Transcending sports and entertainment
How football stadium operators can learn from the US experience
SoFi Stadium - A Stadium of Dreams
The scope of the SoFi Stadium project transcends sports and entertainment. The stadium plays a central role to community life; it is a place to spend time with friends and family.
Allegiant Stadium was built as part of a public-private partnership, ultimately costing USD 1.9 billion.
The Allegiant Stadium has helped create jobs and generate income.
The National Football League (NFL) in the USA unveiled the SoFi Stadium and Allegiant Stadium in 2020. Both are regarded as cutting-edge venues designed with the users in mind, not just during a game but throughout their visit. There is no doubt that both offer a state-of-the-art experience and that both have a story involving passionate people who wanted to create experiences of a lifetime, not just for football fans, but for anyone who comes to enjoy an event.
Walking into the SoFi Stadium, one of the first things fans see is a massive double‑sided video board that weighs close to 1 million kilograms, is about 110 metres, contains 268 speakers and supports 6,500 square metres of digital LED. In other words, it is unmissable.
And this is just one piece of the structure that franchise owner Stan Kroenke envisioned as a “football palace” when he sat down with his fellow NFL owners to propose relocating the St. Louis Rams to Los Angeles. Lore has it that promises were made that the team would enjoy luxury that had never before been seen in the stadium world and that the structure itself would be unparalleled in all of North America.
It was privately funded, costing USD 5 billion and has so far lived up to expectations. Situated on what was previously the Hollywood Race Track, the actual stadium is the NFL’s largest at almost 300 thousand square metres and a seating capacity of 70,000 with the possibility of adding another 30,000 if need be.
Bungalows, although pricey, give those lucky few the opportunity to be close to a receiver scoring a touchdown. The Executive Club features marble-paneled elevators and four shiny bars offering a range of high-end beverages.
The aim is for the stadium to become an international venue that offers sporting events on a wider scale. However, in addition to the stadium as a sports and entertainment arena, there are plans for its 298 acres to be used as a recreational space for families. The green campus has a man-made lake that provides an ideal backdrop for a summer picnic. The office buildings that are being built will house NFL Media alongside other businesses. There are plans for 500 square feet of retail space, a hotel that offers 300 rooms as well as over 300 apartments.
The stadium serves as the nucleus of what its owners hope will be a global destination for entertainment and a homestead giving southern Californians a place of which to be proud.
Allegiant Stadium
Had the Las Vegas Raiders gone with their original move from Oakland, California to Los Angeles, Allegiant Stadium would never have been constructed. As fate would have it, however, it is where the storied NFL team now makes its home. Welcomed with open arms, the sentiment was that the Raiders were a brand full of star power, which perfectly aligns with the Las Vegas name known throughout the world.
When the decision was made to build a dedicated stadium, it came in the form of a public-private partnership. The split was USD 750 million in public funding and USD 1.1 billion from the Raiders. The total cost of construction came to USD 1.9 billion.
Revenue generation for the Raiders was expected to hit around the USD 130 million mark in its inaugural year, sourced from broadcast rights, premium seating and suite sales, concessions, tickets, merchandise and stadium naming rights.
Allegiant Stadium is located next to the famed Las Vegas strip and sits on 62 acres of land. Among its various attributes, it has a seating capacity of 65,000, includes 2,200 TVs, almost 7,000 square metres of video boards, 8,800 square metres of field event space, and over ten individual event spaces. At its heart, Allegiant Stadium is expecting to generate USD 620 million annually, intended to support the community and create 6,000 permanent jobs for the state of Nevada.
The stadium is also home to the University of Las Vegas Football, but the hosting goes beyond their games. Stadium backers intend to open Allegiant Stadium up to an additional 20-25 events across the sporting spectrum to continue to garner revenue.
After being the venue for the recent final of the Concacaf Gold Cup between the United States and Mexico at the start of August, on its roster are also other events such as the Las Vegas Rugby Cup WWE SummerSlam . It is also a place for music entertainment. This summer Illenium will play at the arena, as will country singer Garth Brooks and famed rock band Guns N’ Roses. Further still, Allegiant Stadium may become a home to a Major League Soccer franchise. In 2019, the league confirmed that leadership was in talks with Bill Foley, owner of the Vegas Golden Knights, which plays in the National Hockey League, on an expansion team.
The stadium aspires to be a venue synonymous with world-class entertainment.
Stadium Management
Chapter overview
Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Placing a Premium on the Emotional Investment