Inside SoFi Stadium: The Most Expensive Venue Hosting USA's World Cup Opening Match Against Paraguay
With a build cost of up to $6 billion and a screen that weighs nearly 100,000 kilograms, SoFi Stadium is unlike anything else at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It is also where the United States open their campaign against Paraguay.
- SoFi Stadium cost between $5 and $6 billion to build, making it the most expensive sports stadium ever constructed. It sits on 298 acres in Inglewood, California, and opened in September 2020.
- The stadium features the Infinity Screen, the largest video board ever installed in a sports venue, weighing close to 100,000 kilograms and stretching over 304 metres around the stadium roof.
- SoFi will host eight World Cup matches in total, including the United States' Group Stage opener against Paraguay. During the tournament, it will be referred to as the Los Angeles Stadium under FIFA's commercial naming rule
There are 16 stadiums hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup. None of them cost anything close to what SoFi Stadium cost to build. Sitting in Inglewood, just a short drive from downtown Los Angeles, it is the kind of venue that stops you mid-sentence. And on the day the United States kick off their World Cup campaign against Paraguay, it will be the most-watched stadium on the planet.
How much did SoFi Stadium cost, and why so much?
Construction started in 2016, and when the doors finally opened in September 2020, the total cost had landed somewhere between $5 and $6 billion. That figure alone put it in a category of its own. No sports venue in history had cost that much to build.Â
Part of the reason is the sheer scale. The stadium sits on 298 acres and forms the centrepiece of Hollywood Park, a full entertainment district built around it, complete with shops, offices, parks, and residential areas. This was never just a stadium. It was a city within a city, developed alongside the venue rather than bolted on later.Â
There was also a specific engineering challenge: because the site sits in the flight path of Los Angeles International Airport, height restrictions meant the entire stadium had to be built 30 metres below street level. That decision shaped everything from the structural design to the construction timeline.Â
The Infinity Screen: a feature that has no real comparison
Walk into SoFi and the first thing that catches your eye is not the pitch. It is the screen above it. The Infinity Screen is the largest video board ever installed in a sports stadium. It weighs close to 100,000 kilograms and runs more than 304 metres around the interior of the roof. There is nothing else like it in world sport. Fans sitting anywhere in the bowl can see it clearly, which was the point.Â
Despite having a roof overhead, SoFi is technically an open-air stadium because its sides remain open, allowing natural airflow and sunlight to move through the building freely. That distinction matters for events like the World Cup, where FIFA has specific requirements around playing conditions.Â
SoFi has not sat quietly since it opened. It hosted Super Bowl LVI in 2022 and has already been selected to host the 2027 Super Bowl. The 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship, the Copa América, WrestleMania, and the CONCACAF Gold Cup have all taken place here.Â
The music names are just as long. BTS, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Bad Bunny, the Weeknd, Metallica, Ed Sheeran, and the Rolling Stones have all staged concerts at the venue.