SoFi Stadium: Redefining the Olympics with a “No-Build” Strategy

The recurring issue of “massive taxpayer funding” for every Olympics and the “white elephant” problem where facilities become ruins after the Games.

The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics aims to put an end to this longstanding challenge.

At the heart of this innovation stands SoFi Stadium, towering over Inglewood, California.

This colossal stadium, built at a cost exceeding $5 billion to $5.5 billion (over ¥750 billion to ¥820 billion)—the highest construction cost in history for a sports facility—is more than just a single-sport venue.

It will serve as the ultimate symbol, driving the entire tournament’s logistics and entertainment value.

The world’s first “dual opening ceremony” and the pool conversion of the opening ceremony venue

The opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Los Angeles Games will be held using a dual-stadium format unprecedented in Olympic history.

By simultaneously utilizing the historic LA Memorial Coliseum, the main venue for the 1932 and 1984 Games, and the state-of-the-art SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles will showcase its past and future to the world. This also serves as a meticulous risk-hedging strategy, distributing crowd movement and security burdens across two venues.

The adoption of the dual-stadium format will also alter the traditional Olympic schedule.

Typically, the first week of the Summer Olympics features swimming, followed by track and field in the second week. For 2028, this order will be reversed: track and field will take place in Week 1, followed by swimming in Week 2.

This reversal ensures sufficient time to convert SoFi Stadium into a “giant pool” immediately after hosting the Opening Ceremony.

Another star of the opening ceremony: the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

The opening ceremony of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will be held simultaneously at two venues: the state-of-the-art SoFi Stadium and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which boasts a century of history.

Click here to learn more about the historical legacy of the Memorial Coliseum, which stands in stark contrast to the cutting-edge technology of SoFi Stadium.

404 NOT FOUND | Olympic Legacy: Past & Future

Reliving the winning moments and planning your next Olympic trip.

Olympic Legacy: Past & Future

The venue will seat 38,000 spectators, making it the largest swimming venue in Olympic history.

SoFi Stadium is originally a massive NFL-standard football stadium.

However, for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, this stadium will temporarily transform into the world’s largest indoor swimming venue.

The original plan was to install a temporary pool at a university baseball field (capable of holding 17,500 spectators). However, moving the venue to SoFi Stadium dramatically increases capacity to 38,000 spectators. For these Games, which rely on no public funding, maximizing ticket revenue is paramount, and this change also addresses that requirement.

Supporting this unprecedented project on the technical side is Italy’s leading pool manufacturer, Myrtha Pools.

By bolting together high-quality stainless steel panels and introducing the innovative ventilation system “MyrthaBreathe”—which absorbs and expels harmful gases near the water surface through micro-porous pipes—the venue maintains optimal water quality and air conditions indoors without relying on massive air conditioning systems.

After the Games, this temporary pool will be completely dismantled and relocated for reuse in local community facilities, aligning with sustainability by minimizing material waste to the utmost extent.

Achieving “100% private funding” and “zero new construction”

The most distinctive feature of SoFi Stadium is that it was built entirely with private funding, without any direct construction subsidies or tax money from local governments, despite its construction cost exceeding $5 billion.

It was financed through the personal capital and loans of real estate magnate Stan Kroenke, owner of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams.

Why was such a massive investment possible solely through private funding?

It’s because the stadium isn’t intended to recoup profits on its own, but rather serves as the core of a redevelopment project covering the entire former Hollywood Park racetrack site, spanning approximately 300 acres (about 120 hectares).

The plan is to develop thousands of residential units, extensive commercial facilities, hotels, and more around the stadium as an integrated project. By continuously attracting mega-events, the real estate value of the entire surrounding area is expected to increase.

Consequently, the 2028 Los Angeles Games are poised to fulfill a historic pledge of “radical reuse” (building no permanent new venues). Rather than radically transforming the city for the Olympics as in the past, they aim to integrate the Games into existing, everyday infrastructure, bidding farewell to the era of white elephants.

Innovative design delivering overwhelming “impact” and “comfort”

SoFi Stadium, meeting the standards of Hollywood—the entertainment capital of the world—offers hospitality and a viewing experience that are truly in a league of their own.

The Infinity Screen creates a “Hollywood-standard” viewing experience.

The first thing to overwhelm spectators entering the stadium is the Samsung Electronics “Infinity Screen” floating directly above the field. This massive double-sided 4K LED display, the largest ever built with an area of approximately 6,500 square meters and roughly 80 million pixels, delivers high-definition images to every seat in the stadium.

This screen also integrates with AR (augmented reality) technology. Viewing through a smartphone camera enables an immersive experience where 3D digital effects and data appear to float in the space. For swimming competitions, this promises a new level of excitement: alongside the intense races on the water’s surface, real-time lap times and world record lines will be superimposed across the entire space.

A Stadium Where “Comfort” and “Nature” Coexist

Additionally, the stadium roof utilizes panels made from a transparent special film called ETFE. This innovative design achieves both the openness of an outdoor space and the comfort of an indoor environment by allowing natural light to pass through while blocking ultraviolet rays and the heat of direct sunlight, and by naturally drawing in Pacific sea breezes through its opening and closing panels.

The world’s attention is focused on this new form of the Olympics.

The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics aim to fundamentally transform the future of major sporting events by leveraging the ultimate private infrastructure: SoFi Stadium.

This innovative stadium will reign supreme at the center of a stage where the excitement of swimming competitions unfolds in the world’s largest indoor pool, fused with cutting-edge technology meeting Hollywood standards.