Photo: Getty Images
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Thousands of Los Angeles Rams fans will descend on the Exposition Park area today as players and coaches formally celebrate their Super Bowl LVI championship with a victory parade and rally.
The parade will be at 11 a.m., beginning at the Shrine Auditorium and ending a relatively short distance away at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where a rally is planned on the peristyle-end plaza outside the stadium.
The Rams played at the Coliseum from 2016-19 while SoFi Stadium was being built, and it was the team's home when the Rams arrived in Los Angeles in 1946. The Coliseum was also home to the first-ever Super Bowl in 1967, and Super Bowl VII in 1973.
The parade will travel along Jefferson Boulevard to Figueroa Street, then head south to the Coliseum, where the rally will be at noon.
Most streets in the area will be closed to vehicle traffic from approximately 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Detailed street closures are as follows:
-- Figueroa Street between Adams Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard;
-- Jefferson Boulevard between Vermont Avenue and Grand Avenue; and
-- Exposition Blvd between Vermont Avenue and Flower Street.
The following freeway off-ramp closures will also be in effect:
-- 110 south off-ramp at Exposition Boulevard; and
-- 110 Express Lane on- and off-ramps at 39th Street.
Those planning to attend were strongly encouraged to use public transportation to reach the area. Information can be found at www.lacoliseum.com/directions/. Metrolink will be offering $8 all-day ride tickets on Wednesday in hopes of encouraging people to commute to downtown's Union Station to access the parade. Metrolink tickets include a free transfer to a Metro bus or train.
Los Angeles County on Wednesday lifted its COVID-19 mandate that people wear masks at outdoor mega-events, meaning that attendees at the parade will not be required to wear face coverings. Most spectators at Sunday's Super Bowl were seen ignoring the face-covering requirement.
The county Department of Public Health, however, continued to recommend mask-wearing when people are in crowded situations.
``As we prepare for the Rams Super Bowl victory parade (Wednesday), Public Health reminds residents to layer in appropriate safety precautions, particularly for those unvaccinated and those with underlying health conditions,'' according to an agency statement. ``Wearing a mask, while not required, is strongly recommended for anyone who will be in crowded places where distancing is not possible.''
While the mask requirement will be lifted, anyone attending the post- parade rally at the Coliseum will be required to show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination, a negative antigen test within 24 hours of the event or a negative PCR test within 48 hours.
The Dodgers and Lakers were denied victory parades following their COVID-shortened 2020 championship seasons due to pandemic restrictions, and some have suggested that the teams should be celebrated along with the Rams.
Lakers star LeBron James was among those making the suggestion.
``We, Dodgers and Rams should all do a joint parade together!!!!'' James tweeted Monday. ``With a live concert afterwards to end it!! City of Champions. Congrats once again.''
Thus far, however, there has been no formal decision to include the Lakers and Dodgers.
The Rams claimed the Super Bowl title Sunday with a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Monday that the victory capped a triumphant NFL return to the Southland.
``The NFL needed L.A., and L.A. needed the NFL,'' Garcetti told reporters in downtown Los Angeles. ``It was a broken-heart story. If it was Hollywood, it would have been maybe a rom-com. But at least some sort of romance. But it was our destiny to come back together.''
The mayor thanked NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, saying the league ``bet big on L.A., not just once but twice, with two great teams.''
The Pacific Park Ferris Wheel on the Santa Monica Pier is also getting in on the celebration. Park officials said the wheel will be illuminated tonight in team colors with a variety of patterns and images celebrating the Super Bowl win, including the words, ``Rams Win!''