Football is coming back to Los Angeles, and it’s bringing with it a spectacle of a stadium. When the Rams make their Hollywood debut, it will be in a massive venue packed with fans—and lots of technology.
The Rams will play in a 3.1 million square foot venue located in Inglewood, California, that will be designed to house year round events. Designed by HKS Architects—the same firm responsible for the stadium under development for the Minnesota Vikings as well as the venues that host the Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts—the location will be like a cathedral for football fans and techies alike.
HKS Associate Principal & Senior VP Andy Henning told the Sporting News that the stadium will consist of high-tech suites. The areas will include dashboards, influenced by luxury cars, that will give fans complete control over their environment. “Everything will be at your fingertips for control of the digital offerings,” he said.
The suites will assuredly be nice, but most fans will never experience them. What they will have a chance to see, no matter where they sit in the stadium, will be the massive video board.
Measuring 50 feet tall and 360 feet long, the board will wrap around the entirety of the field. The single, curved unit will be twice the length of the record-setting board that hangs above AT&T Stadium in Dallas. Henning told the Sporting News that the screen will be so immersive, “you will feel like you’re sitting in the videoboard itself.”
HSK Architects
Beyond the tech that fans can enjoy, the stadium will also employ some impressive architectural flairs that will take advantage of the location in the California sun. While the stadium will be enclosed, it will feature a clear plastic roof—similar to the one being used for U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota, which has created controversy because of its potential to lead to birds colliding with the clear material.
Despite the roof, the edges of the building will feature an open-air design that will pull influence from indoor-outdoor rooms common to homes in the region. A beach-themed club behind one of the end zones will add to the California vibe.
The $2.5 billion stadium, which will be a rare instance of a privately financed venue covered primarily by team owner Stan Kroenke, will seat between 70,000 and 100,000 patrons depending on the event. Developments around the stadium, including hotels and retail and office spaces, are expected to bolster the area and create for a multi-purpose, year round complex that will attract tourism and events.
The stadium is planned to open in time for the 2019 season.
H/T DesignBoom | Photo via HKS Architects
