INGLEWOOD, California — A top official at SoFi Stadium says a month of World Cup action has left the venue better prepared than ever for the high-profile events still to come, including the Super Bowl and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The $5 billion stadium in Inglewood hosted eight World Cup matches, among them the United States’ opening contest and two games featuring Iran, all without any major problems.
Otto Benedict, senior vice president of facility and campus operations at SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park, told Reuters the experience confirmed years of careful preparation.
“From a public safety perspective, I think that went very, very well,” Benedict said. “The number of matches, the size of our matches, having two matches with Iran … all of our law enforcement partners, our federal assets and even our local assets worked collaboratively to create a very safe environment.”
The World Cup stretch served as a high-stakes rehearsal for a venue that will host February’s Super Bowl — its second, after also holding the NFL championship game in 2022 — along with swimming competitions and the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Benedict noted that stadium systems covering ticketing, crowd movement, food and beverage service, and entry and exit points all held up well during repeated World Cup events, many of which brought first-time visitors to the venue.
“At no point as we walked around did we see areas where we thought, ‘Hey, we’re actually too tight here, there’s not enough space here,’” he said. “We saw everything flowing very well.”
He also pointed out that soccer crowds behave differently than NFL audiences, with a larger portion of fans leaving their seats simultaneously at halftime, placing heavier demands on walkways, concession stands, and restrooms all at once. The stadium managed those surges effectively, Benedict said, giving the operations team useful data heading into future events.
The temporary natural grass surface installed for the World Cup also drew positive attention. Benedict said the field exceeded expectations and was actually improving as the tournament progressed. However, he said keeping a permanent grass surface at the stadium would not be practical given that it houses two NFL teams, hosts concerts, and runs a packed year-round schedule.
“It just wouldn’t be a feasible operation,” he said, pointing to the stadium’s below-ground depth, its canopy structure, and its busy event calendar as key factors.
While Benedict expressed the view that SoFi should have been selected to host a semifinal or final, he said the tournament still demonstrated the stadium’s readiness for what lies ahead.
“It gives us the ability to say to anybody coming in, and even for our own operations, that what we’re doing is the right consistency,” he said. “Let’s keep moving these items forward.”
