In 1994, the Rams played what was supposed to be their last football game in Los Angeles and moved to St. Louis. Over 20 years later, in 2016, they returned, and a year later, the formerly San Diego Chargers joined them. Los Angeles quickly went from having zero football teams to two. Neither had a stadium available for their first several years until the stunning SoFi Stadium in Inglewood was completed in 2020. This new and expansive stadium is set to be the site of February’s upcoming Super Bowl LVI, and the battleground where the Rams will take on the Bengals.
The Super Bowl is the culmination of the National Football League’s season, a massive spectacle that draws in huge crowds to the city it is played in. It features the league’s two best teams facing off in a game that is the biggest TV event every year without fail. While the teams playing in this massive game are yet to be determined, the date is set. On February 13th at SoFi Stadium, the Super Bowl comes back to its roots.
The first-ever Super Bowl was held in Los Angeles, and seven of the games have taken place in Tinseltown. However, with SoFi Stadium up and running, this is set to be a Los Angeles Super Bowl unlike any other. SoFi is located in Inglewood, a neighborhood a short drive from LAX. SoFi Stadium is tied for the newest NFL stadium, which wrapped right before the pandemic ended.
SoFi Stadium was a development that cost between $5-6 billion. The typical seating capacity of the building is just over 70,000. Still, for the Super Bowl and other major events, it will be expanded up to a capacity of 100,000, meaning the population of a whole city will be packed in for this exciting event. The stadium’s jumbotron is a first of its kind, double-sided 4K HDR video board that weighs over 2.2 million pounds.
The Super Bowl Halftime Show will feature a first-of-its-kind performance to mark the return to Los Angeles. Three of LA’s biggest superstars will be playing a large part in the first rap-based Halftime Show. Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and Kendrick Lamar are the three Angelenos headlining the show, while Detroit-superstar Eminem and New York legend Mary J. Blige will be starring alongside them.
The Super Bowl is a massive source of revenue both for the city it is set in and the NFL itself. Tickets for the game start at around $1,000 and range upwards of five figures for the luxury box seats. Merchandise sales skyrocket throughout the Super Bowl, and advertising revenue explodes through the roof, with the NFL charging upwards of $5 million for 30 seconds of advertising airtime. For the city, the tourism brought on by the Super Bowl is a major boon.
According to a report by CNBC, the economic impact a Super Bowl has on its host city is dramatic. Data from recent Super Bowls have shown that past Super Bowls have generated up to $800 million of revenue for the host city, with the typical year ranging from $500-700 million. The influx of high-budget tourists, the publicity they receive, and the national spotlight all lead to a vast amount of spending. But some questions remain about the upcoming Super Bowl.
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With the Super Bowl comes massive crowds, people traveling in and out of the city, and a stadium where fans stand shoulder to shoulder watching a game. While normally this wouldn’t be a thought, with the current surge of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, many in Los Angeles are likely unhappy with the state of affairs. This event could wind up being a significant spreader of the virus if cautions aren’t taken. There have even been rumors of the NFL having backup stadiums planned out if California decides not to go through with the event. Still, so far, representatives of the state have only re-affirmed their commitment to hosting the event in Los Angeles.
When February 13th rolls around, Los Angeles will host its first Super Bowl in almost 30 years. It will be a massive event meant to showcase the brand new stadium that has helped bring NFL football back to the city in a major way. While there are still questions to be answered about the event, officials expect it to continue as planned.
