Inglewood, Calif. — Picture a place to watch a football game that has the abundant TVs of a sports bar, the comfy lounging chairs of a movie theater and a planetarium-inspired screen reminiscent of the Sphere in Las Vegas; that’s what it’s like to watch a game at Cosm, the domed Los Angeles-area sports bar.
Adjacent to SoFi Stadium after opening in June, Cosm has been going viral this college football season, and it’s easy to see why. So For The Win checked it out in person for the Tennessee-Oklahoma game Saturday.
“It’s a unique but ideal sports experience,” said 53-year-old Tennessee fan Robert Washington, who was one of several fans who said they saw clips on TikTok and other social media platforms that piqued their interest.
“It’s wonderful. We’re sitting amongst different people. It’s almost like you’re at the game or at whatever event you’re going to see. We literally feel like we’re there. We’ve gone to Tennessee and watched football games before, and this is literally what it’s like, other than the crowd noise.”
For the Tennessee-Oklahoma game, For The Win's @MMartinelli4 went to @experiencecosm, the viral sports bar that makes you feel like you’re watching from the field. pic.twitter.com/YphlVjIcVu
— For The Win (@ForTheWin) September 25, 2024
On the surface, Cosm is just another sports bar, albeit a new one with far more screens than your average dive. But Cosm’s Dome is what steals the show with a giant curved screen, making fans feel like they’re in the stands watching the game. Or the end zone or a team’s sideline.
The game is so up-close and in your face that it feels like field goals and running backs are coming right at you. It’s mesmerizing and easy to get lost staring at the minute details on the massive screen.
“We’ll never beat the in-stadium experience; we don’t want to,” said Jeb Terry, Cosm’s CEO and president and former NFL player. “There’s nothing like the energy of a big crowd. But we want to create an experience for the fans that can’t get there. We’re gonna have Tennessee, Oklahoma fans in California watching like they’re in Norman. …
“For those fans in California that can’t get there, it’s a next-best thing, right? So that’s why we have multiple cameras there — below both goalposts, on the Chapman cart [movable beam lift], high and wide, multiple positions — so that we can always give a really cool look and give the fans something valuable.”
For events broadcast in the Dome, Cosm has partnerships with networks and leagues ranging from ESPN and NBC Sports to the NBA and UFC allowing the bar to have its own broadcast feed. Typically, there are four to six cameras strategically placed around the venue — though it can go as high as 12 — and Cosm controls which of its feeds is shown on the Dome’s screen.
Audio from the TV broadcast — in our case, it was ESPN’s ABC team on the call — serves as the voiceover for Cosm’s feed and cuts away to music for commercial breaks.
The end result is the immersive experience Cosm was aiming for, but it’s not without its kinks. Most notably is the Dome screen itself where the visuals in the center are nearly crystal clear, but the images get a little fuzzy and distorted around the edges where it curves. One fan on Saturday noted that the picture is good, but the resolution could be more precise.
And, of course, it’s more expensive than watching on your couch.
“I went to Tennessee. I’m used to going to the games,” said Scotty McClure, a 31-year-old Nashville native who was at Cosm with his sister and twin brother. “It’s an unbelievable experience, and this is closer to the experience of sitting on my couch. It’s like a hybrid. It’s a good sports bar. L.A. has terrible sports bars, so this is a better experience. … It’s like a mini version of the Sphere in Vegas.”
Terry emphasized the goal was never to replace your couch or your stadium seats; it was to provide a game-like space for those who don’t want to watch at home but can’t go to the stadium in person. In line with one of the arguments made to networks for the production rights, Terry says Cosm — with another location in Dallas and construction underway in Atlanta — is meant to complement the already-existing sports coverage and experience.
“We’re really not cannibalizing anything here; we’re efforting to be a net positive,” Terry said about adding to the sports ecosystem.
General admission for the Dome area is $22, but reserved seating in the Dome itself starts at $77 and go up from there, depending on the event and the specific seats. Several fans who bought the $22 tickets to initially check it out said they’d come back and splurge for reserved seating in the Dome, complete with table service.
“I kind of wish there were more Tennessee fans here, and I wish that there was like playing of the theme songs,” said Elyse Deleo, McClure’s 36-year-old sister. “But I mean, it’s great to feel like I’m like on the field, essentially.”
