LA’s glitzy new sports hub set for World Cup and Olympics – will local residents share in the boom?

With three top stadiums, Inglewood is remaking itself as a host of world-class events – and while some locals love the transformation, others feel left behind Melisa Arnold’s morning walks around the neighborhood are orchestrated by the staccato beat of jackhammers and the roar of airplanes pointed to and from Los Angeles international airport. This is Inglewood, she says, and its soundscape. After retiring from her human resources and payroll job last year, Arnold, 66, walks for miles around the city she has called home since 1985. Her route takes her past the sports and entertainment hub, which includes the remodeled Kia Forum and the new Intuit Dome. She walks by SoFi Stadium, which will soon host World Cup games. Next year, the Super Bowl is scheduled to return. And in 2028, Olympic events will arrive. To ready itself for hosting duties, Inglewood is remaking itself in real time. Over the past years, billions of dollars have flowed into the stadiums, infrastructure, and entertainment development as the city of nearly 103,000 markets itself as Los Angeles’s sports hub. Major streets are freshly paved and lined with new digital billboards that remind Arnold of the contours