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Even though they weren’t officially the “home team” for the recent matchup, the LA Rams beat the Cinncinati Bengals in Superbowl LVI this year, and they did it on their home turf at newly constructed SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Watch EarthCam’s time-lapse video that took over 1,400 days and four million images to document the dreamlike construction of SoFi Stadium.
The venue highlights several unique features that strike a balance between a dome and a luxury outdoor California experience - the unique ‘film’ ceiling allows fans and players to take advantage of the beautiful LA weather but still stay safe under 30% shading of the whole facility.
The sides of the stadium remain open to maintain organic airflow throughout.
Construction at SoFi Stadium is complete and seats are packed. Not far away, Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium is another new state-of-the-art sports venue that’s new on the professional sports landscape.
Construction of sports arenas is big business, and not just for the NFL. Let’s check on the progress of other in-development sports arenas to see where the next big grand openings for each league will be.
NFL
The Buffalo Bills are the only NFL team in the planning phase of building a new stadium, as the team submitted their proposal to New York state and Erie County officials last summer.
The planned new stadium will cost $1.4 billion and seat 60,000 people, along with 60 suites.
The Bills’ current lease at Highmark Stadium, which opened in the 1970s, expires before the 2023-24 season, and the team is targeting a 2027 completion date for the new arena, which will be constructed across the street from the Bills’ current facilities in Orchard Park.
Also of note: Although the Chicago Bears’ lease at Soldier Field, their longtime home since the 1920s, runs through 2033, the team recently signed a purchasing agreement for a new location at the recently closed Arlington International Racecourse in suburban Arlington Heights, so another NFL team might be planning a new stadium in the next few years.
MLB
Somewhat similar to the two new NFL stadiums seeing fans for the first time last fall, the Texas Rangers also opened a new stadium, Globe Life Field, in
2020, but the arena hosted the final two rounds of the MLB playoffs, along with thousands of attendees, in October 2020.
As for new proposals, the Oakland Athletics and the Oakland City Council are reviewing plans for the team’s new waterfront stadium, which the team is privately financing for $1 billion.
According to the team’s plans, the stadium will produce 2,701 construction jobs and $8.7 billion in economic activity and $4.2 billion in labor income during the building period.
Currently, the Athletics and the Oakland Design Review Committee are going back and forth over two residential towers that are part of the new stadium’s designs.
In November 2020, reports surfaced about the Toronto Blue Jays planning to demolish their current stadium, Rogers Centre, and building a new ballpark in its place.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Blue Jays have played “home” games at Buffalo’s Sahlen Field the past two seasons.
Rendering of the Oakland Athletics’ proposed new stadium
NBA
The Los Angeles Clippers recently broke ground and began construction of their new home arena, Intuit Dome.
Set to open in 2024, the new $1.8-billion facility will hold 18,000 people, as well as the team’s practice facility and offices.
The project is embracing both environmental performance and fan experience by incorporating an indoor-outdoor approach with a naturally ventilated entrance and upper concourse, along with other features that take advantage of the Inglewood location.
NHL
Rendering of the New York Islanders’ new stadium
Three NHL teams are proposing new home stadiums in the near future: the New York Islanders, Calgary Flames and Arizona Coyotes.
The Islanders are set to open their new $1.5-billion stadium, UBS Arena, for the 2021-22 NHL season.
The construction and redevelopment of the stadium and its surrounding area has brought 10,000 construction jobs, 3,000 permanent jobs and $25 billion in economic activity (over the course of the lease), according to UBS.
The project also earmarks 30% of the construction contracting budget for state-certified minority- and female-owned businesses and an additional 6% to service-disabled, veteran-owned businesses.
Calgary looks to build the new Event Centre, a $608.5 investment that will house the Flames, as well as the Hitmen (a junior hockey team) and the Roughnecks (a lacrosse team).
According to the plans, up to 4,750 full-time jobs could be created during the construction phase of the district, in addition to 1,536 permanent jobs once
the new facilities are opened (projected for 2024).
And the Arizona Coyotes submitted plans for a new $1.7-billion arena this month after the city of Glendale didn’t renew the team’s current lease at Gila River Arena.
The new 16,000-seat stadium would be built in nearby Tempe along with the team;s new headquarters and practice facilities.
Although the Coyotes plan to pay for most of the project privately, the plan would need $200 million in tax funding from Tempe.
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