Construction may have wrapped up on SoFi Stadium in September 2020, but its wide-ranging impact within Los Angeles as a world-class sports venue that will host this Sunday’s Super Bowl LVI, the College Football National Championships in 2023, and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Olympic Games is finally having its coming out party. The sprawling open-air stadium, built by Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke and designed by global firm HKS, is the centerpiece of Inglewood’s 300-acre Hollywood Park development and clocks in as the NFL’s largest sports venue at 3.1 million square feet.
HKS envisioned a public hub that embodies Southern California’s indoor-outdoor lifestyle, with a striking facade inspired by the waves of the nearby Pacific Ocean, and terraced gardens lined with Mexican and California fan palms outside the entrance plaza. (SoFi is actually sunk into the ground to prevent disruption of planes flying into LAX airport.)
“It’s an authentic representation of Southern California,” says HKS principal Lance Evans, who spearheaded SoFi Stadium’s design and previously worked on stadiums for the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, and the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis. “The form of the building reflects the energy of the ocean waves, the curves of the coastline, the fluid nature of the city and the surroundings. The stadium has many layers, like the city where it’s located.”
Open concourses and landscaped canyons draw visitors inside, accommodating 100,000 spectators thanks to removable seating. From there, guests enjoy views of the field and the largest video board in sports—the crown-like 4K LED Infinity Screen by Samsung—suspended above the seats, and a transparent ETFE roof canopy that allows for passive ventilation. Equipped with an embedded LED system, the roof also projects video feeds visible from the air.
Outside, Hollywood Park features climate-adaptive landscape architecture, including a six-acre lake and network of green spaces led by Mia Lehrer of local firm Studio-MLA. It’s easy to see why LeBron James sang SoFi’s praises upon visiting: “architecturally, it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever been in.”
