By Rory Carroll
INGLEWOOD, California, July 12 (Reuters) - After a month of World Cup crowds, a temporary grass pitch and heightened security around politically sensitive matches, SoFi Stadium is turning towards its next mega-events with greater confidence, a senior venue executive said.
The $5 billion Inglewood stadium hosted eight World Cup games, including the United States' opening game and two involving Iran, without major incident.
It was an experience that Otto Benedict, senior vice president
of facility and campus operations at SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park, said validated years of planning.
"From a public safety perspective, I think that went very, very well," Benedict told Reuters in an interview.
"The number of matches, the size of our matches, having two matches with Iran ... all of our law enforcement partners, our federal assets and even our local assets worked collaboratively to create a very safe environment."
The run served as a high-profile test for a venue that will host February's Super Bowl, as well as swimming and the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Benedict said the stadium's systems for ticketing, crowd movement, food and beverage service and entering and exiting the arena held up well under repeated World Cup conditions, when many fans were visiting the venue for the first time.
"At no point as we walked around did we see areas where we thought, 'Hey, we're actually too tight here, there's not enough space here,'" he said. "We saw everything flowing very well."
Benedict said soccer crowds created a different operational pattern than those at NFL games, with more fans leaving their seats at halftime and putting pressure on concourses, concessions and restrooms at the same time.
The stadium handled those surges, he added, giving staff useful information for future events.
The venue also drew praise for the temporary natural grass surface installed for the tournament.
Benedict said the pitch exceeded expectations and was improving in vitality as the event went on, though he added that keeping grass permanently was not realistic for a stadium that hosts two NFL teams, concerts and other events.
"It just wouldn't be a feasible operation," he said, citing the stadium's depth below ground, canopy structure and year-round event schedule.
While Benedict said SoFi definitely should have hosted a semi-final or final, he noted that the World Cup nevertheless proved the stadium was ready for another Super Bowl, after also hosting the NFL championship game in 2022, and LA28.
"It gives us the ability to say to anybody coming in, and even for our own operations, that what we're doing is the right consistency," he said. "Let's keep moving these items forward."
(Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Ken Ferris)
