SoFi Stadium Aims for Global Sporting Dominance
SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, opened its doors in 2020 as a gleaming new palace for the NFL. Over the next three years, it will transform into a global sporting stage. This venue will flip from World Cup spotlight to Super Bowl host to Olympic spectacle and swimming venue.
Stan Kroenke's Vision Drives the Ambition
Billionaire real estate magnate Stan Kroenke is the driving force behind the $5 billion stadium. He also owns the NFL's Rams, who call SoFi home along with the Los Angeles Chargers. Kevin Demoff, president of team and media operations for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, shared insights in an interview at the stadium.
"When we first started talking about building SoFi Stadium in Hollywood Park, Stan Kroenke wanted to host the world's greatest events," Demoff said. "We thought that would include Super Bowls, World Cups, hopefully the Olympics when we were dreaming this up in 2015, 2016."
He added, "Now if you had said that they would happen in three consecutive years, maybe that would have been hard pressed to believe. I don't think any stadium has ever hosted all three, let alone three in consecutive years."
Massive Scale Enables Versatile Use
At roughly 3.1 million square feet, SoFi is the largest stadium in the NFL. Demoff emphasized that this scale was deliberate. It aims not just to dazzle on Sundays but to morph repeatedly into whatever the sports calendar demands.
"It can be a great concert venue, a great football venue, or a great World Cup venue. It can host something incredible like swimming or the opening ceremony," he explained.
World Cup Transformation Underway
This summer, SoFi is scheduled to host eight World Cup matches. These include the U.S. opener and a quarter-final. The transformation involves turning an NFL stadium built with artificial turf into a FIFA-sized soccer venue with grass.
Otto Benedict, senior vice president of facility operations, detailed the changes on a tour. SoFi will remove about 400 seats from pre-built demountable sections. It will raise the playing surface roughly 30 inches using a substructure that creates airflow beneath a pitch.
The stadium will install cool-season hybrid grass grown in Washington state. Refrigerated trucks will deliver it. For World Cup matches, the venue will seat about 74,000 fans under its translucent roof.
"It's a limitless building," Benedict remarked.
Olympic Swimming Adds to the Excitement
In 2027, SoFi will host Super Bowl LXI. In 2028, it is slated for the Los Angeles Olympics' opening and closing ceremonies. One of the more audacious pieces of the LA28 plan involves Olympic swimming.
"If you had asked me when we built this, did I ever envision swimming being in SoFi Stadium in the Olympics? I would have said no," Demoff admitted.
He said the idea began to circulate around 2020 or 2021. The U.S. Swimming Trials staged in Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium ahead of the Paris Games helped demonstrate that a football building could credibly become a natatorium.
"The idea that where you're going to see players catching touchdowns today, or the U.S. score their opening goal of the World Cup, could also be where Katie Ledecky or someone else is swimming during the Olympics is a crazy thought," Demoff said.
Infinity Screen Showcases Technological Marvel
One of the most stunning features of the stadium is the 70,000-square-foot, dual-sided oval Infinity Screen. This massive 360-degree central video display is the largest of its kind in the world.
More than 120 feet above the field, Josh Mark, the stadium's vice president of broadcast operations and production, shows off the buzzing control room. About 50 people work on NFL game days with roughly 100 crew members overall operating cameras and multiple backup systems.
"Working one of the events we have coming would be a career highlight and we're getting three in the next three years," he said. "We have a great crew for it."
Legacy Focused on Flawless Execution
Demoff highlighted that the legacy he wants is not just the list of events but the execution. A building marketed as world-class must carry the weight of the world's biggest stages without a stumble.
"When this run is done, I want people to look at SoFi Stadium and say, the world's greatest building hosted the world's greatest sporting events and did it flawlessly," he stated. "And that it represented Los Angeles."
SoFi Stadium has already staged mega events. These include the Super Bowl in 2022 and six sold-out nights of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour in 2023. Officials said ambition was always baked into the footprint from the start.
