“The plan is to have temporary seating, probably about the 35 or so yard line and then actually they have a second pool on the other end.”
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The Collingwood Football Club’s training and administrative base was formerly the pool for Melbourne’s Olympics (1956). The LA Rams, a football team, have outdone the Magpies, by allowing the LA 2028 Games to assemble a temporary pool in their house, which will also host (part of) the opening ceremony.
In a reversal of the norm, the plan is for the swimming to precede the athletics in LA ’28.
Hard as it was for our Australian party to envisage Olympic swimming in this vast stadium – the world’s largest – it was not the most astounding fact about SoFi, which will also be converted for soccer (eight games) for the only event that might out-size the Olympics, the FIFA World Cup, next year.
Unlike our stadia, which are largely financed by the taxpayer via federal and especially state governments, SoFi was built at a cost widely reported as US$5.5 billion (about AUD$8.5 billion)– without a cent of public money.
That amount would pay for close to eight versions of the promised Tasmania Devils stadium that has been the source of such discord and political unrest in impecunious Tassie. It’s almost five times as expensive as Perth’s Optus Stadium, the bulk of which was funded by WA’s taxpayers.
And the bill for the world’s most expensive stadium was entirely footed by the LA Rams billionaire owner, Stan Kroenke, uniformly referred to by Rams senior staffers as “Mr Kroenke.” He is the biggest owner of sporting teams on earth.
The Rams played the Seattle Seahawks at a packed SoFi Stadium.Credit: Getty Images
Kroenke, the sole owner of Arsenal, the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and ice hockey team the Colorado Avalanche, also owns hundreds of acres of land surrounding SoFi, where there is a retail shopping centre, the west coast headquarters of the NFL, movie theatres and other commercial businesses.
It is within a short stroll of the old Forum where Magic Johnson held court for the LA Lakers, who have moved downtown, or the Intuit Dome, where the LA Clippers dribble.
Kroenke, a real estate mogul, owns the stadium outright, having bought the site of the former Hollywood Park racetrack in Inglewood, LA, and arranged, with fellow owners’ backing, for the Rams to move back to LA from St Louis – and for the (ex-San Diego) Chargers to join them as SoFi NFL tenants.
Billionaire Stan Kroenke.Credit: Bloomberg
He built it, and they came.
Lately, the stadium also has been the home ground for Taylor Swift and Beyonce, Swift having held six shows consecutively at SoFi for her Eras tour. If necessary, the capacity can be bolstered from slightly over 70,000 seats to 100,000, by expanding standing room.
The roof was not as oppressive as that of Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium, since there were skies above and openings to allow outside air at each end. “So that’s our form of air conditioning,” said Vroman. Note to Tasmania – a roof with a view is preferable.
It was only when we witnessed the Rams v Seattle game two days later that one could fully grasp the raison d’etre of this stadium, and of the nexus between American professional sport and the industry Los Angeles spawned, entertainment.
Who’s house? Rams’ house. Credit: Getty Images
Where but in heavily Latino LA would there be a Mariachi band during the game? The video screen, visible from wherever you were seated, was constantly showing either the game live, replays of the action or the entertainment, including rapper Warren G at half-time, and the national anthem.
“WHO’S HOUSE?” boomed the audio, when the Rams faced key moments. “RAMS’ HOUSE,” replied tens of thousands.
In a nod to LA’s diverse demography, the cheerleaders – sporting novel black “midnight” full body-suit outfits – were a mix of Latino, Asian, African-American, white and included men in their troupe.
Whereas many footy fans find the noise bombardments at the MCG irritating, or worse, the Rams’ fans embraced the full-bore entertainment, albeit NFL is a game with constant breaks. The halts in play create attention voids that loud music and other distractions can seamlessly fill.
Taylor Swift performs at SoFi. Credit: AP
Implicitly, the spectacle posed a question – would the Rams game at the MCG next year have similar LA entertainment at the more stately MCG? Or, at Melbourne’s coliseum, would they do as the Romans do?
“We think that nobody compares,” said Vroman, channelling Sinead O’Connor. “I mean, we are the largest venue in the NFL, 3.1 million square feet. We have the largest screen, over 70,000 square feet… The technology we have, with the amenities we have, nothing compares.”
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All paid for by a billionaire. Truly, the NFL is in another league.
Jake Niall travelled to LA as a guest of the Rams.
