SoFi Stadium is the Country’s Most Technologically Advanced Venue – Here’s Why
Inglewood’s spectacular SoFi Stadium is both a landmark architectural wonder and a pioneering high-tech marvel. Peering inside the inner workings of the new home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Chargers is to see what makes it likely the most technologically advanced stadium on the planet.
Redefining “Roof”
The SoFi’s tech prowess is evident even from outside the 70,000-seat venue. Flying into nearby LAX, air passengers can’t miss what some have called its “TV roof.” This is, in fact, the independently-supported translucent canopy - sufficiently transparent for fans inside the stadium to see those same planes above - that covers the NFL’s first indoor-outdoor stadium. Embedded in the canopy are 28,000 LED pucks that can project images and video visible overhead.
The million-square-foot creation consists of 302 ETFE (Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) panels, including 46 mechanized vents that can be opened for air flow. ETFE is a lightweight alternative to glass which is highly resistant to corrosion and able to withstand a wide range of temperatures.
In November 2020, the newly opened SoFi was the first venue to air Monday Night Football live on its roof, likely to the delight of any football fans who happened to be on approach to LAX.
Wraparound Mega-Screen
Once inside SoFi, it is impossible to miss its showpiece tech innovation - and that’s precisely the idea. Because the first-of-its-kind 360-degree, dual-sided “Infinity Screen,” designed by Samsung, is an ovular, 4K HDR video board suspended from the roof of the stadium and designed to be seen from anywhere inside its bowl.
Formally known as “The Oculus,” this 2.2-million pound, 70,000-square-foot masterpiece of contemporary technology displays an incredible 80 million pixels. It also houses the stadium’s 268 speakers and 56 of the 5G antennas comprising one of the largest wireless systems anywhere. Just manufacturing the video board’s 80 million diodes took more than a year to complete, and in all, SoFi’s cabling stretches more than 25,000 miles - that’s greater than the circumference of the Earth. Samsung is also behind SoFi Stadium’s more than 2,600 large-format displays, and the long, thin “ribbon boards” that run along the face of the venue’s balconies. The entire system boasts more than 131 million pixels and comprises nearly 98,000 square feet of LEDs.
All of this tech would count for little if the content displayed on the Oculus was lackluster. With two exciting teams playing home games, special events, and opportunities to pair the video content both inside and outside the Oculus with additional screens throughout the stadium, the view is always information- and highlight-loaded.
“Digital Twinning”
To further reimagine the fan experience, SoFi Stadium is the first major venue in the U.S. to implement digital twin technology. This uses data gathered from every aspect of the venue and its surrounding Hollywood Park mega-development to create a virtual copy of the stadium. This creates a database of insights that allows SoFi to optimize the guest experience, building on past events to make future ones better.
Hollywood Park partnered with Willow to be able to store, organize, and access data generated by smart buildings, providing real-time insights to optimize multiple aspects of the SoFi’s operations. In such a large-capacity venue - a standing-room-only crowd of 100,000 - this sort of comprehensive, data-driven view can not only connect all the pieces, but also enables the identifying of previously impossible integrated strategies.
Cashless & Contactless
A fully cashless venue, SoFi Stadium has partnered with Square to provide contactless digital payments across every checkout and purchase point, spanning the hundreds of concessions, bars, merchandise retail stores, and even the roving treat and sweet hawkers. The result is reliable, safe and convenient transactions with quicker check-out speeds that equal reduced lines. Considering all of the above, SoFi Stadium is uniquely placed to deliver the ultimate championship game experience when it hosts Super Bowl LVI this month. Committed to remaining at the forefront of any innovation that can enrich fans’ enjoyment, expect SoFi to have significantly upgraded its tech, in ways perhaps unimaginable today, by the time it hosts the 2028 Summer Olympics events.