What 5-billion-dollar location will be home to Super Bowl LVI in 2022? The new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. This stadium is not only the most expensive sports venue ever to be built, but it also offers significant insight into the breakthroughs that will continue to define the future of digital transformation, sustainability, and work in the entertainment industry. You could say that SoFi Stadium is a physical demonstration of Breakthrough, Innovation, and Transformation!
This stadium was inspired by real estate shaker and innovator E. Stanley Kroenke with the goal of helping people achieve their dreams. The SoFi stadium is exactly that, a venue for dreamers.
Opened in September 2020, in Inglewood, California, this stadium is a state-of-the-art, multi-entertainment complex comprising a stadium, pedestrian plaza, and performance venue. The separate structures are covered entirely by a crystal ETFE roof, a breakthrough design that provides UV protection, and unexpectedly projects images visible to airplanes on the final approach to LAX with 28,000 LED lights embedded in the roof. This innovative, sustainable complex was designed by HKS, a global design firm known for industry-leading architectural delivery.
The stadium also includes the flat screen of your dreams—The Oculus is an ovular, double-sided 4K HDR video board. This cutting-edge, 80-million-pixel board is a breakthrough in sports entertainment, suspended from the roof at a jaw-dropping 2.2 million pounds. The stadium’s 260-speaker audio system and 56 5G wireless antennas is the most connected location in California and will certainly make you question the quality of your internet and surround sound at home.
In addition to the Los Angeles Chargers and Rams calling this home, the stadium is also the location for world-class events and renowned musical acts. The seats will be highly coveted, as the stadium is already scheduled to host Super Bowl LVI in 2022, as well as the College Football Playoff National Championship and Wrestlemania in 2023. The Rolling Stones will also perform this October. It doesn’t stop there; the stadium will also host the 2028 Summer Olympics opening & closing ceremonies as well as soccer and archery competitions.
The complex offers even more opportunities for Inglewood and surrounding communities. This month, the Stadium’s management, StadCo, was looking to hire an additional 5,000 employees. Additionally, shopping, apartments, office buildings, and other entertainment venues are being built on the surrounding property. This construction and the new jobs will transform Inglewood.
Mr. Kroenke and his team are taking substantial steps towards breakthroughs in sustainability. Lake Park, the feature in front of the development, will use around 11.4 million gallons of recycled water per year. The West Basin Municipal Water District has also designed a project that will provide 26 million gallons of recycled water per year, saving an equal amount of drinking water for the region. The recycled water will be used for the greenery along the street medians, parking lots, and landscaped areas around the stadium.
The new SoFi stadium is an amazing example of what the future holds for entertainment and multipurpose buildings. Predictably, it will be the most advanced sports venue in the world for the next decade. As such, it will not only serve as a source of economic rejuvenation for the community but also a pillar of inspiration for the future of breakthrough, innovation, and transformation in the entertainment industry.
