Rice University alumni helped design new SoFi Stadium that can house 70,000 football fans

INGLEWOOD, California (KTRK) -- Not one, but two Rice University Owls helped design the brand new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

Ahead of the game between the defending Super Bowl Champs, the Los Angeles Rams, and our Houston Texans, ABC13 morning anchor Rita Garcia caught up with the two alumni to talk about the stadium, the game, and their time in Texas.

Niel Prunier explained how he worked on the exterior enclosure over the first indoor-outdoor stadium near the Los Angeles International Airport.

Prunier said spectators will stay cool under a translucent roof with open sidings, allowing for the ocean breeze to blow through the nearly 70,000-seat stadium.

"We had to protect the field and that's why there's a roof over it," he said.

While Prunier worked on the outside of the place, Michelle Stevenson took the lead on what's referred to as "the seating bowl."

"The bowl itself is sunk 100 feet underground," Stevenson said.

Stevenson said this is a strategic move because SoFi sits under a flight path, meaning fans cannot only take in a good game or concert, but folks can also watch the air traffic coming in and out of Los Angeles.

While Prunier and Stevenson worked on two different angles of the stadium, the two both studied at Rice University in Houston. It was an experience they both agreed prepared them for the teamwork, thought, and time they spent designing the largest stadium in the NFL.

The stadium sits on nearly 300 acres and as Prunier described, when fans show up, they're in for an experience.

"I think one of the secrets of this venue is the upper tier seats. They have the best view in the context of that upper concourse, which is completely open on both sides so you have this amazing view of the field, but you also have this amazing view of the city," he said.

It's a city both Prunier and Stevenson call home. But for a few years, it was once Houston, where they learned about more than just architecture.

"Oh, absolutely. I miss crawfish broils. I tried to bring it here. It's not the same. We do have some people in our office that are Texans and Louisianans who put together a crawfish broil, but there is nothing that could've prepared me for what that event is," Stevenson said.

Prunier on the other hand, said he misses the Texas way.

"I genuinely do miss some of the true Texas cultures that you find in Houston," he said.

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