NFL Owners Vote To Extend $500M More In SoFi Stadium Financing

NFL owners voting to provide Rams Owner Stan Kroenke with $500M more in financing for SoFi Stadium was an "acknowledgement of the risk he took in moving to L.A., and privately financing a stadium that figures to be the West Coast hub for the league," according to Sam Farmer of the L.A. TIMES. The move, which also includes an "extended period to pay it back," is "significant" when given the context. Kroenke "agreed to give the Chargers a sweetheart deal as a tenant, with the understanding that he would shoulder the overwhelming majority of the stadium costs." However, the Chargers have fallen roughly $300M short of their projected $400M in "seat-licensed sales, money earmarked for construction costs." The request was "in the pipeline before the current national financial crisis, so it's not a direct response to these difficult times." But the "stakes are unquestionably higher now for a stadium that already has been delayed a year, and might not have any fans pass through its doors this season" (L.A. TIMES, 5/20).