SoFi Stadium to Host Super Bowl in 2027; Rose Bowl Not Considered

On Wednesday, the NFL announced that SoFi Stadium will play host to Super Bowl LXI in February 2027.

This will be the stadium’s second Super Bowl, and although the Rose Bowl has hosted five of the eight Super Bowls held in Los Angeles County, local residents should be prepared to see SoFi break the Pasadena record. 

Currently the league only allows the Super Bowl Game to be played in venues that host an NFL team. 

The switch is a move away from a past tradition that saw weather play a big part in the location of the iconic games. Miami has hosted 12 Super Bowls, New Orleans 10 and eight in Southern California. 

Also, the game is now held in stadiums with at least 70,000 seats that also have space for a game day experience. Practice space size, the number of hotel rooms in the area are also considered.

While Pasadena can meet those qualifiers, the Rose Bowl does not host an NFL team.

 In 2015, Rose Bowl officials announced they were not interested in temporarily hosting a team relocating to Los Angeles. The Rose Bowl Operating Company (RBOC) voted down a proposal sent by the NFL that would have seen the iconic stadium host home games for two years.  

SoFi Stadium played host to its first Super Bowl in February 2022, which saw the Rams defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in Super Bowl LVI.

Hosting Super Bowl LXI in 2027 will put Los Angeles in the worldwide sporting spotlight for three straight years — with the region scheduled to play host to a portion of the 2026 World Cup, and then host the 2028 Summer Olympics.

In 2027, SoFi will tie the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum which has also hosted two Super Bowls. However, the new stadium has no chance of breaking one Super Bowl in the Coliseum. The Coliseum hosted the first-ever Super Bowl in 1967.