Raise the roof: L.A. stadium work cited
‘It absolutely blows you away,’ leaeue executive eushes
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The NFL committed the 2022 Super Bowl to the Los Angeles area back when the 298-acre stadium complex in Inglewood was still mostly a waterlogged hole in the ground.
That hole has long since been filled by the skeleton of a massive arena, and thousands of workers are making rapid weekly progress toward its grand opening in July 2020.
The league is feeling great about its decision to bring the Super Bowl back to its original home as quickly as possible, and a visit to the site by league officials Tuesday only amplified the NFL’S faith in the people building its newest showpiece.
“We just couldn’t be more excited to have this stage for our biggest game,” said Peter O’reilly, the NFL’S executive vice president of club business and league events. “It absolutely blows you away, the scale and the way this entire district will come to life.”
The Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers will begin play in Inglewood next year, and the Super Bowl will follow the teams’ second season of residence. By that time, the league and the two teams plan to have every wrinkle ironed out of their operations when they welcome the entire pro football world back to L.A.
“As the two teams learn from every event, we’ll be learning as well,” O’reilly said. “Certainly sitting here today, unlike in a stadium that’s built, we can’t fully lock every little plan in. But that’s OK. It is 100 percent worth the wait.”
The Super Bowl is just one of many landmark events headed to Inglewood in the next decade. College football’s national championship game will be there in January 2023, followed by the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Olympics. Along with two full slates of NFL games annually, the stadium will host a college football Los Angeles Bowl starting next year — and they’re also hoping to land World Cup matches in 2026.
Despite its incredible scope, the stadium already is roughly 75 percent complete, with most of the physical structure in place. The stadium’s stylish roof, the seats and the enormous Oculus video board will be installed over the next several months.