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LOS ANGELES – SoFi Stadium is the name of the new sumptuous home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.
The growing personal finance company, formerly known as Social Finance, has entered into a 20-year naming rights agreement for the multi-billion dollar stadium complex in Inglewood, Calif. .
The deal was brokered by Legends, which belongs to Jerry Jones, and is expected to be the NFL's largest naming rights contract, following the success of the Dallas Cowboys AT & T deal, reports Adam Schefter. , from ESPN.
SoFi Stadium is expected to open next summer at Hollywood Park in anticipation of the 2020 season for both NFL teams in Los Angeles. One season later, the stadium will host the Super Bowl.
SoFi was only founded in 2011, but the startup of the online lending business in the San Francisco Bay Area has quickly grown to become a leading financial services company, especially well placed among those who refinance student debt. Under the leadership of CEO Anthony Noto, a former NFL executive, and after a $ 500-million equity round of financing led by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund in May, SoFi bought the rights of designation to benefit from the NFL. an extraordinary exhibition at the most prominent new stadium in the world.
"It's something that really took a while to convince them that we were the right partner and really gain the confidence that we could make that commitment in the long run," Noto told The Associated Press. "We are super excited to have reached this point, they are building something new, and I think the impact it could have (on SoFi) will be just as much."
The 70,000-seat stadium is the centerpiece of a 298-acre complex developed by Rams' owner, Stan Kroenke, and shared by the owner, Dean Spanos, Chargers. In addition to the Super Bowl 2022, the arena will also host the 2023 National Football Championship playoff championship game, an annual college basketball game and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Olympics.
With the name of SoFi, the entire complex will play a leading role in the future of the Los Angeles NFL and Metoplex.
"It's one of those forward-thinking companies," Spanos told AP. "It's at the cutting edge of innovation in their sector, and that's something we want to be associated with when our stadium uses the same energy because no one has ever done it before. that Stan has built here and done here, in his creativity with all this development, it will probably redefine this area of Los Angeles for the next century.This will be something that Los will be very proud of. "
Spanos and Rams Chief Operating Officer Kevin Demoff is delighted with the addition of a young techie partner with the naming rights contract.
"When Stan began to imagine the future sports and entertainment district of Hollywood Park, he wanted to find not only world-class partners, but also innovative partners," said Demoff to the AP. . "He wanted to bring to the table a one – of – a – kind person, and I think SoFi is a great partner because under Anthony 's leadership, you can see their vision of the financial technology, the technology, the technology and the technology. evolution of the banking sector and loans, and of this process giving priority to the customer is very similar to what we want to do at the stadium.I think it's a unique choice for what, in our opinion, will be the biggest stage of the world. "
Kroenke and Demoff also appreciated the compact and alliterative name of a project of such magnitude, Demoff said.
"SoFi Stadium – I am a supporter of alliteration, so I love it," said Demoff. "It may be a very good English, but I think that name has a very natural sound."
Noto has personal connections to the stadium and its main sport: the former partner of Goldman Sachs is also the former NFL Finance Director. He also contributed to the league's efforts to set the stage ten years ago to return to the Los Angeles market. After becoming Twitter's director of operations in 2014, Noto worked on his agreement to stream NFL games on the platform.
"I really had a place at the forefront seeing the impact (the NFL) on a company like ours," Noto said. "It's only a small part of our overall marketing budget and our overall spending budget, but the benefit we're getting from reallocating investment in this sector is even more important. "
SoFi recently partnered with sports brands such as University Basketball Tournament Tournaments, the Open American Tennis Tournament and the X Games. Noto said that SoFi brought together audiences that had seen their combined sponsorship efforts in 2018 and had gathered around 15 million unique viewers for the entire year.
It's pretty much the same as for an NFL game at prime time in the SoFi Stadium, Noto said.
Noto congratulated his former boss, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, on this culmination of the patient years of the league, who were patiently preparing for a return to the country's second-largest market.
"This is the result of Roger's vision in 2008 and 09, when he established that he wanted the Los Angeles market to be not just a stadium, but an iconic destination," said Noto. "Stan and Dean bring him to life so that no one can really understand when Roger exposed his vision."
In addition to the name, SoFi members will have their own lounge in the stadium and the company will organize other events and seminars in the complex.
The money from a naming rights agreement usually offsets the construction costs and the Kroenke project is expected to cost more than $ 5 billion. The Hollywood Park project had already sold separate naming rights to American Airlines last month for a year-round show venue and stadium entry area.
The information provided by The Associated Press has been used in this report.
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