LA Rams New Stadium Delayed To Open In 2020 Because Of Rain

LA Times’ Sam Farmer is reporting the Los Angeles Rams’ future home stadium in Inglewood, which was originally planned to open in 2019, will now open in 2020 instead:

Developers, who broke ground on the project in November, blamed the postponement on record rainfall during the “mass excavation phase” of construction.

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The weather brought work on the project to a standstill for two months earlier this year. The rain fell at a crucial stage of construction when work centered on digging the enormous hole — 5 million cubic yards of dirt were excavated — in which the stadium will sit. At times, the site looked like a lake, with water standing 12 to 15 feet deep.

After the downpours, the excavated area had to be drained before work could resume.

Nearby Los Angeles International Airport received 15.4 inches of rain from November through February, more than double the average amount.

The Rams will remain in the Coliseum in 2019. Their original agreement allowed an option year to do so.

One interesting angle? The stadium is currently set to be the site of Super Bowl LV. That would be the Super Bowl following the Rams’ first season in their new stadium, something that is currently not allowed by NFL rules.

Rams VP/COO Kevin Demoff sent an email out to season ticket holders not long ago: