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Hollywood Park’s Landscape Design Delivers on Sustainability and Maximizes Open Space to Create 25-acres of Public Parks and Open Space for Community

Innovative Water Retention and Recycling System and 100 Percent Southern California-Native Plant Species at Core of Program that Focuses on Environmentally Sound Landscape Solutions

LOS ANGELES (April 22, 2022) —SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park, a near 300-acre sports and entertainment destination being developed by Los Angeles Rams Owner/Chairman E. Stanley Kroenke,  worked with Studio MLA, a landscape architecture and urban design studio, to create civic and environmentally conscious landscape solutions across three key areas: water capture and reuse, the utilization of 100 percent Southern California-native plant species, and the continued development of public parks for year-round use. 

SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park’s focus on sustainable landscape solutions and water conservation led to the creation of Lake Park, which functions as open recreational space for the community and a novel water recycling system. Inspired by the original water feature that was part of the former Hollywood Park racetrack, Lake Park consists of an upper and lower lake separated by cascading waterfalls. At approximately 6 acres and 16 million gallons of water, the lake is surrounded by an additional 6 acres of parkland. The lake functions as a water recycling system by collecting 70-80 percent of stormwater runoff from around the site, filtering it through natural wetlands and mechanical systems, and then using it to irrigate the surrounding parkland. 

SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park worked with the West Basin Municipal Water District to provide recycled water for the rest of the project’s landscaped areas. Through its relationship with the West Basin Municipal Water District, SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park are able utilize about 26 million gallons of recycled water per year, which saves an equal amount of drinking water for the region. 

“SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park were designed to take advantage of Los Angeles’ indoor-outdoor lifestyle,” said Jason Gannon, managing director, SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park. “Sustainable, environmentally conscious spaces are not just a benefit for our community and guests to enjoy, they are also one of the key ways we reduce our environmental impact.”

As the first indoor-outdoor stadium, SoFi Stadium was designed to take advantage of the unique environment Los Angeles provides. The stadium’s landscape architecture seamlessly merges with the surrounding Hollywood Park to emanate a design style that is true to Southern California’s landforms and natural aesthetic. Among the many notable features of the landscape design at the stadium are three terraced gardens or “canyons” that sit on the north, west, and east side of the building. Each of the canyon’s landscape draws from a particular biogeographic zone in California. For example, where sunlight is more present in the north canyon, a desert garden is featured. In the shadier east canyon, vegetation mirrors upper and lower montane areas of the state. In the west-facing canyon, the plants reflect low-elevation chaparral and riparian ecosystems. 

“It’s all about how a stadium becomes part of a landscape and the landscape becomes part of the stadium,” said Mia Lehrer, FASLA, President of Studio-MLA. “With a pioneering project team, we’re honored to help imagine, design, and build this extensive stadium landscape, Lake Park and Hollywood Park’s public spaces, validating how this revolutionary sports stadium brings fans together on game days and functions as a vital public open space for people year-round.”

Additionally, the site’s over 5,000 trees and many species of plants are all native to Southern California and represent the five main ecologies that make up the mediterranean biome that Southern California inhabits. By purposefully selecting plants and trees that are native to the region, it promotes the regeneration of habitats that were previously missing in the area and encourages the return of native wildlife such as warblers, honeybees and more. The landscape design is not only striking, but it also simultaneously makes a significant contribution to the environment with close to 240,000 pounds of CO2 sequestered per yearby the thousands of trees on site.

SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park sits at the intersection of where design meets function. The site functions as a sports and entertainment destination and will be complemented by robust retail, residential and office offerings. However, it also serves as a civic center for its surrounding community. When Hollywood Park is complete, the site will deliver 25 acres of public parks and open space for the community to enjoy and utilize year-round. 

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ABOUT SOFI STADIUM

SoFi Stadium, the home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers, is located at Hollywood Park, a near 300-acre sports and entertainment destination being developed by Los Angeles Rams Owner/Chairman E. Stanley Kroenke in Inglewood, Calif. The 3.1 million square-foot SoFi Stadium is the largest stadium in the NFL, as well as the first indoor-outdoor stadium. It seats approximately 70,000, expandable up to 100,000, with more than 260 luxury suites and more than 13,000 premium seats. SoFi Stadium was host to Super Bowl LVI and will host the College Football National Championship Game in 2023, and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Games in 2028. Adjacent to the stadium and sitting under the same roof canopy is the 2.5-acre American Airlines Plaza and the 6,000-seat YouTube Theater. For more information about SoFi Stadium, visit www.SoFiStadium.com or @SoFiStadium on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

ABOUT STUDIO-MLA

Founded in 1995, Studio-MLA is a design studio that integrates landscape architecture, urban design, and planning to create places that inspire human connection, unite communities, and restore environmental balance. Advocacy is a foundation of Studio-MLA’s practice — a powerful tool to catalyze ecological and social change with inclusivity and authenticity. For more than 25 years, founder and president Mia Lehrer, FASLA, has sparked inventive thinking to address complex relationships within urban and natural environments. From the master planning of cities to the design of intimate plazas and gardens, the studio is recognized for creativity, pragmatism, and responsibility across a range of scales and geographies. With offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco, a 45-person team includes landscape architects, designers, planners, botanists, and ecologists from around the world. Diversity and multiple perspectives add meaning to collaborations and value to outcomes. Together, these practitioners believe in the transformative power of design to recalibrate the natural and built environments that connect us.

Press images available here: LINK


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LAFC, LA Galaxy, Chivas and Club América to Headline Historic First Soccer Event at SoFi Stadium in Must-see Leagues Cup Showcase August 3

Popular U.S., Mexican clubs to face off this summer one year before launch of newly expanded 2023 Leagues Cup; Tickets go on sale April 21

NEW YORK AND MEXICO CITY (April 14, 2022) – Major League Soccer (MLS) and LIGA MX, together with SoFi Stadium, today announced that the new, state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue and 2022 Super Bowl host will welcome fans of the world’s most popular sport to its first-ever soccer event this summer, an unprecedented Leagues Cup Showcase featuring four of the continent’s most popular clubs – Los Angeles Football Club, LA Galaxy, Club Deportivo Guadalajara and Club América.

On Wednesday, August 3, SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. will host the four clubs in a doubleheader, with the following matchups.

  • LA Galaxy vs. Club Deportivo Guadalajara          
  • Los Angeles Football Club vs. Club América        

The marquee doubleheader will serve as a preview to the highly-anticipated Leagues Cup, the annual, month-long official tournament between MLS and LIGA MX – to kick off summer of 2023.

Ticket Information

Fans will have the opportunity to experience this historic doubleheader in club specific supporter sections. LA Galaxy and LAFC season tickets holders will have the opportunity to purchase tickets through an exclusive presale. Tickets will be made available to the public on Thursday, April 21 at 10:00 am. PT via Ticketmaster.

Media Assets

  • Click here for Leagues Cup Showcase assets, including player soundbytes, club logos, SoFi Stadium imagery, and more

The LA Galaxy and Chivas will meet for the first time in 15 years. In the previous three matches, Galaxy won in a 1999 friendly at the Rose Bowl and in penalty kicks at the Concacaf Cup of Champions in 1997 in Chicago. In their last match 15 years ago, Chivas defeated the Galaxy 2-1 in the LA Memorial Coliseum during SuperLiga 2007. Current LA Galaxy star Javier “Chicharito” Hernández began his career with Chivas, and this match up would be the first time Hernández would face his former club since 2010.

The matchup between LAFC and Club América will be only the second time they meet, and the first since LAFC eliminated the LIGA MX club from the 2020 Concacaf Champions League semifinals.

“The LA Galaxy are excited to be part of a historic event in Los Angeles as four of the biggest clubs in MLS and Liga MX face off against one another in the first-ever soccer event at SoFi Stadium,” said LA Galaxy President Chris Klein. “There’s a great history of big soccer matches being played in the United States and in Los Angeles, dating back to the 1994 World Cup, the 1999 Women’s World Cup, and all of the big games that the LA Galaxy has been a part of, so having the opportunity to play against a storied franchise in Liga MX is an honor that we are looking forward to. We believe this will be a great spectacle for fans of the sport in LA, and we are thrilled to represent our city against Chivas Guadalajara in this showcase.”

“I’m very happy that Chivas will play in that wonderful stadium. In Los Angeles, we feel at home; it is a rojiblanca city, and that the team can meet its fans in the home of the NFL Champions, it is great news,” said Amaury Vergara, President, Grupo Omnilife – Chivas. “It’s a great stadium, with a great rival and the best fans… What more can we ask for? I’m sure it will be a party.”

“We look forward to participating in this historic doubleheader at SoFi Stadium and rekindling our rivalry with Club America,” LAFC Co-President and CBO Larry Freedman said. “Los Angeles is showing, yet again, why it is one of the top sports cities in the world, and it is an honor for our Club to have the opportunity to compete in this showcase.”

“This will be another historic day for soccer in Southern California,” LAFC Co-President & General Manager John Thorrington said. “Facing off once again against Club America in the first soccer event at SoFi Stadium is another major moment for our Club.”

“We’re very excited of having the opportunity to connect, once again, with our amazing fan base in California. This match against LAFC represents the first time, in recent years, to face a local team in Los Angeles, so we’re pretty sure that it will be a vibrant game, which will be played in a magnificent stadium, and that all the americanistas are going to truly enjoy,” said Santiago Baños, President of Club América.

“SoFi Stadium was designed to host a variety of events, and we are thrilled to welcome the Leagues Cup Showcase as our first soccer match at SoFi Stadium,” said Jason Gannon, managing director, SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park. “We look forward to bringing Liga MX, MLS, and soccer fans from around the world together on August 3 to watch this historic double-header. This will mark the first of many memorable soccer matches at SoFi Stadium.”

SoFi Stadium

SoFi Stadium, home of the reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers, is located at Hollywood Park, a near 300-acre sports and entertainment destination being developed by Los Angeles Rams Owner/Chairman E. Stanley Kroenke. The largest venue in the NFL at 3.1 million square-feet, SoFi Stadium can host approximately 70,000 fans, expandable up to 100,000. It is the first indoor-outdoor stadium ever built, and it features more than 260 suites, eight suite concepts, 12 club spaces, and more than 13,000 premium seats all designed to create extraordinary fan experiences. SoFi Stadium is an all-digital venue and has 90,000 square-feet of digital LED in the seating bowl alone. The largest videoboard in sports, the Infinity Screen by Samsung, makes up 70,000 square-feet of the bowl’s digital LED. A completely unique design, the Infinity Screen is the first of its kind and is the only 4k end-to-end videoboard in all of sports.

Leagues Cup Showcase will be a taste of what’s to come in 2023. All 47 MLS and Liga MX clubs will participate in Leagues Cup next summer, with the tournament champion earning automatic qualification for the Concacaf Champions League round of 16. In addition, clubs finishing second and third in Leagues Cup starting in 2023 will qualify for the Opening Round of the CCL. 

MLS and LIGA MX – which entered a partnership in 2018 rooted in the on-field rivalry as well as the true spirit of collaboration off the field – will pause their respective seasons for one month during the 2023 summer to play Leagues Cup, showcasing the soccer infrastructure and capabilities in the region in the years leading into the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the U.S., Canada and Mexico — the first World Cup to feature 48 countries.

Additional information on the August 3 doubleheader in Los Angeles, including broadcast information and media accreditation, will be announced at a later date. 

Leagues Cup Showcase, sponsored by BODYARMOR, will be broadcast on Univision and ESPN platforms in the United States, and TUDN platforms in Mexico.

About Major League Soccer
Headquartered in New York City, Major League Soccer features 28 clubs throughout the United States and Canada, in addition to an expansion team in St. Louis beginning play in 2023. For more information about MLS, visit www.MLSsoccer.com.

About Liga MX

Liga MX is Mexican soccer’s first division, comprised of 18 clubs throughout the country and headquartered in a sporting complex in Toluca, México. Visit www.LigaMX.net for more information.


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