Over the past decade, there have been many new stadiums built for National Football League teams. As the new season has just begun, there are two new stadiums that will be the home field for three different teams. Not only are these stadiums new, but the teams that will be playing in them will be relocated franchises. The Las Vegas Raiders will be making history by being the first team to call Vegas home. The city of Los Angeles has had football teams in the past and have been home for both the Rams and the Chargers since 2016, but the stadium was just completed this year.
SoFi Stadium is one of the newest stadiums in the league and will be the home field for both the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers. After 20 seasons in Saint Louis, the Rams announced that they would be moving back to Los Angeles, California, which is where the franchise was from 1946-1994. In addition, the Chargers announced their move from San Diego, California to Los Angeles as well. This came after long debates with the city of San Diego about funding for a new stadium. These discussions eventually lead to an agreement between the Rams and the Chargers to share the new SoFi venue. The Rams and Chargers officially broke ground on SoFi Stadium on November 17, 2016. The total cost to build this stadium comes in at a staggering 5.5 billion dollars. This amount is astounding considering that the next highest building cost for a stadium comes in just under 2 billion dollars. SoFi Stadium easily holds over 70,000 people and can be expended to hold over 100,000 for larger events.
There have been three games in total played in the SoFi so far. The first game ever played in SoFi stadium was a matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and the Dallas Cowboys. The Rams would go on to win this game by a score of 20-17. The Chargers, on the other hand, have played two games there that have both resulted in losses.
The other new stadium in the NFL is named Allegiant Stadium, but it has already earned the nickname of “The Death Star.” It wasn’t until recent years that Las Vegas has been considered a destination for sports teams. The city has just recently received a hockey team, Las Vegas Golden Knights, and now, the Raiders are the newest edition to the city. Their facility cost 1.84 billion in construction costs, but it’s actually valued over 3 billion dollars.
The Raiders have only played one game in their new stadium, but they will play their second one in a matchup against the Bills in week 4. Their first game in the Allegiant Stadium resulted in a 34-24 win over a strong New Orleans Saints team lead by the future Hall of Famer Drew Brees. One of the biggest plays of the game was when Brees threw an interception right before halftime. The pass was picked off by former Greenville Panther Linebacker Nicholas Morrow. This was the team’s first interception in the new stadium.
Although fans have not been able to attend these games due to COVID-19, both venues have already seen an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from fans. Austin Bebout, a California resident, said, “These stadiums look like they are from the future. They are definitely two of the best looking stadiums in the whole league.” Bebout has seen SoFi in person but has only seen Allegiant on television. It will be interesting to hear more about these stadiums once fans will be able to be in the stands for the full experience.
Media by Paul Garrett.
Very nice and informative.