The Chargers and Rams were slated to play in their new stadium this upcoming season. However, there’s less of a chance of SoFi Stadium being ready for Week 1.
“Our stadium, and I believe the Raiders’ stadium as well, will both be amazing when they are finished and when they will begin play, which will certainly happen in the near future, whether that’s in July, August, September, in 2021,” Rams COO Kevin Demoff said, per L.A. Time’s Sam Farmer.
The $5 billion stadium has been scheduled to be completed by July of 2020 for a Taylor Swift concert, but COVID-19, the ongoing worldwide crisis, has put the expected grand opening to a halt.
“This is not the time you want to be finishing a stadium, in this environment as you prepare,” Demoff said. “Because it’s when you need to be all hands on deck, walking through the building every day, meeting with your staff, working out the kinks and planning for it. So when you’ve been building something for a few years, you would love an optimal environment to finish it.”
If the stadium isn’t going to be open for the start of the 2020 regular season, could that mean that the Chargers would play at Dignity Health Sports Park, while the Rams play at the Los Angeles Coliseum in the meantime, like both did the past few seasons? It’s definitely possible.
The delay will also impact the Raiders, who are set to start their new journey in Las Vegas.
Only time will tell.
