Rams new stadium is going to cost $5 billion
The updated projected cost of the future home of the Los Angeles Chargers and Rams is setting the stage for similar projects in the future to approach 11 figures.
As the story of “Kroenke World” continues to unfold, an eye-popping number has now surfaced regarding the cost of the stadium and surrounding complex that will eventually be the center of attention in Inglewood, Calif. That figure is the new projected cost of the stadium complex that will be home to the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams along with the surrounding commercial and residential spaces.
Today NFL team owners will vote to increase the debt limit for the Rams new stadium, which according to internal league documents is now projected to cost an amazing $4.963 billion.
— Seth Wickersham (@SethWickersham) March 27, 2018
Most fans will see the high cost of the complex as the big takeaway from this news, and to a large degree, rightfully so. Fans should remember that this is the cost of the entire complex, not just the NFL stadium. The site, which will be three times the size of Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., is more accurately described as a small city than a stadium. Along with many other businesses, NFL Media will have a new headquarters on the site.
With that taken into account, it’s still the most ambitious project in NFL history. AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, ended up costing $1.2 billion. That was soon eclipsed by Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the home of the Atlanta Falcons, which cost $1.6 billion. A jump to nearly $5 billion from there is quite an escalation, but it might spur further such jumps.
The NFL raising its debt ceiling for its franchises is a point of no return. From here on out, every other NFL franchise will be able to reach for that star as well. Stadium construction costs have worked like apartment complexes in the past, and there’s no reason to believe that trend won’t continue.
In an apartment complex, one unit’s ceiling acts as the floor for other units. Over time, this $5 billion price tag will no longer represent the gold standard of state-of-the-art sport entertainment destinations, but the bottom price for which such venues can be erected instead.
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Eventually we will see a construction project approach the $10 billion mark. If the hunger for bigger and better along with the rate of expansion continue at the same pace as has been set now, it will be sooner rather than later.