SoFi Stadium's debut on Sunday for Cowboys-Rams will be spectator-free, but it "will still be a spectacle," according to Christopher Palmeri of BLOOMBERG NEWS. The stadium is the "vision" of Rams Owner Stan Kroenke, who "wanted an arena that celebrated Southern California and the indoor-outdoor lifestyle its residents enjoy." At $5.5B, SoFi is the "most expensive stadium in the world, and entirely privately financed." It is "designed to capture breezes from the Pacific Ocean, six miles away." The clear plastic roof is "treated so it blocks the sun’s rays" and panels "can be opened to release hot air, enough so that it will be 4 degrees cooler inside than out." There are a "dozen clubs in the stadium where fans can stand or lounge while watching the game." The Corona Beach Club, for example, is "three stories tall." In the Bungalows suites, fans "can sit on stools shaped like tree trunks and just about touch the turf behind the goalpost." There also is a "giant, circular video board with panels as tall as 40 feet," which "floats like a zeppelin inside the arena, visible from the field on the inside and from the seats all around" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 9/10).
BEHIND THE CURTAIN: The story behind the construction of SoFi Stadium was chronicled Wednesday night on the Science Channel's “NFL Super Stadiums." Rams COO Kevin Demoff said L.A. has been “waiting for a new stadium, the return of the NFL in a grand fashion, for decades.” Demoff added the goal of SoFi is to “reimagine how to best showcase the NFL, but also every event in the world, from the Super Bowl, to the World Cup, to the Olympics." Chargers President of Business Operations A.G. Spanos: “It really needs to be the finest stadium in the world in the entertainment capital of the world on the biggest stage there is.” HKS Architects' Mark Williams: “From day one we wanted this to be a global stage for sports and entertainment for the world." Demoff noted, “The first thing that Stan Kroenke said when we embarked upon this project was, ‘You can't undershoot Los Angeles’” (“NFL Super Stadiums,” Science Channel, 9/9).
MAJOR COLLABORATIONS: Google Cloud and YouTube have both signed sponsorship deals with SoFi Stadium, the surrounding Hollywood Park development and both the Rams and Chargers, making Google Cloud the official cloud sponsor and YouTube the official video streaming sponsor. As part of its agreement, Google Cloud will power a “personal concierge” app that will help fans navigate SoFi Stadium, locate parking and optimize traffic around the 298-acre Hollywood Park development. The app also will personalize offers on tickets, food and shopping. This marks the first time in sports that Google Cloud and YouTube have approached a deal together (Ben Fischer, THE DAILY). Click here for more.
