SoFi Stadium – design description

Designed by HKS Architects, the stadium for relocating NFL team Rams will accommodate 70,000 seated spectators, but will also provide standing room for 25,000 further people for largest events. Along the description given by its designers, it’s in fact able to hold over 100,000 people at peak.

The seating, divided into 4-5 tiers and numerous hospitality balconies, the seating bowl will be partly sunken into the ground (up to 27.5m) so the building won’t dominate the landscape. However, locally it would still be the largest building as its canopy will rise to over 53 meters.

Spreading well beyond the stadium itself, the roof will create a transparent dome with ETFE cover, providing shelter from the elements also to neighbouring plazas and also covering an indoor event hall for 6,000 people, south of the stadium. Both the ETFE sheets and lack of external walls are to provide an open-air feeling to fans.

The stadium is being built in Inglewood, south of central Los Angeles. The entire planned complex will spread across 298 acres (120.5 hectares). Apart from the event facilities there will be a hotel (300 rooms), over 2,500 apartments and massive 93,000 m² of office and commercial space.

Back in 2014 the project was expected to cost $ 1.86 billion. This is when ground clearing works were launched, demolishing the old Hollywood Park race track. By official groundbreaking in November 2016 the price tag grew to $2.6 billion.