Construction on the colossal new SoFi Stadium is nearly complete, with the finishing touches being put on across the building. The field is obviously ready for games to be played on it, considering the Rams held a scrimmage last Saturday and will play another this weekend, but is it ready for a normal NFL game?
According to Rams COO Kevin Demoff, absolutely. While on the “Hard Knocks Podcast” with Peter Schrager, Demoff left no doubt about being finished before the season opener on Sept. 13.
“It will definitely be ready,” he said. “That was part of the goal of Saturday was to have our team pull into the locker room, change, go out, go back in at halftime, use those breaks, get in uniform, test out the coaching headsets on both sides with their cards, test out the video boards to make sure the down and distance is where Coach McVay liked it and he could see it and any changes that we need to make there, show the replays. We did a challenge during the scrimmage just so we could get through those mechanics of showing it on the board. It will be different likely with no fans on September 13th, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that this building has to be ready for prime time for the rest of the nation to see.”
The Rams have already announced that no fans will be allowed inside SoFi Stadium for Rams or Chargers games “until further notice,” so there won’t be any concerns about parking logistics, concessions, completely finishing the concourse or any of the little things that fans would have otherwise experienced. That helps, but like Demoff said, there are a lot of football aspects that have to be ready to roll.
By the sound of it, there’s absolutely no concern about the stadium with just over two weeks to go before the season opener. Even if it’s not 100% finished, the main functions of the building will be completed for Rams-Cowboys on Sept. 13.
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