About the Episode
In this episode of Corralling the Chaos, Laura Johnson — Senior Director of Game Presentation and Live Events for the San Francisco 49ers — pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to turn a football game into a live experience for 70,000 people. Nineteen seasons in, Laura runs a 275-person operation at Levi’s Stadium, coordinating everything from video boards and player introductions to security briefings and broadcast timing. She talks through her six-hour game day runway, why fan expectations have climbed so sharply post-pandemic, and why she left paper rundowns behind for good. If you’ve ever wondered how a show that big stays on the rails, this one’s for you.
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Takeaways
Takeaway 1: Game presentation isn’t a side show — it’s a full production operation with hundreds of moving parts. Laura’s scope covers every element of the live experience, and she’s accountable for all of it. That means coordinating across football operations, corporate partnerships, entertainment teams, and broadcast — in real time, with no ability to pause and regroup. “If it moves and makes sound on game day, that’s ultimately my job to turn a football game into a complete live experience for 70,000 people.”
Takeaway 2: The work starts hours before anyone finds their seat. Laura arrives at the stadium six to six and a half hours before kickoff, and the runway fills up fast: entertainment team check-ins, rehearsals, security meetings, broadcast briefings. “I usually roll in around six-thirty for a one o’clock kickoff, and things start moving fast from there.” By the time fans walk through the gates, most of the day’s critical decisions are already made.
Takeaway 3: Fans expect more than they used to, and the bar keeps moving. Laura’s been in the league long enough to watch game presentation change completely. What felt big early in her career now looks small next to what technology makes possible — and audiences have noticed. “Game presentation was so different back then… now it’s so heavily experiential. People are craving live experiences now more than they ever have.” Meeting that expectation every single week is its own operational challenge.
Takeaway 4: Nothing runs exactly to the rundown — which is exactly why the rundown has to be live. Laura is direct about why she moved her team off paper: static documents can’t keep up with a show that changes by the minute, and rekeying notes between versions burns time nobody has. “Nothing goes according to the rundown ever… online scripting allows everyone to have their own notes and adapt in real-time.” When every stakeholder is working from the same live script, adjusting mid-show stops being a scramble.
Running your show off paper rundowns and hoping nothing changes? See how live scripting works in LASSO at lasso.io/demo.
