As SoFi Stadium is set to host three major Olympic events in 2028, the transformation plans are now underway. Tracey Leong reports for the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on Monday, August 12, 2024.
Leading up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, SoFi Stadium will also host two other global events, the World Cup in 2026 and the Super Bowl in 2027, making it the first venue in history to host multiple world events in three consecutive years.
Inglewood’s state-of-the art SoFi Stadium is the NFL’s largest venue, home to the Los Angeles Chargers and Rams.
It is also an electrifying concert destination with musical sensations taking centerstage including pop icons Beyoncé and Taylor Swift.
Now SoFi is adding another impressive event to its resume.
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“What better platform than the LA28 Olympics to come here to bring that international elite athlete representing their home countries and all of their fans here? It's going to be something pretty spectacular,” said Otto Benedict, SoFi Stadium’s Senior Vice President of Facility and Campus Operations.
Benedict said the indoor-outdoor venue was designed to welcome these types of world- class events.
“It's got the size, the capabilities to host multiple things -- whether that's multiple competitions or an opening ceremony, swimming, and closing ceremonies," Benedict said. "They're doing a really great job of thinking outside that box and saying, 'How do we utilize this infrastructure in the most effective way?'”
Working with the LA28 Olympic Games Committee to retrofit existing venues, SoFi Stadium’s technology and size offer the flexibility needed to deliver their vision of sustainability.
In four years, the 100,000-square-foot field will be completely transformed, making SoFi Stadium the largest swimming venue in Olympic history.
The renderings of the venue demonstrate SoFi Stadium officials' plans for 2028, showcasing their ability to convert their stadium into a swimming venue that will hold about 40,000 fans, more than doubling the typical seating capacity for this competition.
When the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis recently hosted the Olympic Swimming trials, SoFi stadium sent a team to review the process of building an Olympic-size pool in the middle of a stadium.
“To put in all the mechanical and plumbing systems that those pools have, there are very, very specific requirements that the Olympics needs for their swimming venue, and that's what takes a lot of the time to really get that dialed in, so it'll function in the way that they are expecting it to,” said Benedict.
After the pool is constructed, workers will cover it with a decking system to host the opening ceremonies, and after the swimming competition, it will go back for the closing ceremonies.
A monumental task that highlights SoFi Stadium’s multifunctional capabilities as a global destination, ready to make its splashy debut for LA28.
SoFi Stadium officials said it’s still too early to know how long the pool will stay up after the games end as they have a small window before the NFL preseason kicks off, so maybe fans will be able to take a dip before it gets packed up.
