Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the National Football League (NFL) has opened its new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, new home of the LA Rams and LA Chargers--except, no fans have been able to attend games just yet.
Instead, over 1,000 fans will be able to attend games virtually, using augmented reality technology for an immersive experience. To promote virtual attendance, the Rams are working with their sponsors, including PepsiCo
"I don't think when we sat at the drawing board five years ago, we ever conceived that we would open up without fans, but I don't think there's anything about 2020 that any of us ever could have conceived," said Kevin Demoff, LA Rams COO.
"If you're going to open up a building in a pandemic, the silver lining is by being the biggest, by being the most modern, by having six times the Wi-Fi capability of any other stadium, we can make this technologically safe," Demoff said. "We can make it very safe for fans to socially distance, without having to change any of our design, and that's the great thing about building the stadium for 2020."
Eventually, the new SoFi Stadium will hold up to 100,000 attendants in person, making it the largest stadium in the NFL at 3.1 million square feet. The stadium also has the largest video screen of any stadium in the league and is the first NFL indoor-outdoor stadium.
In addition to sports games, the stadium will also be used as an entertainment venue for music concerts.
Taylor Swift had originally been scheduled to perform at the new SoFi Stadium on July 25, for example, however her performance was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Guns N' Roses has also put their previously scheduled concert at SoFi on hold.
The stadium is currently set to serve as a voting center for the presidential election in November, according to Fox News.
Despite scheduling and ticket complications, the Rams said only roughly 20% of their season ticket holders have requested refunds. The majority have had their tickets rolled over to the next season instead.
"When we built this stadium, we built it for the next two or three decades," Demoff said. "Hopefully, we can resume back to our normal projections for 2021 and beyond, the same way every other business in the world is looking at their 2020 bottom line right now."
Looking ahead, the SoFi Stadium is set to host Super Bowl LVI in 2022 and the opening ceremonies of the 2028 Olympics.
