SoFi’s heat plans and transit goals face L.A. climate strain

With 30 days until the U.S. men’s team’s first World Cup match at SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles is trying to turn the tournament—and next year’s Super Bowl—into a rehearsal for the 2028 Summer Olympics. But the same city that’s laying fertilizer-ready turf is wres

A pungent smell clouds the stadium as Los Angeles prepares to host the U.S. men’s football team’s first World Cup match. Thirty days before kick-off. the operations team at SoFi Stadium is transforming the playing field—freshly laid soil is covered in fertilizer. and refrigerated trucks carrying special grass are expected the following day.

It may sound like a pre-game routine. In Los Angeles, it’s also a test run for a much bigger promise. This year’s eight World Cup matches at SoFi Stadium may pale next to the Olympics and Paralympics. but the city is counting them as practice for the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games that arrive in two years.

For Los Angeles officials, the pitch is not just about hosting. Paul Krekorian, who heads L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ Office of Major Events. told council members at a City Hall meeting in May that the city wants a “lasting legacy. ” not just the honor of welcoming the world. In his framing, the bid for mega-sporting events was meant to deliver benefits “for the people of Los Angeles.”.

The problem is what’s already waiting in the background. This World Cup comes with weak hotel bookings, high ticket prices, and a growing budget deficit. The city also still faces the urgent work of rebuilding after the devastating January 2025 wildfires—wildfires scientists have linked to global warming—where tens of thousands of residents remain displaced.

Fear is also part of the atmosphere. Residents have not forgotten a year ago when ICE immigration officers conducted raids in the multicultural city, where a quarter of the large immigrant community is undocumented.

For the people most exposed to the heat, planning is not abstract. Sports sociologist Sven Schneider said the “vast majority of people at risk are not the athletes themselves. but rather the spectators” who are generally less acclimatized. along with other groups such as service staff at sales points or in catering. Those risk groups, he said, “require particular protection.”.

In L.A., the exposure starts long before matches. The city is filled with concrete and limited shade or greenery, and fans face hours under the sun while they wait for shuttles to venues and stand in long queues to enter stadiums.

Just days before kick-off, FIFA placed a blanket ban on fans bringing sealed, transparent water bottles into matches and then backtracked after backlash.

At SoFi. Otto Benedict—who heads stadium operations after the venue was rebranded as the Los Angeles stadium for the World Cup—talked with wry acceptance about local climate risks. On an overcast day typical of springtime. he said the team is used to “May gray” and “June gloom. ” adding that some fans might even show up underdressed for a cooler day.

Even so, he said SoFi is ready. “We have cooling fans and cooling zones that we deploy if it’s a hot day. ” Benedict said. noting he stays in constant contact with the National Weather Service. Inside the stadium, thermometers and metrics from previous events feed into action plans. The stadium team is sharing its response protocol with FIFA and then learning what FIFA needs so it can work in sync.

Heat wave response protocols differ across host cities because local risk assessments differ. While heat waves are unusual this time of year. climate scientist Daniel Swain pointed to record-breaking ocean temperatures that are bucking expectations. In the coastal parts of L.A. County, he said, the prevalence of truly extreme heat is lower than in other places. “On the other hand. ” Swain added. “not all of the infrastructure is therefore designed for it. ” and when extreme conditions do occur. they can be disruptive.

The SoFi Stadium design is tailored to that reality. The $5.5 billion venue is partly surrounded by greenery. On hot days. Benedict’s team can open roof panels to create an updraft and cool the stadium’s interior. which is not air-conditioned. On rainy days. the roof funnels water to a catchment system; after treatment. that rainwater is used to irrigate native plants surrounding the venue. providing shade and cooling.

But the city’s heat and climate stress do not pause at the edge of the stadium. In Inglewood—home to SoFi Stadium—tree canopy cover is 9 percent, while recommended canopy cover goals stand at around 30 percent. Temporary systems for mist. water dispensers. and sun awnings can help at key locations. but they cannot overcome conditions across a county that is under climate pressure.

That pressure is also showing up in how people get to the games. Sporting events, L.A. Metro hopes, will push riders to try public transit—possibly for the first time in a city where just over 3 percent of commutes are completed by public transit, according to 2024 American Community Survey data.

Stephanie Wiggins, CEO of L.A. Metro. said in a moment at the edge of the SoFi pitch as airplanes roared overhead that the agency is “planning with legacy in mind.” She described work to make the World Cup experience seamless. L.A. Metro’s steps are the kind visitors and commuters can feel: multilingual signs at stations. contactless payments on buses. and the consolidation of eight apps into a single platform for planning. paying. and receiving live information and service alerts.

The most visible change arrived in May, when L.A. Metro inaugurated three new underground stops—right in time for the World Cup—after working on the extension for over six decades. In June, fans used the D Line to reach watch parties and Fan Zones. Come August, unlike the match-day shuttles, the stations will continue to serve residents.

Officials estimate that about 78. 000 people will use the D Line every day along one of the U.S.’s densest corridors. As May ended, L.A. Metro posted its highest ridership numbers in six years. The plan calls for opening six more stations by 2028. connecting the UCLA dorms that will serve as the Olympic Village with downtown Los Angeles.

Wiggins said L.A. Metro is drawing on its own history. Ridership reached new heights in 1984 when the city last hosted the Olympics, she said, because “global events can mean an opportunity.”

For the World Cup, L.A. Metro is also providing free water at hydration stations in key locations. During four days at the end of June. the agency transformed the city’s main railway hub into a Fan Zone. Union Station became lively in a way it has not in years. In a Substack post. Wiggins wrote that the Fan Zone gave people a reason to arrive early. stay longer. and see Union Station differently—adding that when the system is easier and safer. and when riders are given a reason to choose transit beyond daily commute. they respond.

Yet the outside infrastructure still creates risk. Most bus stops across L.A. County are not sheltered. L.A. Metro serves around 12,000 bus stops a day, accounting for around three quarters of journeys, and the infrastructure is often inadequate. The Sidewalk and Transit Amenities Program has been upgrading stops and installing 403 shelters. but departure screens are often out of service.

A few weeks in Los Angeles make clear that authorities, agencies, and businesses struggle to operate beyond their own boundaries. L.A. Metro doesn’t own bus stops; local authorities do. Transport experts say local politicians are not motivated to invest in shelters because they fear shelters would be taken over by the homeless population.

Even with the World Cup in full swing, the ride can still mean hours under the sun transferring between lines—often alongside the city’s large homeless population—highlighting the strain Los Angeles faces as it readies to welcome the world.

The financial and social stakes aren’t just about transit. L.A.’s acute housing crisis and strained budgets are leaving some residents unconvinced that money and time spent delivering a party for the world will pay off for locals. A few days before kick-off. workers at SoFi Stadium threatened to strike. and street vendors weighed match-day profits against their own safety.

Halfway through the tournament, the streets buzzed with life, with residents coming together in signs of solidarity and camaraderie. Local journalist Alissa Walker wrote in her dispatches about that spirit. But the celebrations were also obscured by toxic air coming from a large warehouse fire.

The city’s wounds run deeper than the recent smoke. Many residents are still reeling from last year’s wildfires that ravaged entire neighborhoods in Altadena and Pacific Palisades—the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history. Air pollution reached toxic levels, and pollutants linger after fires are extinguished.

Against a national administration focused on advancing fossil fuels, comparatively green California faces added pressure. In April, Los Angeles published its Climate Action plan. A section of the plan is dedicated to using major sports events to accelerate “climate investments that extend well beyond the closing ceremonies.” The plan commits the city to net zero by 2045. 100 percent clean energy by 2035. and to host a “transit-first” Olympic games aimed at upgrading mobility options in underserved neighborhoods.

Yet people working on climate resilience say the pace and ambition do not match the urgency. After the wildfires, Mayor Bass dropped the requirement to build new homes without fossil fuel-powered systems.

Cassie Rauser. who heads the advocacy group TreePeople and educates. plants. and cares for trees across Southern California. said the trauma makes decisions complicated. but that it was an opportunity to act sustainably that the region chose not to. “The people and the trauma make this all very complicated quite honestly. but it was an opportunity to truly do things in a way that is more sustainable and the region chose not to. ” Rauser said.

L.A. Metro’s Wiggins echoed the sense that the wildfires changed what mattered and how quickly. She said it remains to be seen what the wildfire’s lasting impacts are. Then, grief visible in her voice, she recalled her employees’ devastation and shock at losing their homes. Regaining her usual confidence. Wiggins said the wildfires showed how important good infrastructure and good transit are: “We were relied on during those fires.”.

Whether Los Angeles’ mega-event era will deliver benefits long after the World Cup. Super Bowl. and Olympics banners come down is still an open question. The city is approaching the Olympic opening ceremony with a countdown set two years and two weeks ahead—while the heat. the air quality risks. and the uneven coverage of climate-ready infrastructure already shape everyday life.

In Los Angeles, the drill for climate legacy isn’t confined to SoFi’s roof panels or cooling zones. It starts with what fans feel on the way in, and it continues with what residents need when the world leaves.

Los Angeles World Cup SoFi Stadium heat wave climate resilience Olympics rehearsal public transit L.A. Metro D Line Union Station wildfire aftermath TreePeople Climate Action plan net zero by 2045