Are You Ready For It? Taylor Swift Eras Tour at Sofi Stadium - Tips for a Great Concert Experience
If you were one of the lucky swifties to nab tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour dates at Sofi Stadium in LA, your time has finally arrived!
There’s so much to be excited for and also quite a bit to think about! I was able to attend the opening night at Sofi Stadium on August 3, and I wanted to share some of my experiences and tips so that you know exactly what you need to do to have the best experience possible!
Getting to Sofi Stadium
There are several options at your disposal for getting yourself to Sofi Stadium.
If you haven’t already gotten your parking pass for the show at or near the venue, chances are you’ll have a tough time finding one without spending a pretty penny. A few days before the event, I saw parking being sold at up to $1k at the highest. There’s cheaper lots but they’re much farther away, so you’ll either have a long walk ahead of you or you might consider taking public transit or some other transportation closer to the venue.
LA Metro has extended services and is providing complimentary shuttles from a couple nearby train stations that might be great for going the public transportation route. Check out their post about it to get more details if this is an option for you.
You can also always opt for rideshare, but keep in mind that there are lots of cars and traffic in the area, so plan accordingly. The same goes for driving yourself to the venue as well.
Taylor Swift Eras Tour Merchandise
Are you after the coveted blue Taylor Swift Eras crewneck? So is everyone else! I’m not sure if they restock the crewnecks for every show; however, when I arrived at the venue around 1:00pm there were still crewnecks in stock and I saw many people buying them. However, by around 3:30pm they were long gone. If you’re heading to the stadium for the show anyway and want the crewneck, I would highly recommend arriving well before noon if you want to be as certain as possible to get the items you want in the sizes you want.
However, if you’re going for the lesser coveted items, like the standard tour tee, the tote bag, or practically any other item besides the blue crewneck, I don’t think you’ll need to be in such a rush. Plus, there are actually several merchandise tents around the different entrances to the stadium.
The main tent that has the blue crewneck is located right where the large Sofi Stadium sign is near Entry 8. There are smaller tents with significantly smaller lines that sell the other items like the tees and other hoodies. If you’re looking for any of those, AVOID the massive line at the main tent and go elsewhere. You’ll be glad you did.
There are also merchandise booths inside the venue after doors open. If you’re thinking the lines might be shorter, they likely won’t be. I was able to get into the venue right around 4:30pm when doors opened and by the time I made it upstairs to the booths, there were already massive snaking lines. The person who was sitting next to me (they probably arrived around closer to 5:30pm?) waited nearly three hours in the line to get her Taylor Swift sweater and made it back to her seat at around 8:10pm, just in time for Taylor to come on.
I would recommend either coming early to get your merch before entering the venue, or even waiting until after the concert is over. Right after the concert finished I exited the venue and the line for the main merch truck was non-existent, so I hopped in line and bought my items in less than 10 minutes. Waiting for the end of the show does risk them running out of the item or of the size you want, so you’ll have to keep that in mind. Luckily I wanted the standard tees so I was able to get the sizes I wanted!
What Time to Arrive
The best time to arrive depends a lot on what kind of seats you have, if you’re trying to get merch, and even if you have friendship bracelets you’d like to trade.
My seats were first come first serve, so I knew I wanted to arrive extra early so I could secure myself a good spot to see the show. With that in mind, I arrived at the venue around 1:00pm and waited at my Entry section until doors opened at 4:30pm. My group was the 4th party in line, so arriving anywhere between 1:00pm-2:00pm is probably good for getting a close spot in line. Because we wanted to secure our spot though, we didn’t get to do much exploring around the venue so if you’re in a similar situation and want to do more exploration as well or want to get merch, I’d recommend coming even earlier.
If you have assigned seats, I don’t think you’ll have anything to worry about. The security lines might get long, but you’ll have plenty of time to enter the venue from the time the doors open to when the first opener starts around 6:30pm.
What Should You Bring
As with many stadiums, Sofi Stadium has a clear bag policy. This means that any bag that is bigger than 4.5” x 6.5” must be clear. Otherwise you’ll need to store it in a bag check area outside of the stadium for a fee.
The baggage rules stated on the website are a bit confusing with regards to fanny packs. It explicitly states that no fanny packs are allowed; however if you have a clear fanny pack, you are good to go. I brought in a clear fanny pack and had absolutely no issues.
If you are planning to arrive early, bring a water bottle. Opened water bottles that aren’t empty are not allowed, but you do need to stay hydrated while you’re waiting. Bring a bottle or however many you need, drink what you need while you’re waiting, and either toss the bottles or bring the empty ones in with you and fill them up inside at the water fill stations. There is very little shade outside the stadium and it will be warm and sunny. Please stay hydrated!!
Speaking of the sun, I’d also recommend bringing something to cover up. The sun beats down on you hard especially in the middle of the day to late afternoon. Bring a hat, sunscreen, a jacket, anything to help you stay covered up. I even saw a woman bring an umbrella that she was fully ready to throw away as soon as we were let in just to keep herself shaded (umbrellas are not allowed in the venue).
Snacks are always good to have handy while you wait. I did not make any stadium food or drink purchases, but I would venture a guess that they’re overpriced and probably not spectacular. Plus the lines are long because everyone else is also grabbing food before the show. If you’re able to either have a meal before you enter and/or bring snacks to keep you satiated, it’ll help save costs and keep your energy up. No food is allowed inside the stadium though, so you will have to finish it before you enter.
Other items I’d recommend to have just in case are hand sanitizer, an external phone charger, and earplugs. I actually just use napkins to plug my ears during concerts. It does the job and doesn’t cost me a thing, so if you can definitely do that too!
Restrooms
When you’re waiting outside the venue there are lots of portables around the different areas. Those are the only restrooms available until you’re able to enter the stadium.
After you’ve entered though, there are plenty of restrooms throughout the stadium, and they’re actually very spacious with lots of stalls. To my pleasant surprise I didn’t experience or see any super long restroom lines. What a relief!
A Specific Note on My Experience
I was unable to get tickets during the initial round of ticket sales and actually had to get my tickets through the resale market.
Interestingly enough, the tickets that had the best value in my opinion were tickets located in the Sofi Member Lounge. My tickets cost around the same price if not less than tickets in the 500s section which was much farther away, so I went ahead and purchased these.
My tickets indicated that there were seat numbers. However, be warned that if you are also getting tickets in the Sofi Member Lounge there are NO SEATS. The Sofi Member Lounge is pretty much just a covered area that’s much like a bar with a ledge facing the stage that guests can stand or sit at to view the concert. There are no assigned seats in this area, so if your ticket says you have a seat, that is inaccurate. This area is first come first serve, so if you don’t arrive early enough, you may not have a space against the ledge to view the concert.
Also a note that much of the view from the Member Lounge is obstructed by one or more of the speakers, but if that doesn't bother you too much, the view is still pretty good!
On the plus side, the Member Lounge does come with unlimited food and drink with your ticket price. If you’re paying quite a lot for these tickets, it might be a good idea to take advantage of that ;) The best perk for me was the unlimited free cold water bottles.
Final Thoughts
They say there are no bad seats at the Eras Tour. So I would say unless you’re doing the General Admission, worry less about getting in early, and just focus on having fun and enjoying the experience!
Taylor Swift goes onstage around 7:55pm though she can also run late. For our show on 8/3, she came on stage at 8:17pm. Applause by Lady Gaga will be the last song that plays before her countdown starts, so when you hear it, make sure you’re on your way back to your seats!
