LA Rams News: Sofi Stadium final push to completion

LA Rams News: Sofi Stadium on the final push to completion

Are we there yet? As the LA Rams push forward towards the 2020 NFL season, and everything that awaits when they arrive, there is whispering somewhere in the background of this journey posing the timeless question: “Are we there yet?”.  While the answer is currently no, not yet, the time interval is shrinking rapidly.

While many remain patient with the progress of the season, and the construction of the LA Rams and Chargers new sports complex SoFi Stadium, some are not as patient.  One such person who is showing signs of eagerness is Los Angeles Chargers running back Austin Ekeler. In fact, he was so eager that he headed to SoFi Stadium to have a first-hand look at the progress made.  See for yourself in his video below. It’s coming along nicely.

Touring the estate.. er.. .stadium

The structure and design of SoFi Stadium are taking shape nicely. As this six-minute aerial drone video shows,  the visual imagery of a finished sports complex is coming into focus now. Landscaping has begun, and it is creating a beautiful natural setting to enhance the complex while providing necessary shade among the concrete and asphalt.  Parking lots are reaching completion, with freshly painted asphalt designed to group cars near the facility in small clusters. separated by islands of trees and bushes.

There is a lake, Stadium Lake, on the grounds, and it is beginning to fill with cool thirst-quenching water. White columns command the view under the dome, shouldering the burden of the ceiling and walls,  Even the recreational park, which is still roughly graded soil, is filling with trees to replace the construction trailers and heavy equipment that were once staged from that location

Building a stadium worthy of a Champion football team.

In awe yet? Well, this video about the construction of SoFi gives the viewer a connection to the persons who built the complex, and an impressive timeline which started in 2016 until the present.  The history, and the exterior, are in the books. Now we need a view of the interior. For that perspective, let’s check in on Austin Ekeler’s panning of the stadium.

I can’t wait for some football!

Seating, situation, and spending

The fact that the stadium is home to two NFL teams can create its own set of challenges. So the SoFi Stadium website has that solved simply.  LA Rams fans have one portal.  LA Chargers fans have a separate portal. That system of sending each team to entirely separate portals is simple and effective. So the stadium is finishing up, and the football season is inching ever so closer.

So far, so good? Well, not in terms of the project finances. This is one I’m certainly thankful I’m not picking up the tab for, and I’m certain you are too.  The original project cost came in at an estimated $2.6 billion. But due to delays in construction, competing projects, and cost overruns, that project is now estimated at $6 billion. That’s a bit of a problem as the bill to the entire sports complex comes at a time when the NFL is struggling to salvage financial viability and a football season amidst the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic.