Inside the SoFi Stadium that will be turned into a pool for the LA Olympics
From Taylor Swift concerts to Olympic swimming — inside the extraordinary plans to drop a pool into America's most expensive stadium for the 2028 Games | VIDEO
“That stadium was very enticing,” Australian swimming legend Ariarne Titmus said earlier this month of the temporary pool that will be dropped into the middle of SoFi Stadium for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The thought of almost 50,000 fans losing their minds couldn’t prevent Titmus from hanging up her cozzies and googles, but standing here in the end zone at the south end of the stadium, where the pool will be temporarily erected, you wonder if it’s a decision she might regret.
Opened in the summer of 2020, SoFi Stadium is the home ground of the LA Rams, LA Chargers and Taylor Swift, who performed at the venue six times as part of the 2023 Eras Tour.
The noise was so loud during one concert it created a 2.3-magnitude earthquake, according to a nearby seismometer. It was quickly called a “Swift Quake”, of course.
Something similar is expected for the swimming program in 2028, which will attract the second-largest swimming crowd in history: about 57,000 fans are expected to cram into the stadium, which will have temporary seating on the 35-yard line with a warm-up pool behind it.
The largest crowd, incidentally, was 60,000 at London’s White City for the 1908 Olympics when athletics and swimming events overlapped at the one venue.
SoFi Stadium and the surrounding Hollywood Park precinct were solely financed by Rams owner Stan Kroenke, who shelled out $US6b ($9.2b). This was his vision, and the real estate magnate, who has an estimated net worth of $US22b ($34b), has delivered.
You’ll find the precinct in Inglewood, an area previously known for gang-related violence and high crime rates. The stadium is built on the site of the old Hollywood Park racetrack.
American and European sports owners – and let’s be serious, the United Arab Emirates, too – appear to be in an arm’s race of sorts, trying to outdo each other with the biggest and shiniest stadia their wallets will allow.
The Washington Commanders’ proposed stadium is expected to cost $US3.7b ($5.7b). The franchise has engaged the same architects who built SoFi.
Tony Vromon, Sofi Stadium senior director of events, declared – unsurprisingly – that no venue compares to the one he oversees.
“Nobody compares to us,” he said. “I mean, we are the largest venue in the NFL, 3.1 million square feet (0.29m sqm). We have the largest screen, over 70,000 square feet (6500sq m) on the dual-sided infinity screen above us. Another 20,000 square feet (1860sq m) of [advertising] ribbon boards, that are on five levels. It all comes to life in its own unique way.
With the technology we have, with the amenities we have, nothing compares.”
Worth every cent of the $6b Mr Kroenke spent, then?
“We spared no expense,” Vroman said. “What it cost to build is what we wanted to spend to make sure that it was the best that existed. And then we’ll just continue to develop the campus: We’ll continue to reinvest within Hollywood Park and the Inglewood community itself.”
SoFi will also host the opening ceremonies for the Olympics and Paralympics, as well as eight FIFA World Cup matches next year.
“We have approximately 60 publicly ticketed events a year, and that’s 70,000 for football games, for soccer matches, that can be 50,000-plus for concerts,” Vroman said. “We’ve done concerts where the stage is in the middle of the field. So we can do 80,000 people. And I mean, honestly, every week there’s another event. Right now, we’re getting ready for the Rams’ game [against Seattle] this Sunday.”
Taking over football stadiums for swimming events is the new black that makes sense because swimming crowds can be as raucous as football fans, especially in the US.
In Paris last year, the meet was held at the La Defense Arena, a rugby stadium. The atmosphere as the likes of Titmus and local hero Leon Marchand clinched gold medals was palpable.
The US Olympic trials for Paris were held at Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the Indianapolis Colts. The meet smashed swimming attendance records with crowds of about 22,000 coming to each session.
Australian competitors need to prepare themselves for three times as many fans when they compete in LA.
“I can only imagine what the actual Olympics are going to feel like in here,” Vroman said. “The field will get covered or protected, and then they’ll build basically their bathtub, their swimming pool, on top of that. Then they’ll put a decking around it, so the height of the pool is about to the first row of the seats that you see right here.”
Vroman made it clear during our interview that the LA28 organising committee was responsible for financing and constructing the pool. SoFi is merely hiring out the venue, which needs to be handed back in time for the start of the NFL season.
That means the pool will not be available for Paralympic events, a controversial decision that has upset competitors. They will be held at a venue in Long Beach.
Asked what the Olympic pool would be made of, Vroman shrugged: “I think it’s like a stainless-steel tub. And then, honestly, I think it’s literally just plywood and decking.”
As long as it looks good on TV, nobody will tell.
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