YouTube’s first naming rights deal will christen Hollywood Park’s 6,000-seat performance venue YouTube Theater.
The sprawling sports and entertainment complex, located on the site of the former Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, Calif., is also home to SoFi Stadium, which opened in September 2020 and is already slated to host a number of high-profile events, including Super Bowl LVI in 2022, WrestleMania in 2023, and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Summer Olympics.
YouTube Theater, named as part of an exclusive multiyear booking agreement with Hollywood Park, is expected to complete construction in 2021.
When finished, the theater will be a 227,000-square-foot, three-story indoor venue with a 6,100-square-foot stage, a 1,200-square-foot backstage hospitality space with dressing rooms, six luxury viewing boxes, and a 3,500-square-foot private club with 140 premium seats, YouTube says.
The venue will host all manner of events, but it’s specifically intended for use by creators, the company says.
An artist’s rendering of the completed stage, courtesy YouTube.
“YouTube Theater will drive the uniqueness of YouTube by combining physical, ‘in real life’ events that bring creators and fans together, while simultaneously sharing that same event experience with our two billion global monthly users through livestreams and VOD content,” Angela Courtin, YouTube’s VP of brand marketing, said in a statement.
Courtin added, “YouTube creators and artists are the heart of YouTube and YouTube Theater adds to the portfolio of opportunities to drive their creativity, build their businesses, grow their communities and so much more.”
YouTube Theater will be outfitted with features that “focus on interactivity,” such as a “large scale digital YouTube play button icon outside the venue, which can transform into an immersive video screen that guests can interact with,” YouTube says. Inside, YouTube Theater will feature “a dynamic digital wall […] that will be used to celebrate YouTube creators and artists by showcasing them in a gallery-like setting.”
A slate of musical performances are already confirmed for the theater beginning in mid-2021, including appearances by Louis Tomlinson, Pitbull, Caifanes, Los Angeles Azules, Black Pumas, Devo, Trippie Redd, Alejandro Sanz, Christian Nodal, and Marina. These shows are part of an overall deal between Hollywood Park and events promoter Live Nation.
Hollywood Park also has a previous deal with YouTube’s parent company Google that names Google Cloud the exclusive cloud partner of SoFi Stadium as well as the two professional sports teams who reside there: the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers.
As part of YouTube’s new agreement with Hollywood Park, Google Cloud will additionally become the exclusive cloud partner of YouTube Theater, while YouTube will become the exclusive video services and music streaming services partner of Hollywood Park and SoFi Stadium, plus the exclusive video services partner and an official music streaming services partner of the Rams and Chargers.
You can see YouTube Theater’s full events schedule here.
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