Los Angeles will once again be hosting the Super Bowl after the NFL announced it had selected SoFi Stadium to be the site of Super Bowl LXI in 2027.
The stadium, which is located in Inglewood, hosted Super Bowl LVI just last year, in which the hometown Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20.
SoFi is currently home to both the Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.
The decision to name SoFi as host of Super Bowl LXI was announced during a league meeting in Dallas on Wednesday.
“We are very excited to bring the Super Bowl back to Los Angeles for the second time in five years," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a news release. “The city did an outstanding job hosting Super Bowl 56 in the incredible SoFi Stadium and we believe that Super Bowl 61 will be even more memorable."
Super Bowl LVI in 2022 generated between $234.3 million and $477.5 million for Los Angeles County, the league said.
As part of being named the locale for Super Bowl LXI, the L.A. area will once again host events leading up to Super Bowl Sunday, including NFL Honors, Super Bowl Experience and Super Bowl Opening Night.
The NFL still has three Super Bowls scheduled before the big game returns to the L.A. area. This season's Super Bowl, which takes place in February 2024, will be played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
After that, the sport's biggest event will happen at the Superdome in New Orleans in 2025 and Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara in 2026.
It's rare, but not unprecedented for the same city and same stadium to host the Super Bowl twice in five years. The last city to host two Super Bowls within a narrower timeframe was when Miami hosted the Super Bowl in 2007 and 2010 at Hardrock Stadium - although the venue had a different name both times.
The NFL has a sizeable presence in metro L.A., having opened a West Coast headquarters in Inglewood in 2021.
This will also be the ninth Super Bowl to be hosted in the greater Los Angeles area. Super Bowl I was played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1967, meaning the next time the big game comes to town it will mark a 60th anniversary.
The Super Bowl's return is just the latest high-profile sporting event slated to come to L.A. over the next decade.
In 2026, the FIFA World Cup will be played in North America, and it's widely believed Los Angeles will be among the host cities, either at SoFi Stadium or elsewhere.
The city will also be the site of the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. The World Rugby Championships will come to town in 2031 and 2033.
Los Angeles County is rapidly expanding and improving its public transportation services in anticipation of the Summer Games in what is being referred to by County leaders as "Vision 2028."
A $1.8 billion "people mover" project is set to break ground in Inglewood next year, transporting up to 11,000 people per hour and providing easier and improved connectivity between L.A. Metro's K Line, the KIA Forum, SoFi Stadium and the Intuit Dome — the future home of the Los Angeles Clippers. That project, however, is not expected to be operating until 2028, barring any adjusted timelines.
Inglewood Mayor James Butts and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said they were excited to once again welcome the world to L.A. County and make Super Bowl LXI a success.
"We are certain the NFL will find SoFi Stadium and the City of Inglewood ready to deliver an exciting and memorable Super Bowl LXI," Butts said.
Bass added that she looks forward to hopefully watching the Rams capture a Super Bowl victory on their home turf once more.