The new home for the L.A. Rams and L.A. Chargers will not be opening as soon as was originally intended. The 70,000-seat stadium was initially scheduled to be ready in time for the 2019 NFL season, but thanks to a surfeit of rain the opening will be delayed until the start of the 2020 season, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The rainfall in the area didn’t just reach record amounts, but it also occurred at the worst possible time during the HKS-design stadium’s construction: the excavation phase.
At times, the stadium’s excavation site was filled with as much as 10 to 12 feet of standing water, which needed to be drained before work could resume. This caused the project, which is being built by Turner Construction and AECOM, to screech to a halt for two months.
The two months can’t be made up over the next two years, thus getting the project back on schedule, due to an already ambitious construction timetable and the increased workload associated with creating a stadium that will house two separate teams, according to the LA Times.
Due to the delay, the Rams will continue to play in the Coliseum for the 2019 season while the Chargers will have to play their home games at the StubHub Center for an extra season. While the Coliseum has a seating capacity of around 93,000, the StubHub center only offers 27,000 seats, but this will be expanded to 30,000 for Chargers games.
The stadium will be the focal point of a mixed-use entertainment district that will include a 300-room hotel, retail and office space, and a 6,000-seat performance venue.
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