Is SoFi Stadium Dangerous For Fans?

Is SoFi Stadium dangerous for fans? A study indicates many other NFL venues are worse

BY STEVE HENSON STAFF WRITER
SEPT. 27, 2023 6:59 AM PT


SoFi Stadium is one of the safer NFL venues both inside and in the surrounding neighborhoods, a conclusion drawn from a study of crime statistics and a poll of more than 3,000 fans by Sportsbook Review.

Crimes in and around stadiums occur all too often, however. In the study, 39.2% of respondents reported having witnessed or fallen victim to at least one crime in or outside stadiums.

Although 17 fans — 5.4% — reported witnessing a crime at SoFi Stadium, only one of those polled said they had been a victim of a crime while attending a Rams or Chargers home game.

The neighborhood around SoFi has less crime than areas around 21 of the other 29 NFL stadiums, according to the study. There were 6.19 violent crimes and 25.81 property crimes per 1,000 residents near SoFi in 2021 or a total of 32 crimes per 1,000 residents, according to FBI data.

The most dangerous neighborhood is near Ford Field in Detroit with 23,07 violent crimes per 1,000 residents. Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., home to the Buffalo Bills, is the safest with only 0.33 violent crimes per 1,000 residents.

That doesn’t mean violent incidents haven’t occurred at SoFi Stadium. A man was thrown over a railing after the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers in November 2022. Eight months earlier, Bryan Alexis Cifuentes was charged with a felony count of battery with serious bodily injury in connection with a fight in the stadium’s parking lot during the Jan. 30 NFC championship game between the Rams and the San Francisco 49ers that left the victim, Daniel Luna, in an induced coma.

In the November 2022 incident, video recorded by a bystander shows two men fighting, one of them wearing what appears to be a Chargers jersey. At one point, another man was thrown over the side of a railing, falling onto the concrete steps below. He can be seen getting up in the video.

The neighborhood with the most property crimes is downtown Denver around Mile High Stadium, with 60.32 per 1,000 residents, significantly more than the next-highest property crime rate — 55.47 per 1,000 around Lumen Field in Seattle, home to the Seahawks, and 48.05 per 1,000 around FedExField in Landover, Md., home to the Washington Commanders.

The stadium neighborhood where fans are least likely to experience a violent or property crime is Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., home to the New England Patriots. Only 2.32 violent crimes and 6.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents were committed there in 2021.

The stadium most uncomfortable for fans of the opposing team is Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Philadelphia Eagles. That shouldn’t be a surprise: Fans in Philly have a reputation for being assertive, abrasive and obnoxious. SoFi Stadium often draws thousands of fans of opposing teams, and the vast majority of them do not feel particularly uncomfortable, according to the data.

SoFi did not do so well in a category pertaining to female fans, who were asked if they felt comfortable alone in or around their team’s stadium. A whopping 62.5% of respondents said they felt uncomfortable at SoFi, a number topped only by the 73.7% of women who said they were uncomfortable alone at Ford Field.

Women feel safest at Buffalo Bills and New York Jets games, according to the study, with only 16.7% saying they weren’t comfortable.

LA Times