Countdown is on as Super Bowl LXI returns to Los Angeles; officials hold special hand off ceremony
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Now that Super Bowl LX is in the books, plans for next year's big game are well underway in Los Angeles.
SoFi Stadium is officially on the clock. The largest NFL stadium, and home to the L.A. Rams and L.A. Chargers, hosted the Super Bowl in 2022. Now, it's gearing up to welcome the biggest game in American football back to Southern California on Feb. 14 2027.
"This is what we live for. We are in a building that is designed to entertain, to host, to be such an incredible place for this type of event. We're excited to see what happens," said Otto Benedict, Sr. VP - SoFi Facility and Campus Operations.
"This is the most amazing stadium and venue in the world. Not just the stadium but Hollywood Park as a whole. The 300 acres is transformative to this region and I think now that people know what it is and we've been open for a few years, it sells itself," added Sr. VP of SoFi Programming Christy Castillo Butcher.
The Bay Area Host Committee held the official Super Bowl Handoff Ceremony Monday morning. The Super Bowl LX Host Committee provided a wrap-up from the week's activities, followed by the handoff to the Los Angeles Super Bowl Host Committee for Super Bowl LXI.
"They are very hard to get (Super Bowls) and it means that they have trust. That they validated what we did in 2022. We thought walking out of that stadium in 2022 was a pretty great event," said Kathryn Schloessman, President and CEO - Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment.
San Francisco said the event generated more than $500 million of economic impact to that region. In L.A., the big win, is the impact to the community.
"Even if you're not a football fan and you don't care about the game, this isn't about the match that's played on the field, it's about all the stuff that's happening in the community, the opportunities for local, diverse businesses to to get contracts, the opportunities for people to participate in these free clinics that we're doing," Schloessman said.
Before next year's big game, the stadium will welcome a global audience for eight World Cup soccer matches starting in June.
Five years after hosting its first Super Bowl, the team at SoFi believes the venue can handle anything.
"We've turned this building over 950 times whether that's from Wrestlemania to a concert to a comedy show to monster jam back to football. So, to see the way that our building responds and actually transform for each one of those events and what our staff gets to do to put on that magical show, I think that's the most impressive thing," Benedict said.
"When we had the last Super Bowl we were very new. We were learning the stadium. We were learning how to operate it. Our staff was new. We were very excited. We were coming out of COVID. Now all of those restrictions are gone. Our staff is very seasoned and we're excited to bring it back," Butcher said.
