[Elvis]

It's official. When they announced it at the thing Monday, it wasn't quite official and Demoff joked if any of us wanted to go attend the city council meeting and urge them to approve...

https://www.dailybreeze.com/2024/02/29/ ... osa-beach/

Los Angeles Rams Draft Day Experience approved in Hermosa Beach

The Rams Draft Experience in Hermosa Beach will feature live draft coverage on April 25, 26 and a football field on the sand


A rendering of a 60-yard football field that will be placed on the Hermosa Beach sand in April after the City Council approved a Rams Draft Experience week at its Feb. 27 meeting. (Rendering courtesy City of Hermosa Beach)

By MICHAEL HIXON | mhixon@scng.com | The Beach Reporter
PUBLISHED: February 29, 2024

Hermosa Beach, get ready for some football.

A 60-yard football field on the beach and live draft day coverage will highlight the Los Angeles Rams Draft Experience, after the April event was approved unanimously by the Hermosa Beach City Council at its Feb. 27 meeting.

“It’s an unbelievable opportunity for our city,” said Councilmember Raymond Jackson at the meeting. “Fifty-nine million people watched the draft last year. That’s a lot of eyeballs.”

The event will celebrate the first time the Rams, famous for training away top picks to secure big-name players, will have a first-round draft pick since 2016, when they chose quarterback Jared Goff as No. 1 overall. After a disappointing season coming off their 2021 Super Bowl victory, the Rams returned to the playoffs in 2023, falling to the Detroit Lions in the NFL’s wild card round. The Rams will have the 19th pick in the first round this year.

The Rams Draft Experience will take over the beach south of the Hermosa Beach Pier, the Pier Plaza and the Schumacher Plaza.

Live draft day coverage will take place on Thursday, April 25 and Friday, April 26, with round one of the draft beginning at 5 p.m. on Thursday. The live coverage of the three rounds will be hosted by J.B. Long, radio voice of the Rams, and will include interviews with legends and current players, on a custom built stage.

The arena-sized football field on the beach will include football clinics, competitions and other activities. The 60-yard field, which features professional-grade turf that will be placed on a sub-floor to make it level with the sand, will be adjacent to The Strand, between 10th and 11th streets.

Activities on the field will include events for community organizations including recreational leagues, Pop Warner teams, schools and flag football organizations.

Sarah Schuler, vice president of game presentation and experiential marketing for the Rams, said events like the Draft Experience are way to strengthen youth sports.

Prior to the draft on April 25-26, clinics will take place on the football field. The event, organizers said, will not interfere with the 20th annual Surfers Walk of Fame induction ceremony and Spyder Surf Fest, which takes place on Saturday, April 27 on Pier Plaza.

The field will be open for local elementary schools on Monday, April 29, local recreational leagues on Tuesday, April 30 and top Southern California prospects on Wednesday, May 1.

“There’s joy that’s brought when you play football on a football field, but how about playing football on a football field on a beach on the Pacific Ocean?,” said Schuler at the meeting. “That’s something that hasn’t happened before and we think we have an opportunity to do something unprecedented together.”

Last September, Beach Cities Sports flag football and the Rams hosted a tournament near the Hermosa Beach Pier with eight competing coed and all-girls division middle school teams.

Volleyball courts will be relocated to make way for the temporary football field and to allow classes to continue without interruption during the event. The courts will be re-installed on Friday, May 3.

“The event producer would have staff on site to ensure the courts remain free of crowds,” said community resources manager Lisa Nichols.

Nichols said the producers expect attendance to be around 2,000 per day.

“However the city and the Los Angeles County Fire Department will require the amount of security guards portable restrooms and the site plan to accommodate up to 5,000 attendees per day,” Nichols said.

[Elvis]

https://www.therams.com/draft/experience

[ramsman34]

Who’s going??

[Elvis]

Pretty sure i'll be experiencing the draft from my couch in the valley...

[ramsman34]

Same

[Elvis]

[Dare]

I'd be tempted to go if I lived closer. It would be fun to re-visit my old stomping grounds of my youth.

Naw I think it will be a BBQ day with some nice ribs, guac and chips, corn on the cob and of course a cooler of beer.

Happy draft day!