going be great for our fans and allow us to take our teams to the level we want to reach, but it’s also going to bring additional events here that will help the entire Pittsburgh community. We’re excited to start and take this next step forward.”

The stadium is currently home for six NCAA varsity teams between soccer and lacrosse. The Riverhounds have hosted numerous events including the annual WPIAL Soccer Championships, the 2018 NCAA Division II Soccer Championships and already has been selected to host the 2027 NCAA Division III Soccer Championships.

“The Pittsburgh Riverhounds are committed to the continued growth of our sport and our stadium,” said Shallenberger. “This community, all around Western Pennsylvania, has supported our team for a long time, and we want to keep getting bigger and better to make them proud.”

Riverside City Council in California has voted unanimously to enter into an exclusive negotiating agreement with GCS Development to transform 56 acres of city-owned land in the Northside neighborhood into the Riverside Sports Complex & Entertainment District.

The master plan includes a professional, multi-use stadium, six soccer fields and an indoor sports and game complex as part of the first phase. The future phase is planned to include housing and retail and community spaces.

“This project provides recreational opportunities that Riverside and our greater region have never had,” Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said. “It will create a dynamic destination that will energize our local economy and make Riverside the premiere hub for sports and entertainment.”

The site formerly housed the Ab Brown Sports Complex, an 18-field soccer facility that was home to the American Youth Soccer Organization Region 47 from 1985 to 2018. The site has been vacant since 2018.

Three years out from hosting its first Paralympic Games, LA28 celebrated the milestone with the debut of two new custom emblems to further generate excitement for the 2028 Paralympic Summer Games.

The “Relentless Reinvention” emblem features a pixelated kaleidoscope representing athletes’ ability to evolve and change constantly.

The “Innovation Moonshot” emblem represents progress and possibility — trying as many keys as possible until one unlocks full potential and maximum creativity.

“With just three years to go, LA28 remains steadfast in our commitment to deliver an unforgettable Paralympic Games in Los Angeles for the very first time in history,” said Reynold Hoover, LA28 chief executive officer. “The LA28 Paralympic Games will be an incredible opportunity to reshape the conversation around individuals with disabilities within the sports world and beyond and has the capacity to serve as a catalyst for progress, inclusivity and global recognition of the world’s third largest sporting event.”

The newly debuted custom emblems marking three years out from the 2028 Paralympic Games are featured on LA28.org, as well as the 50–plus unique emblems representing a collection of voices reflecting the host city’s culture, creativity, inclusiveness and self-expression.

“In just three years, Los Angeles will make history as we host the city’s first ever Paralympic Games,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. “It’s so important for our young Angelenos — especially those with disabilities — to see these elite athletes as they show the world what can be accomplished with equal opportunity and self–determination.”

Leading up to the 2028 Paralympic Games, LA28 has surpassed planning milestones including becoming the first organizing committee to propose and add a new Paralympic sport, Para climbing, which will make its debut in 2028.

LA28 also unveiled the nearly completed Paralympic venue plan earlier this year which has been designed for the needs of athletes and the respective sport’s field of play requirements.