With a decade to go before the 2028 Summer Olympics come to town, Long Beach has begun crafting a plan to complete eight “critical” infrastructure projects leaders say are key to hosting a successful games.

For the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games, Long Beach will have the second largest footprint outside of the downtown Los Angeles hub, which will be home to the Olympic Village and over a dozen sporting events. For now, Long Beach is expected to host seven events, including men’s and women’s water polo, sailing, handball, triathlon, open water swimming, and BMX biking.

The City Council on Tuesday directed the city manager to prepare a plan, needs assessment and timeline for the “8 by 28” initiative, which includes:

The Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier, which will be the anchor for Olympic sailing.

The Belmont Beach and Aquatic Center, which would replace the Olympic facility that was torn down in 2013 after failing seismic tests. While the current design for the pool would not include enough seating to host Olympic events, officials say it would be used to showcase Long Beach’s Olympic history. The pool is awaiting a state Coastal Commission hearing on its design and a legal challenge to the project’s environmental impact report is also pending.

The Long Beach Arena, which will host Olympic handball, will be refurbished.

A Convention Center Hotel at the corner of Pine Avenue and Ocean Boulevard. Conceptualized is a 416-room luxury hotel that “would provide needed rooms for Olympic events.”

The other four items are new lifeguard towers along the Long Beach coast, new beach concession stands from the pier to downtown, improvements to the Long Beach Airport that include a new rental car area and baggage claim, and improvements to the Metro Blue Line that would increase connection between Long Beach and the other sports parks around Southern California.

Assistant City Manager Tom Modica said Tuesday’s action will allow staff to come back with a report on where the city is on each of these projects, what needs to be done and how to close the funding gaps. All projects are in varying stages, financially and conceptually. Funding opportunities could include assistance from county, state or federal governments, as well as private financing and public-private partnerships.

“We believe this is an aggressive vision but also a doable vision,” he said to the council on Tuesday.

The thorniest of the projects on the list is the Belmont Beach and Aquatics Center, commonly referred to as the Belmont Pool, which was given a $103 million price tag four years ago. About $60 million has been set aside for the project.

Activists from the Democratic Socialists of America and NOlympics LA coalition also spoke during Tuesday’s meeting about how the games could result in significant cost overruns, militarization of police, transportation nightmares (as some freeway lanes will only be for Olympic athletes during the games), and depleted local housing resources that could further gentrification and displace the city’s most vulnerable populations.

“More and more cities are waking up to the risks that Olympics bring,” said Kevin Joerger, member of DSA’s Long Beach chapter.

Councilwoman Jeannine Pearce asked for a report on housing impacts to come back with the “8 by 28” initiative to ensure Long Beach is “ahead of the conversation.”

Modica said he expects to return to council with a more concrete update in April or May.