NFL
Los Angeles
It took three long years, multiple millions of dollars, hundreds of people, thousands of hours, and navigating a global health crisis that upended everything to bring NFL Los Angeles to fruition.
Conceptualizing and then actually creating NFL Los Angeles — a >200-million-dollar, state-of-the-art destination for sports and entertainment that would become the NFL’S West Coast’s home — was no small feat. And my role, alongside my super talented colleague Jen Love, in co-managing the creative on-camera portions of the project, which received tens of those multiple millions of dollars, wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. But working on this project, including every single one of its many hurdles, and bringing it to actualization, ultimately amounted to something spectacular.
So how did we manage to help finish NFL Los Angeles on time and achieve all our creative and business goals?
It was August of 2018 when we were first assigned the project. Jen Love and I knew that to make the August 2021 deadline NFL Media had prescribed (okay, mandated), we had to get organized, stay organized, and prepare to be agile.
So, with the leadership of Carlos Aguero, all-star Senior Creative Director for NFL Media, we got to work on a creative brief first. It would serve as our North Star, guiding us from conception to completion. We researched existing broadcast studios, podcast studios, VO booths and newsrooms in the arena of sports and entertainment, and we dreamed about how such spaces might look, feel and operate in the future. We considered the future of technology, we consulted with architects, we collaborated with designers, and we communicated with the organization’s thought leaders to ensure the creative vision aligned with the project’s overarching goals. And, of course, we considered the best ways in which our talent, the players, and the fans would utilize the space and interact with one another inside of it. This place would be like nothing they’ve ever seen before. It would be exceptional.
We collaborated with the amazing team at Jack Morton Worldwide led by Senior Design Director Larry Hartman, who, with a talented team of artists like Chris Maroney and Raeford Dwyer, designed modern spaces that would not only feel representative of football, but that would also improve our celebration of the sport, offering a degree of visibility fans had never before experienced. Drawing inspiration from a variety of architectural achievements past and present, NFL Los Angeles was inspired by one of America’s greatest shopping malls, by The Barnes in Philadelphia, and by the Roman Coliseum, to name a few. The result was at once architectural, innovative, and ultra-modern. Because of the studio’s tiered design, open concept, and unparalleled degree of visibility, we knew we were on track for our fans to fall in love with football in a powerful new way. And to be honest, us too!
By May of 2019, our creative brief was finalized, our creative partners were locked in, and they had a stellar project manager in Meredith Sonnen on board. We were moving full steam ahead, ready to adapt to whatever missiles came our way.
Boy, were there missiles. From budget cuts, to changes in the architectural dimensions, to COVID outbreaks, and horrendous supply chain issues, we found ourselves constantly bobbing, weaving, and figuring it out. And while we adapted regularly, we communicated constantly. Only because of this constant, structured, detailed communication, were we able to keep track of changes, monitor their impact, and ultimately keep the ball moving down the field towards the end zone. This communication also allowed us to flex the creative muscle necessary to help make NFL Los Angeles something truly remarkable.
Not only did our extensive creative team (including hundreds of dedicated individuals at Diversified, MGAC, The Lighting Design Group, Showman Fabricators, NFL Media,, IDF, Bravo Media, Drive, and Gensler) dream up and collaboratively execute the genius designs that make NFL Los Angeles studios stand apart from any other (like the most agile, innovative, and just-plain-cool football-shaped projection screens dubbed “The Duke”), but they also solved perilous logistical issues the pandemic threw our way (like moving every single one of the entire facility’s design renderings into a 3D video game engine so that producers, directors, and graphic artists could get going on their work from within a virtual reality. Take that, social distancing!) to guarantee we stayed on track. The pandemic did its best to stop us, but our team was simply too innovative and agile to be stopped.
To breathe even more heart and meaning into the space, we kept riffing and dreaming, bringing more personality to both our interior design and scenic designs. We commissioned artwork from world-renowned artist Tristan Eaton to cover our giant “Elephant Doors” between Studio One and Champion’s Field, turning what would have otherwise been a boring set of doors into a celebration of Los Angeles’ culture and the game of football. We rescued the giant, spinning, neon NFL sign from spending an eternity in storage — the very beacon that once shined outside our “Tootsie’s Front Porch” set for the 2019 NFL Draft in Nashville — and gave it new life and prominent billing right inside Studio One. And we brought in the exact same turf that covers the entire football field at SoFi Stadium, just 255 feet away, to cover our own Champion’s Field, offering our NFL Media talent an opportunity to get in the game themselves. Plus, with a fence surrounding the field where fans could gather, watch, and interact with NFL Media personalities, energy during live broadcast would be unparalleled while fans have front-row access to all the action.
On September 8, 2021, NFL Los Angeles, America’s premier destination for sports and entertainment, officially opened. Situated on 300 acres of parkland, this 280,000 square foot building, located next to SoFi Stadium, put NFL Media closer to the game and to the fans than ever before. A state-of-the-art facility including studios, a practical newsroom with broadcast functionality, a podcast studio, and an outdoor set, in addition to ample office space and studio support space, it is truly the first of its kind.
Together, every one of the creative efforts that went into creating NFL Los Angeles has given the facility a sense of history and presence that have brought the space to life, allowing fans to engage in a real and meaningful way. Helping to get this incredible facility to the finish line was a labor of love that was well worth the effort.
Photography by Raeford Dwyer
Video by Ryan Elwell (Director, DP, and Editor)
“The Duke” video by Bravo Media and Drive