By Emilie St. John
Contributing Writer
INGLEWOOD — The Los Angeles Rams kicked off a block party in celebration of NFL Draft weekend April 23.
Dubbed “Ramschella” the team welcomed fans to their block for an immersive experience, retail pop-up and fan fair, a family-friendly space featuring carnival-style rides and games.
This is the third year the team hosted the event at Hollywood Park, which houses SoFi Stadium, the home of the team.
Fans were able to enter the Zillow Draft House that featured a branded living room where fans could feel what it’s like to be drafted, a small-scale turf football field, and a special retail pop-up to purchase the latest Rams merchandise.
Attendees experienced carnival-style rides and games at the Fan Fair and enjoyed branded experiences on Main Street.
Fans were excited as they descended upon the 300-acre campus to enjoy the festivities.
“This is a great way to get the community behind the team as we wait for the start of the season,” Tony Anderson said.
Nick Hamilton, owner of NiteCast Media who covers the Rams, shared the importance of the organization incorporating the fans into the draft weekend experience.
“The Rams and Zillow truly spared no expense in order to show their fans a great experience that will be remembered for years to come,” Hamilton said. “It was really cool to have the carnival vibe and the Draft House was amazing for fans to really feel like they were at the actual NFL Draft and get some awesome Rams merch.”
Proceeds from the sale of tickets to the ferris wheel and other activations will benefit the Rams Foundation, which supports access, equity and community programs across Los Angeles.
On draft day, the team’s first round draft pick was Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson who was the overall number 13 pick.
Inglewood resident and longtime Rams fan Jason Miller reacted to Simpson’s selection over other projected favorites.
“[Ty] Simpson was predicted to go late first round and the Rams could’ve traded down and got more picks and still got him,” Miller said. “The Rams need a deep threat wide receiver and USC’s Makai Lemon was available and favored by fans. Instead he went to conference rival Philadelphia.”
Rams head coach Sean McVay went viral for his reaction to the team selecting Simpson and explained why his “game face” isn’t an indicator of any resentment.
“Well, there were some other things I was grumpy about that you just navigate, normally,” McVay said. “But I think the main thing was you just wanted to make sure that I would have been stoic by nature anyways, just based on the respect for Matthew, because it’s a unique situation.
“You get a chance to be able to take a player that you like at a really important position, but you don’t want it to be minimized or misunderstood in terms of what this means in terms of our investment and our commitment to Matthew for as long as he wants to continue to play,” McVay added. “So you’re kind of teetering that line and clearly, I came off a little grumpier than normal.”
The Rams will open the 2026 season playing in Australia on Sept. 11 against the San Francisco 49ers.
Emilie St. John is a freelance journalist covering the areas of Carson, Compton, Inglewood and Willowbrook. Send tips to her at emiliesaintjohn@gmail.com.
