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Taylor Swift concerts to open LA’s $5bn SoFi Stadium

Two Taylor Swift concerts have been announced as the opening events at SoFi Stadium, the future home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Chargers.

The $5bn venue, formerly known as the LA Stadium and Entertainment District at Hollywood Park, is scheduled to open in late July 2020 with back-to-back performances by the global star.

The announcement comes just two days after digital personal finance company SoFi acquired naming rights to the 70,000-seat stadium in a 20-year deal that will reportedly be worth more than $30m (£24m/€27m) per annum.

Kevin Demoff, Rams chief operating officer, told the Los Angeles Times newspaper in July that he didn’t envision a Rams or Chargers preseason game serving as the grand opening of the stadium next summer.

“This is not only going to be a sports venue but a great entertainment venue,” he said, according to the LA Times. “We’re thinking about a summer concert series, international soccer matches and other events. Our hope is that fans of entertainment and sports will get to come and sample this building before we play a game.”

Hollywood Park will be a 298-acre sports and entertainment space. As well as hosting Rams and Chargers games, the stadium will hold year-round sports and entertainment events and has already been pencilled in to stage the 2022 Super Bowl and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Olympic Games.

The stadium will be expandable up to 100,000 and will feature 260 luxury suites, more than 13,000 premium seats and over three million square feet of usable space. SoFi will also receive a 27,000-square-foot branded VIP activation space inside the stadium, including a dedicated lounge for its members.