SoFi Stadium embraces hosting high school football games

SoFi Stadium wants high school football games to be part of its annual schedule of events, and the first of three games for this season is Friday when Mission Viejo plays Long Beach Poly. Other games scheduled are St. John Bosco vs. Servite on Oct. 18 and Garfield vs. Roosevelt on Oct. 25.

The Chargers, Rams and LA Bowl are serving as sponsors for the games to help reduce costs for schools, according to Adolfo Romero, the stadium's vice president of programming and booking.

"The goal was to make this a home for football at all different levels," he said.

Last year, Warren-Downey was the first high school game at SoFi and was played before 18,815. It was an experiment of sorts, with the Downey Unified School District putting up the money to reserve the stadium. Now the stadium and schools have an outline for a new pricing model, in which sponsors help reduce the costs and schools get to keep ticket proceeds. The stadium makes money off parking, food and beverages.

A future breakthrough could be the stadium hosting a City Section or Southern Section championship game, depending on the calendar and dates available.

"That's the goal," Romero said. "The goal is to continue our discussions."

The LA Bowl, run by SoFi, is scheduled for Dec. 18 and is helping underwrite the games. The winning teams will be invited back to attend the LA Bowl, which matches the Mountain West Conference champion against a former Pac-12 school.

The Garfield-Roosevelt game, which will feature a halftime concert by the Black Eyed Peas, should have the most fans ever for a high school game at SoFi. The stadium will have the first two levels open, creating room for close to 30,000.

Parking paid in advance likely will be $27.50. Some schools are having students travel by rooter bus.

Romero said he wants to give students the opportunity to perform in one of the world's best stadiums and allow their parents to have a good fan experience.

"We want to continue to build on this tradition of high school football in Southern California," he said.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.