SoFi Stadium to help launch World Cup, serve as main stage for 2028 Olympics | OneFootball

SoFi Stadium, the ultramodern and most expensive arena in the world, will help launch the World Cup in the United States, then serve as the main stage of the 2028 Olympics.

According to L'Équipe, although it will not host the tournament’s first match, played on Thursday night in Mexico, SoFi will stage its own opening ceremony on Friday, as will Toronto, with guests including Katy Perry, LISA and Rema. It precedes the United States’ meeting with Paraguay in the early hours of Saturday, at three am French time, a reprise of the 2022 Super Bowl show and a dress rehearsal for 2028.

Open since 2020 after four years of works, the venue takes its name from the San Francisco financial firm that bought the naming rights. It is known as the costliest at about five billion dollars, nearly double what owner Stan Kroenke had planned. He owns the NFL Rams and Arsenal, and the stadium is shared with the Chargers.

When the bid was lodged in 2018, the Rose Bowl, host of the 1994 World Cup final, was envisaged for Los Angeles, alongside a note of a new 70,000-seat stadium under construction in Inglewood near the international airport. In a few years it has become a staple, drawing major concerts and regular sports events.

Set on the former racecourse now transformed into the 120-hectare Hollywood Park, the stadium is prized for its ultramodern profile. HKS conceived it as a global stage in the entertainment capital, creating an expansive indoor-outdoor environment at scale.

A translucent roof of 35,000 aluminium panels and 20 million pores softens the sun and channels rainwater into the adjacent artificial lake. An oval, double-sided, 360-degree Oculus hangs above the pitch, 110 metres long and 15 metres high, weighing 1,000 tonnes. The playing surface sits 30 metres below ground, with landscaped concourses and clear sightlines.

Source: L'Équipe