Officials with L.A. Stadium, the $2.6bn (£1.9bn/€2.3bn) future home of NFL teams the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers, have celebrated the “topping out” of the steel roof shell of its canopy.
With less than 16 months from its opening, representatives held a ceremony to mark the milestone.
The outer shell, which will sit above the stadium seating bowl, Champions Plaza and the performance venue, is one of three parts of the canopy. The cables to keep the roof and suspended Oculus scoreboard in place and a single layer of ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluorethylene), which is a lightweight and transparent plastic, make up the other two parts.
A.G. Spanos, president of business operations for the Chargers, said, the Associated Press news agency reports: ”I’ve seen a lot of NFL stadiums, but this is the largest. It’s grand but it’s befitting of Los Angeles. ‘You need a stadium to match the city.’
“Seeing it here, and seeing it actually take shape with the roof line being finished off, it’s a big step. It’s an exciting milestone, and to know that we’re only a year-and-a-half away from playing football here, it’s pretty exciting.”
to all the men and women working on our future home, the squad has a message for you 💛 pic.twitter.com/fbIOTUY1ng
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) April 15, 2019
The 70,240-seat stadium, which is part of the LA Stadium and Entertainment District project at Hollywood Park, is scheduled to hold the Super Bowl in 2022. The stadium is now two-thirds complete, according to LA Sports and Entertainment District managing director Jason Gannon.
The entire structure will measure more than three million square feet and will be the largest in the NFL.
Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr, added, according to Chargers.com: “I think all of us are so fortunate that we’re watching history being made. This must be somewhat reminiscent of the people who watched the Rose Bowl coming up, the Coliseum coming up, Dodger Stadium coming up.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, and the people who are around right now, in five years when the topography of the city has changed, will say, ‘I remember when it was all born.’”
Image: Los Angeles Chargers
