Readers React: The Rams’ new football stadium and the decline of American civilization

To the editor: Renderings of the proposed football stadium in Inglewood for the Los Angeles Rams and a picture of Super Bowl 50’s quarterbacks side by side on the front page caught my eye as Monday’s paper rested on my coffee table next to a photo book of ancient Roman ruins. (“The real challenge for Los Angeles’ new football stadium is everything around it,” Feb. 8)

Similarities between Rome’s population control program for Christians and what football does to its competing athletes, causing devastating brain injuries, make me wonder what stories might be written in the future to accompany photos of rotting empty stadiums after American football falls into disfavor.

Tim Tunks, Santa Monica

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To the editor: There isn’t a “seamless connection to the surrounding landscape” by the proposed NFL stadium in Inglewood. Although the structure is well designed, it isolates itself with a nonfunctional water feature that blocks the entrance experience from the exterior and forgoes the opportunity to dialogue with the community and provide green open space.

The water feature wastes space that is much more usable for pedestrian flow and is a missed opportunity to provide a staging area for informal community-oriented outdoor events near the canopy of the structure.

Instead, create a park-like amphitheater shape — sloping toward the raised main entrance — that lets this area become a “stage” for use during the football off-season. This would also provide a large open park space inside dense development and create a usable landscape that allows for water absorption into the ground.

Since our drought is rather permanent, using water for a man-made lake is unconscionable.

Laurie Barlow, San Marino

The writer is an architect.

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To the editor: Although I have generally opposed building an NFL stadium in L.A., I’m quite impressed by the plan for Inglewood.

However, for regulators to permit a huge artificial lake next to it reeks of cronyism and environmental myopia in this age of water restrictions. If we have to stop watering our lawns, how come the NFL can siphon off enough to fill a lake?

Matthew Enger, San Marino

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To the editor: I noticed that the planned new stadium for the Rams will have a translucent roof.

When the Houston Astrodome opened in 1965, it had a translucent roof. Baseball players found they could not see the fly balls coming at them because of the brightness of the ceiling.

Might the Rams have the same problem seeing thrown or kicked footballs in their new stadium?

Richard H. Smith, Cerritos

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