SoFi Stadium: world's most expensive venue opens with USA World Cup clash

The most expensive stadium ever built, costing an estimated £4.1bn, will swing open its doors for its first World Cup match on Friday night as the United States take on Paraguay. SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, was originally projected to cost £1.5bn, but the privately funded project underwent several rounds of refinancing before opening in 2020. Since then, it has chiefly served as home to the NFL's LA Rams and LA Chargers, and has welcomed some of the biggest musical acts on the planet – including the Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Kanye West – cementing its status as one of California's finest new venues. This summer, however, football mania sweeps across the United States, and Mauricio Pochettino's men will have the privilege of playing in it in their opening fixture of the tournament. SoFi will host eight World Cup matches in total: four pool-stage games – including the USA's final Group D clash against Turkey on June 25 – plus two round-of-32 ties and a quarter-final on July 10. Only AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, will stage more matches at the World Cup 2026, with nine. And supporters making the trip to Inglewood are in for quite an experience: the 70,240-seat arena boasts a 1,000,000-square-foot canopy and has cost more than four billion pounds to construct, almost three times its original estimate. As the co-hosts chase glory on home soil, the stadium's record price tag will be a backdrop to every match played beneath its vast roof.