Although there’s some uncertainty about when it will happen, the Los Angeles Rams will eventually play their first game at SoFi Stadium at some point. Whether that’s in September or in 2021, as Kevin Demoff recently said, the first game at the Rams’ new home will be a huge event.
The NFL schedule makers will try to drive up anticipation as much as possible by picking a marquee matchup – one that will put fans in seats and draw big TV ratings. According to Peter King of NBC Sports, that matchup could be Rams vs. Cowboys in a nationally televised game as the season opener.
With reports that Covid-19 could slow the finish to the new Los Angeles stadium—expected to be open by late July—and with California Gov. Gavin Newsom saying Saturday he is “not anticipating” sports events with full stadiums in his state in September, it’s hard to plan a celebratory launch in L.A. Around the NFL, and around Dallas and Los Angeles, there has been anticipation for a national-TV Cowboys-Rams season-opener.
The Cowboys are obviously on the Rams’ home schedule in 2020, but they’re not the only possible opponent to open SoFi Stadium. The Seahawks and 49ers would be divisional matchups, and intriguing ones at that. The Patriots would present a Super Bowl LIII rematch, albeit without Tom Brady.
The Cowboys would make a lot of sense, though. The Rams have faced Dallas three times in the last three years, with Los Angeles going 2-1 in those games. The Cowboys also helped the Rams sell out the Coliseum in their first preseason game in L.A. four years ago, setting a U.S. preseason attendance record with more than 89,000 fans showing up.
The NFL is expected to release the 2020 schedule no later than May 4 this year. Typically, the schedule comes out before the draft, but with the coronavirus pandemic complicating things, the league will likely delay the release so it can have contingency plans in place.