Construction of the upcoming home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers recently reached a milestone, as the outer shell of the facility’s canopy was completed.
Scheduled to open in 2020 for both teams, the new stadium is located in Inglewood and will anchor a 298-acre project that includes surrounding development. Work to construct the stadium is still underway, and crews recently reached a milestone by completing the outer shell for the canopy.
There is still plenty of work to be done in the new LA stadium construction process, but the occasion was marked by a ceremony on Monday. Completion of the outer canopy shell showcases the progress that is being made on one of the venue’s more anticipated design features, and gave officials the opportunity to hype the upcoming facility. More from the AP:
The steel roof shell is one of three parts of the canopy. The other two parts are the cables to keep the roof and suspended Oculus scoreboard in place and a single layer of ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluorethylene), which is a lightweight and transparent plastic. It was also used to construct the roof of US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, which hosted the 2018 Super Bowl and this year’s Final Four.
“Each time we come here it gets more and more real,” Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff said. “When the NFL envisioned coming back to Los Angeles, this is what they had in mind — a two-team iconic stadium that anchors a sports and entertainment district.”
LA Sports and Entertainment District managing director Jason Gannon said the stadium is two-thirds complete. When it opens, the stadium will measure more than 3 million square feet and will be the largest in the NFL.
“I’ve seen a lot of NFL stadiums, but this is the largest. It’s grand but it’s befitting of Los Angeles,” said A.G. Spanos, the Chargers’ president of business operations. “You need a stadium to match the city.”
Officially billed as Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park for now, the venue will be one of two NFL facilities to host a pair of teams when it opens, joining MetLife Stadium–home of the New York Giants and New York Jets. For the 2019 NFL season, the Rams and Chargers will play at their respective temporary homes–the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which is in the final phase of an extensive renovation led by USC, and Carson’s Dignity Health Sports Park (formerly StubHub Center).
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