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Super Bowl 2022 parking and traffic will be fierce. Here’s how to handle them

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Welcome to Los Angeles! Don’t worry, no one here looks forward to driving on the freeways either.

Traffic in L.A. is just as bad as you think it is — and on Super Bowl Sunday? Fuggedaboutit.

No need to worry, there are plenty of ways you can get to SoFi Stadium before kickoff and still have time to grab some Super Bowl-priced concessions.

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How much time will you need to get there?

Just three miles east of Los Angeles International Airport, SoFi Stadium and its extraterrestrial-looking dome are home to both of L.A.’s football teams — the Rams and the Chargers. It also stages concerts and other events, and is slated to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Olympic Games.

There’s plenty to do around the stadium too. You can play Ultimate Texas Hold’em at Hollywood Park Casino, pay your respects to some of your favorite celebrities at the Inglewood Park Cemetery or stop by the world famous Randy’s Donuts for — you guessed it — some donuts.

If you are driving yourself to the game and aren’t starting from the immediate area around the stadium, you’re going to want to leave early.

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Never underestimate the likelihood of a miles-long backup on a Southern California highway, even on a weekend. Consult Google Maps or another mapping app a few hours before the game to see how bad the freeways are and check the likely travel time. Then be ready to follow the app if it takes you onto the side streets to avoid a stretch of the interstate that’s become a parking lot.

Everything you need to know about the 2022 Super Bowl, including teams, start time, location, TV channel, streaming options and halftime show.

Where should you park?

Commute time will also depend on where you’re parking. And in Los Angeles, a good spot is a rare commodity. Instead of doing laps around neighborhoods and taking residents’ spots, try one of the shuttle or park and ride services throughout the county.

At this point, no parking is available in the SoFi stadium lots. You can browse through several off-site parking and shuttle options at the official Super Bowl parking website.

The average ticket price for Super Bowl LVI between the Rams and Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium is $10,540. And that doesn’t include parking.

To help people who park off-site, SoFi Stadium offers four different shuttle services. One of them, the Blue Shuttle, is run by the stadium itself. The Purple Shuttle is run by the city of Inglewood and LAZ Parking and the other two are in collaboration with the city of Gardena and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

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Kelsey Pietrangelo, manager of NFL events at SoFi, said that taking the Blue or Purple Shuttle is the way to go. “It’s efficient and the easiest way to get to the stadium,” she said.

Two Blue Shuttle buses serve three lots in the city of Los Angeles not far from the stadium.

The 111th Street shuttle serves the 111th Street Parking Lot at 5455 W. 111th St. And the 98th Street shuttle serves two lots: the Airport Spectrum Parking Garage at 5757 W. Century Blvd., and the Hilton Airport Parking Garage at 5711 W. Century Blvd.

Parking in any of these lots is $40, and the round-trip shuttle ride costs $10. You’ll be dropped off and picked up in Lot J at the stadium.

If you’re in the LAX area and don’t need to park your car, you can just buy a shuttle pass and ride from either 98th Street locations.

The Purple Shuttle runs between the Purple Shuttle Lot at the stadium and the following six IPARK&GO parking lots:

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  • Inglewood:
    • Civic Center Garage, 1 W. Manchester Blvd.
    • Locust St. Garage, 115 S. Locust St.
    • Senior Center Garage, 333 E. Queen St.
    • Public Library, 101 W. Manchester Blvd.
  • El Segundo:
    • Flyte Garage, 2230 E. Imperial Hwy.
  • Playa Vista:
    • Playa District Garage, 6870 Park Terrace

Spots and passes for the shuttle need to be reserved ahead of time. The price of the shuttle pass is for a round trip, and each person needs a separate pass. That means for a carload of four football fans, you’ll need a ticket for your spot and four passes for the shuttle.

Every IPARK&GO lot is opening at 11 a.m. on Super Bowl Sunday. All locations in Inglewood are charging $60 for parking and $10 for the shuttle. The El Segundo and Playa Vista locations are charging $55 for parking and $10 for the shuttle.

7X Stadium Express Sunday Service: For $4 you can leave your car at the Harbor Gateway Transit Center on West 182nd St. near the 110 Freeway in Gardena and take the 7X Stadium Express shuttle to and from SoFi Stadium. The bus will operate between 9:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday. Parking itself is free and the fee is only for the shuttle.

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Public transportation options

Los Angeles’ public transportation isn’t as comprehensive as, say, the New York City subway system, but it’ll get you from point A to point B.

Rail line: There is no train that will take you directly to SoFi Stadium. The closest you can get is to take the C Line (formerly known as the Green Line) to the Hawthorne and Lennox stop, then take a free ride on the Purple Shuttle to the stadium. The shuttle service runs every five to eight minutes, starting roughly three hours before kickoff. During the game, the shuttles will run as needed for those who are a little late. And after the game, shuttles will run for roughly an hour and a half.

L.A. Metro’s park and ride lots are located throughout the county. Not all lots charge for parking, but some of the free ones have limited spaces. Rates for special events are subject to change; the charges for Super Bowl Sunday haven’t been announced.

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Metro recommends that you try to purchase a parking pass for the lots closest to the Hawthorne and Lennox stop:

  • Hawthorne/Lennox: $40 in advance
  • Crenshaw: $5 on-site
  • Aviation: $10 on-site
  • Norwalk: no charge
  • Redondo Beach: no charge
  • Harbor Gateway Transit Center: $5 on-site

Pre-sale for parking at the Hawthorne and Lennox lot will end either 12 hours before kickoff or once spaces are sold out, whichever comes first.

Here are where you can find a park and ride lot elsewhere in L.A.:

  • Norwalk: 12901 Hoxie Ave.
  • Downey: 12801 Lakewood Blvd.
  • Lynwood: 11508 Long Beach Blvd.
  • Willowbrook-Rosa Parks station: 11611 Willowbrook Ave., Los Angeles
  • Avalon station: 11667 S. Avalon Blvd., Los Angeles
  • Harbor Freeway station: 11500 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles
  • West Athens: 11603 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles
  • Hawthorne: 11901 S. Crenshaw Blvd. and 5301 Marine Ave.
  • Lennox: 11191 Larch Ave. and 4443 W. 111th St.
  • LAX: 11500 Aviation Blvd.
  • El Segundo: 2226 E. El Segundo Blvd. and 700 S. Douglas St.
  • Redondo Beach: 2406 Marine Ave.

If you can’t immediately get to the C Line, you can:

  • Take the A Line (formerly known as the Blue Line) and transfer to the C Line at the Willowbrook-Rosa Park station
  • Take the B (Red), D (Purple) or L (Gold) Line to Union Station, pick up the A Line and ride it to the Willowbrook-Rosa Parks station, where you’ll make the switch to the C Line
  • Take the E (Expo) Line to Pico station, switch there to the A Line, then transfer to the C Line at the Willowbrook-Rosa Parks station

Bus lines: Metro Bus Lines 115, 117 and 212 can take you right to the front door of SoFi Stadium.

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