From NFL turf to Olympic pool, SoFi Stadium prepares for the World Cup and LA28

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By Rory Carroll

INGLEWOOD, California, Jan 13 : SoFi Stadium was built as the NFL's gleaming new palace, but over the next three years it is set to become a global sporting stage - a venue that will flip from World Cup spotlight to Super Bowl host to Olympic spectacle and swimming venue. 

Billionaire real estate magnate Stan Kroenke is the driving force behind the $5 billion stadium in Inglewood, which opened in 2020 and is home to the NFL's Rams, which Kroenke also owns, and Los Angeles Chargers. 

SoFi has already staged mega events including the Super Bowl in 2022 and six sold-out nights of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour in 2023. Officials said ambition was always baked into the footprint. 

"When we first started talking about building SoFi Stadium in Hollywood Park, Stan Kroenke wanted to host the world's greatest events," Kevin Demoff, president of team and media operations for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, said in an interview at the stadium. 

"We thought that would include Super Bowls, World Cups, hopefully the Olympics when we were dreaming this up in 2015, 2016." 

"Now if you had said that they would happen in three consecutive years, maybe that would have been hard pressed to believe. I don't think any stadium has ever hosted all three, let alone three in consecutive years."

At roughly 3.1 million square feet, SoFi is the largest stadium in the NFL, a scale Demoff said was deliberate - not just to dazzle on Sundays, but to morph, repeatedly, into whatever the sports calendar demands.

"It can be a great concert venue, a great football venue, or a great World Cup venue. It can host something incredible like swimming or the opening ceremony."

WORLD CUP 

That flexibility is