SoFi Stadium’s Smart Restroom Scores Big with Fans

If you’ve seen the news headlines, you know that some loyal Taylor Swift fans are willing to skip bathroom breaks so they don’t miss a second of her performance, but before the show is a whole different story.

Pilar Triguero, the Director of Housekeeping at SoFi Stadium, knows that better than most.

“For Taylor Swift, we saw over 150,000 people that were visiting the restrooms,” said Triguero. “When she was on stage, no one was at the restroom, but before her being on stage, it was lines forever.”

As far as big shows go, Taylor Swift is only the tip of the iceberg for SoFi Stadium, one of the most recognizable names of any sports and entertainment venue. The award-winning stadium is home to both Los Angeles NFL teams, the Rams and Chargers, and has hosted other premier events, such as WWE, Beyoncé, College Football Championship games, Metallica, and many more. SoFi is also scheduled to host eight World Cup games in 2026, the Super Bowl in 2027, and the Summer Olympics in 2028.

“We have everyone under the sun,” said Triguero.

That’s why the SoFi facility care team needs to be prepared for large crowds and high demand well in advance of the big shows.

In 2022, Triguero went straight to his trusted consultants at BradyPLUS for supplies + support, including smart restroom technology, inventory management, and waste diversion.

“It’s truly a partnership from day one,” said Triguero.

Smart Restroom Technology

Let’s start with managing those busy restrooms that we talked about at the top.

Our BradyPLUS team helped SoFi install smart restroom technology, which is critical as a labor-saving solution that improves efficiency and enhances the customer experience. The Georgia-Pacific KOLO Smart Monitoring System uses product sensors with AI technology that alert the facility care team when items, such as toilet paper, hand soap, and paper towels, are running low.

“We follow the device, and it tells us that the dispenser of toilet paper needs to be refilled in real-time, and we’re able to meet that need for the customers coming through,” said Triguero.

“If you get a flood of people in the restroom because it’s halftime or a timeout, it’s very difficult to respond in time, and that’s a bad experience for your patrons. However, if you have the data from smart technology before you run out of these items, then it eliminates a big problem,” said Andrew Duncan, Sr. Account Manager for WAXIE Sanitary Supply, a BradyPLUS company.

The Fan Experience Data Speaks for Itself

When the stadium collected fan experience data, the positive feedback from the smart technology became clear. The survey, with about 1,500 respondents, asks fans to give a rating of 1-10 on their experience with parking, food, restrooms, and more.

According to SoFi Stadium, here is what the survey revealed about the fan’s restroom experience:

• In 2022, before our team’s involvement, the fan score was 8.5 out of 10.
• In 2023, after we helped install the smart restroom technology, the fan score jumped to 9.2 out of 10.

“When we finally got it rolling in October 2022, it was just phenomenal. We saw the results in 2023. It was tremendous. 100% of that is attributed to {our partnership with} BradyPLUS,” said Triguero. “On our second floor, our premium area, we saw a 10 out of 10, and we’ve never had a 10 out of 10 before.”

In addition to the positive customer experience, Triguero says smart restroom technology has also been a huge labor-saving solution because the cleaning staff no longer needs to check the bathrooms regularly to see if the product needs to be refilled.

How Does Cutting Inventory Costs by 50% Sound?

Before BradyPLUS got involved, SoFi Stadium struggled to identify how much it was spending on products per event. When regularly hosting events of more than 70,000 fans, those costs can quickly add up.

“We didn’t have a cost on how much we were spending, and we really wanted to dial it down per event and per customer,” said Triguero.

To ensure proper inventory management, BradyPLUS took a consultative approach to help SoFi Stadium build and design a space for custodial closets and racks throughout the entire facility.

“You really want to order exactly what you're going to need for an event,” said Duncan. “The challenge before was the stadium would either overorder or underorder, which are both problematic.”

Our team also installed innovative technology that enables the stadium’s operations team to simply scan a QR code inside each closet that provides an update about the inventory needed. The data analytics program is pre-set based on the PAR (Periodic Automatic Replacement) levels at each location.

“Before every event, someone on the facility care team scans the QR code, and then that will give them the PAR levels for different items that are needed for the specific event. Then, they simply count what's on those shelves, and an automatic order will be tabulated,” said Duncan. “It really solves the problem of how you accurately count what you need per event as opposed to just guessing,” said Duncan.

“We were able to reduce supply costs by 50% off the back,” said Triguero. “BradyPLUS helped us tremendously by saying, ‘Hey, we suggest new shelving in this area or this closet, let’s condense this one or get rid of it because we don’t need it.’ We went through each floor and identified that we had a backstock for each floor.”

‘Moving the Chains’ for Waste Diversion

As sustainability has become a major global theme in the 21^st century, state governments across the U.S. are asking, what do we do with our trash? It is especially relevant to stadiums with the tremendous amount of trash they generate.

SoFi Stadium began looking at new waste diversion strategies following the passage of California Senate Bill 1383. Beginning January 1, 2022, residences and businesses are required to sort and separately collect food scraps, yard debris, and food-soiled paper from trash and recycling and subscribe to an organic waste collection service, according to Waste Management.

Our industry experts took a comprehensive approach to help the stadium identify the right sustainable products to meet its goals.

“Our BradyPLUS representative is Andrew Duncan, so we had a tremendous amount of calls and visiting, day and night. Did we try this? Did we try that?” said Triguero.

After listening to the stadium’s business objectives, our team helped the facility become more sustainable with its two waste streams: recycling and organics. A successful waste diversion operation starts with having the right public-facing receptacle for customers to use before the waste is taken to the hauler.

“We deployed thousands of receptacles when SoFi opened to help them move closer toward their sustainability goals,” said Duncan. “The stadium is eliminating the landfill stream, so that's the stream that we don't want to continue to put trash into. In a lot of their public areas, they now just have blue recycling and green organics or food waste streams.”

Over the past few years, SoFi has dramatically increased its waste diversion rate:

• 2021: 9% diversion
• 2022: 32% diversion
• 2023: 56% diversion

“We’re moving that trajectory in the right direction,” said Triguero.

Triguero says BradyPLUS has been a game-changer for the facility care operations at SoFi Stadium with a combination of supplies + support.

“If you’re looking for a change, then definitely switch over to BradyPLUS and WAXIE products because they are a key player in the industry,” said Triguero.

Are you ready to enhance the customer experience, save on costs, and meet your sustainability goals? Our facility care experts are ready to get to work for you. Contact us today! ⬇️