By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Los Angeles Rams hope February's Super Bowl could mark a triumphant return to normal for the world of sport when their technologically-advanced SoFi Stadium finally gets its day in the sun.
The $5 billion stadium suffered a raft of setbacks en route to its ribbon cutting, including heavy rains in 2017 that delayed construction by a year and the coronavirus pandemic, which shut out fans for all of the last NFL season.
Yet those issues will all be forgotten when the 70,000-plus stadium, which will serve as the beating heart of entertainment in Southern California for decades to come, hosts the NFL's showpiece early next year.
"I truly believe the Super Bowl will be the first post-pandemic, worldwide event that people can plan for and attend," Kevin Demoff, chief operating officer with the Rams, told Reuters in an interview.
"And we expect it to be full."
Demoff is a close associate of billionaire Rams owner Stan Kroenke, the driving force behind moving the team back to LA as well as the building of the stadium and the 300-acre Hollywood Park entertainment district it sits on.
Kroenke is focused on the future, Demoff said, with SoFi set to host the College Football Playoffs in 2023, World Cup matches in 2026, major concerts and awards shows and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Olympics.
"This building was truly built for generations, to make a difference in LA, and to be transformational and iconic over the long term," Demoff said.
SUSTAINABLE STADIUM
To that end, the Rams aim to make the stadium the most environmentally friendly in sport.
"Sustainability was a huge focus," Demoff said.
"If you are going to build one of the world's most technologically advanced stadiums, with an amazing and an iconic structure, it has to have sustainability at the heart and mind of it."
Instead of relying on an energy-intensive heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system, the wall-free stadium uses coastal breezes to cool the building while the translucent roof captures sunlight to diffuse heat.
Hollywood Park includes 25 acres of parks and lakes, which will reclaim 26 million gallons of water a year that is safe for drinking. The stadium will take on the scourge of plastic waste by using aluminum cups.
To fight climate change, the team has struck up an unlikely partnership with motor oil company Castrol to offset the team's carbon emissions.
The Rams will purchase carbon offsets to counterbalance the team's greenhouse gas emissions and will give fans the opportunity to calculate their own carbon footprint on the Rams' website.
"We're maybe not two brands that are on the forefront when you think about sustainability," Demoff said of the partnership with Castrol.
"That makes it more impactful."
The team is also partnering with Keep America Beautiful to pick up trash in every city the Rams visit this season.
"We have such an amazing vehicle. We play in front of millions of people each Sunday," Demoff said.
"If we can just capture a few of those people to remind them of our sustainability efforts around the clock, it will contribute to making a difference."