Los Angeles will be in the Super Bowl rotation
Super Bowl LVI will be played at SoFi Stadium in 30 days and the stadium is already making plans to host it again, perhaps as early as 2027, as the NFL looks to have a regular Super Bowl rotation.
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1. We are officially 30 days away from Super Bowl LVI being played at SoFi Stadium and, yes, the game will be played at SoFi Stadium.
During a media event Thursday, the NFL reiterated that Super Bowl LVI would be played at SoFi Stadium and would not be moved to another location in Texas or Florida because of the current COVID-19 surge in California.
“We’re here, the game will be here and we’re already starting to build if you look outside,” said Katie Keenan, NFL Senior Director of Event Operations, pointing at the construction taking place outside the stadium for various Super Bowl activations. “We got crews starting to build and we’re fully committed to hosting the Super Bowl here next month.”
Keenan said the NFL has been working with the Rams on Super Bowl preparations around the stadium as the Rams hosted a sold out game last Sunday and will be hosting a sold out playoff game on Monday. Those games being played in front of 75,000 fans at SoFi Stadium were a big reason why reports that the Super Bowl might be relocated never made much sense. The NFL plans to follow the same protocols the Rams have had at home this month for the Super Bowl next month.
“We’re working with the L.A. County Department of Public Health and our plan is to follow the protocols that are in place,” Keenan said. “Fans will either need to show proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test within 48 hours or a negative antigen test within 24 hours.”
2. Super Bowl LVI will be the start of many major sporting events coming to Los Angeles and SoFi Stadium over the next six years. Here’s a look at the confirmed events so far:
2022 – Super Bowl LVI (SoFi Stadium), MLB All-Star Game (Dodger Stadium)
2023 – College Football Playoff National Championship (SoFi Stadium), WrestleMania (SoFi Stadium), 123rd U.S. Open Championship (Los Angeles Country Club)
2024 – NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball West Region Championship (Crypto.com Arena)
2026 – FIFA World Cup, U.S. Women’s Open (Riviera Country Club)
2028 – Summer Olympics & Paralympic Games
So, what events will be next?
SoFi Stadium is in the running to host the Super Bowl in 2027, according to sources, with the expectation it will be part of a regular Super Bowl rotation that will include Miami, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Tampa and Phoenix. It’s no secret that the NFL loves those locations as the Super Bowl has been held in the Miami metropolitan area, New Orleans, Southern California, Tampa and the Phoenix metropolitan area about 70 percent of the time.
Here are the Super Bowl locations since 2020:
2020 – Miami
2021 – Tampa
2022 – Inglewood/Los Angeles
2023 – Glendale/Phoenix
2024 – Las Vegas
2025 – New Orleans
The NFL will likely run back a variation of that list over the next six years with a possible wild card thrown in if a new stadium opens but the only new stadiums even being talked currently would be in Buffalo and Chicago and neither one is expected to open over the next six years.
SoFi Stadium will also likely host the Pro Bowl, NFL Draft and NFL Combine at some point over the next six years. With the NFL opening a new 450,000 square foot headquarters next to SoFi Stadium, the league would like the convenience of having some of their signature events take place nearby. The Pro Bowl and NFL Draft will be held in Las Vegas this year and Los Angeles could possibly be the home of a similar double-dip in 2025.
“We would be silly not to consider such an amazing venue and such an amazing city,” Keenas said when asked about the NFL staging many of its signature events in Los Angeles moving forward. “I have a feeling you’re going to be seeing al lot more of us over the next few years, that’s for sure.”
3. What about the Final Four? The last Final Four in California took place was in 1975 when John Wooden won his 10th and final national championship with UCLA at the San Diego Sports Arena. Since 1996, the Final Four has taken place in a domed stadium and, well, there aren’t many domed stadiums in California.
Could SoFi Stadium one day host the Final Four? I’m told it is not likely. The Final Four locations for 2027-31 will be announced this fall and SoFi Stadium isn’t expected to be in the mix for two big reasons. The first is the potential glare on the court from the stadium’s translucent canopy roof and what it would cost to potentially mitigate that and the second is the not so small detail of SoFi Stadium technically being an outdoor stadium. Remember when the Chargers-Raiders game earlier this season had a brief weather delay? SoFi Stadium is the NFL’s first indoor-outdoor venue with the stadium bowl sitting under a canopy. It’s more of an awning than a fixed roof so you can still feel the wind and rain depending on where you’re sitting or standing. It’s not likely the NCAA would stage a championship basketball game in that setting.
4. While Super Bowl LVI will be played at SoFi Stadium next month and the College Football Playoff National Championship will be played there next year, the area around the stadium won’t be fully finished until 2024 when the 300-acre site surrounding the $5.5 billion SoFi Stadium will be completed and the $2 billion Intuit Dome, the new home of the LA Clippers, will open across the street. When the Inuit Dome opens, the world’s two most expensive sports venues will sit on opposite sides of Century Blvd. in Inglewood.
When the Hollywood Park site is completed, SoFi Stadium will sit in the middle of 320,000 square feet of retail space, 314 residential units, 5 million square feet of office space, an 890,000 square foot retail district, a 300-room hotel, 23,000-square-foot public market, a 12-screen luxury cinema, 25 acres of tree-lined public parks and plazas around the 6-acre artificial lake and up to 2,500 additional units.
5. One of the highlights of Super Bowl week are all the amazing parties and events surrounding the game. While some companies are currently on the fence, the expectation is most will happen perhaps with mandates like what SoFi Stadium will have on gameday with vaccination or a negative test required for entry. Here are some of the events and parties confirmed to take place during Super Bowl week so far:
Thursday, February 10:
- NFL Honors – YouTube Theater at SoFi Stadium
- 17th Annual Legends for Charity Dinner – JW Marriott at LA Live
- Ditka & Jaws Cigars with the Stars – The Yard at California Plaza
- Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest (Halsey & Machine Gun Kelly) – Crypto.com Arena
- Babes & Ballers Big Game Party – Academy LA
- Super Bowl Experience – Los Angeles Convention Center
Friday, February 11:
- Shaq’s Fun House – The Shrine
- Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest (Blake Shelton & Gwen Stefani with Mickey Guyton) – Crypto.com Arena
- LadyLike Foundation Super Bowl Bowling Classic – LA Live Lucky Strike
- Super Bowl Experience – Los Angeles Convention Center
Saturday, February 12:
- 35th Annual Leigh Steinberg Super Bowl Party – Sony Pictures Studios
- Sports Illustrated “The Party” – Century Park
- Maxim Party – City Market of Los Angeles
- Taste of the NFL – Petersen Automotive Museum
- Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest (Green Day & Miley Cyrus) – Crypto.com Arena
- Super Bowl Experience – Los Angeles Convention Center
6. Today’s photo of the day brought to you by Ike’s Sandwiches. We all like Cooper Kupp but I’m not sure about the name of this entry into SoFi Stadium.
7. Here are some odds if you’re thinking about placing a wager today brought to you by Circa Sports.
8. Here’s the local pro sports schedule today brought to you by Yaamava’.
5:00 p.m. Anaheim Ducks at Minnesota Wild – Bally Sports SoCal
9. Here are the “get in” prices for tickets locally on TickPick if you’re thinking about going to a pro sports game today.
Anaheim Ducks at Minnesota Wild – $40
10. On Thursday’s The Arash Markazi Show, we talked about the Lakers’ frustrations continuing in a loss to the Sacramento Kings and what Russell Westbrook’s future looks like in Los Angeles.
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