Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has brought a flood of fans and attendees to venues around the world. On the first of a six-night stretch at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the Swifties packed the streets in their glitter and glam, but they weren’t the only ones surrounding the stadium that night.
Vendors lined up with food carts, coolers and merchandise, trying to take advantage of the large crowds to sell their products. They often went unnoticed by the large groups of people, but the vendors outside of the Taylor Swift concert stood in amazement at the number of people who had descended on SoFi Stadium.
(Ringo Chiu / For De Los)
It is common at big events to encounter vendors selling food and printed shirts. This time around, the must-have item was a pink cowgirl hat. Some were accessorized with feathers while others had jewels and gems.
For 19-year-old Manuel Padilla, it was his first time trying to sell outside of an event at SoFi Stadium. Padilla is a student at Cal State Dominguez Hills who is studying business administration and entrepreneurship. He said he saw some social media videos of previous Taylor Swift shows where vendors were selling pink hats and he thought that it might be a good idea to try it.
“I see a lot of people wearing the hats,” he said. “I got here a little late, but there’s a lot of vendors and I think people like the hat.”
Street vendor Manuel Padilla sells pink hats.
(Ringo Chiu / For De Los)
Padilla was committed to selling his hats. He taped a bright pink poster to himself that read, “pink hats.” At one point, security came up to Padilla and told him to move locations because he was too close to a venue entry.
Sabina Lopez, a veteran vendor for the last 30 years, said she sells her bacon-wrapped hot dogs at most SoFi events. She said that her night was slow in comparison to some other events she’d been at, such as soccer games or the Grupo Firme concert.
“I don’t know which singer it is, but I always come to events,” Lopez said. “I stay from when people come in until the last people leaves.”
Lopez said she usually spends around $200 buying all the material and supplies to sell for one night. She said depending on the crowd there are times when she completely sells out but there are others when she doesn’t make back the money she’s invested.
Street vendors sell hot dogs outside of SoFi Stadium.
(Ringo Chiu / For De Los)
Gregoria Peña Medina had a white cooler full of ice, beers and water. She also did not know who Taylor Swift was but said regardless of whether she knew her songs, her main objective was to sell her drinks and make it home safely.
“Since there are a lot of young people, well, they don’t drink and what I sell is beer and water,” Medina said.
Medina has another full-time job and said when she has a day off she goes out to SoFi to make some extra money. She only started a few months ago out of need.
Street vendor Gregoria Peña Medina waits for customers as she sells water and sodas.
(Ringo Chiu / For De Los)
Taylor Swift’s six sold-out concerts in Inglewood will be a busy time for vendors as fans are expected to be out in full force every night.
De Los reporter Andrea Flores contributed to this report.