I toured SoFi stadium

I recently toured SoFi stadium. It was part of a surprise birthday gift my wife arranged for my 60th birthday.

Believe it or not it’s already being  renovated so there were construction crews running heavy equipment on the concrete beneath the playing surface of the field. Apparently they have to modify the field to meet FIFA regulations for the World Cup in 2 years. They have to increase the width of the field to 70 yards and add 10,000 seats. They also have to add natural grass but the tour guide didn’t know if the grass was going to be permanent or just for the World Cup. Talk about poor planning. Somebody fumbled the ball there.

The most notable thing to me was that there is not a single reference to the Rams or Chargers anywhere around or inside the stadium (other than locker rooms). Plenty of references to Toyota, Corona, and other corporate brands, but nothing about football.  My impression is that it’s not a football stadium as much as a superbly engineered monument to hyper capitalism – SoFi is paying $30 mil/year for 20 years for the naming rights. It’s basically an entertainment venue that’s decorated like the Belagio but occasionally has football games sandwiched between concerts, conventions,  soccer matches, Wrestle-mania, etc.  As beautiful as it is, I was fairly disappointed with the whole experience until we got to the Rams locker room.  That saved the day.  Seeing the player names above the lockers gave me goosebumps. The lockers are organized by position for the most part with the QB’s in one section, receivers in another, d-linemen in another, etc…  Kupp’s locker is right beside Puka’s.  There are several huge flat screen TVs around the room with high-lites from the Super Bowl playing on a continuous loop. It was neat to be able to see and recognize the area where McVay gives out game balls after victories and the podium where he and the players address the press.

Anyway, it was an interesting experience and it certainly is a beautiful venue.  The views of the field were great no matter where you were. The tour guide said there wasn’t a bad seat in the house and I believe it.  Someday I hope to see a Rams game there.  That’s number one on the ol’ bucket list.