It was a historic day for the Los Angeles Stadium and Entertainment District (LASED) on Tuesday as the final piece of steel was hoisted into place in the seating bowl of L.A. Stadium, topping out the steel structure of one of the most remarkable venues ever constructed.
The ceremony, a builders' tradition to mark progress and commemorate the structure's final beam being put in place, saw members of the Chargers and Rams join construction workers and local dignitaries in signing the beam and celebrating the important milestone.
"When you look at the structure, two years seems so close now with the topping out ceremony," said President of Business Operations A.G. Spanos, looking out at the rising stadium. "It's truly remarkable what this construction team has accomplished."
The day, however, ultimately belonged to L.A. Stadium's 2,000 construction workers; those who have tirelessly helped build the structure and are currently playing an integral role in bringing this iconic project to life for the 2020 season.
"The work that this construction team has done is outstanding," said President of Football Operations John Spanos, whose grandfather and Chargers owner Alex Spanos founded construction giant A.G. Spanos Companies almost six decades ago. "Today is about honoring them and all the work they have done around the clock."
The final steel beam was laid by Paul Graham and Victor Tabora, two SME ironworkers who had the honor of laying the first beam, as well. Much like football requires all 11 players on the field functioning as a single unit to be successful, Tabora said the structure's steel completion wouldn't be possible if not for his team working as one.
"It feels awesome," Tabora said. "To be a part of a team and for us to stay together (through) times where it gets rough when we all have to gather and bring our heads together on how to bring a piece in. It's a team effort. It's not just me, it's not just Paul; it's all of us. All of us have to get into it, sweat and do whatever we need to do to get this thing going."
"It's incredible," added Mark Williams, Principal, HKS Architects. "First off, the safety of doing all this is unprecedented. But the next thing is the sheer number of people creating this incredible project. It's just thousands and thousands of people every day. It's amazing what it takes to build a building like this."
Take a look at the best photos from the topping out ceremony, as the Bolts celebrate the installation of the final steel beam at the new SoFi Stadium.
