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3911 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, California 90037
Telephone: (213) 748-6136
Football Stadium (opened 1923)
Seats 92,000 |
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About the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
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Is there a more recognizable facade than the peristyle end of the Memorial
Coliseum in Los Angeles? Adorned by Robert Graham's monumental bronze
statues, created in honor of the 1984 Olympic Games, the Coliseum was
commissioned in 1921 as a memorial to veterans of World War I and rededicated to veterans of all wars in 1968. It also supported a future Olympic Games in Los Angeles. It opened in May 1923 and
became home to USC football and later, UCLA football. The opening
ceremonies and track & field competitions of the 1932 Olympic Games put the
Coliseum into the ranks of the world's elite stadia.
Designed by John and Donald Parkinson, the original bowl seated 76,000 on
benches at a cost of $954,873. It was enlarged to hold 101,574 for the
1932 Games and set a football-game-record 105,236 for the 1947 USC-Notre
Dame clash. UCLA used the Coliseum as its home field from 1929-81, the Los
Angeles Rams of the NFL played in the Coliseum from 1946-79 and the NFL
Raiders played there from 1982-94. The first NFL Pro Bowl was played in the
Coliseum in 1951, two Super Bowls (the first in 1967 and the seventh in
1973) were held there and it was even the home field for the Los Angeles
Dodgers when they moved from Brooklyn, from 1958-61 (the 1959 World Series
was played in the Coliseum). The enormous crowd of 92,706 during the '59
Series still stands as a record for the most fans ever to see a single
World Series game. The largest crowd for any event was 134,254 for a Billy
Graham religious assembly in 1963.
In 1984, the Coliseum became the first stadium to ever be used for the
opening ceremonies and track & field competitions of two Olympic Games. The
venue was designated a California State and National Historic Landmark in
1984 as well. Prior to the 1993 season, a major renovation was undertaken,
removing the running track and lowering the field level by 11 ½ feet. About
8,000 new seats (14 rows) were added at the floor level. However, the
facility is also proposed to host track & field and the ceremonies for the
Games of the XXXI Olympiad in 2016.
Earthquake damage in January 1994 turned into $96 million worth of repairs
and improvements with a new press box added in 1995.
Today, it continues as the home field of the USC Trojans football team. It has a capacity for football of 92,000. The Coliseum is also a popular site for international soccer matches, and local film studios.
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Quick Facts |
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The basics:
The Coliseum seats 92,000 in a bowl shape, rising up from the field
level in a continuous curve. There are about 25,000 seats between the
goal lines for football.
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Location and parking:
The historic venue is located in Exposition Park in the southern end
of downtown Los Angeles, adjacent to the more recently-completed Los
Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. It is accessed from the Vermont Street exit off the Santa Monica (10) Freeway (with turns
at Jefferson onto Figueroa from Hoover, or at Martin Luther King, Jr.
Boulevard from Vermont). It is also just a quarter-mile west of the
Harbor (110) Freeway; use the Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard exit.
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Management:
The Coliseum is owned and operated by the Los Angeles Coliseum
Commission under the direction of Interim General Manager John Sandbrook. For
information about facility rental, please contact Jon Lee, marketing director, at (213) 765-6357 or by fax at (213) 746-9346.
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Technical information:
The natural-grass field measures 324 feet wide by 680 feet long. There
is excellent lighting for evening events, sufficient for television
use. There are 92,000 permanent seats in the bowl, but USC places
bleachers just east of the end zone and reduces the capacity to 75,000 for most home games.
There are three locker rooms, all under the west (closed) end: home
(8,160 sq.ft.), visitors (3,320 sq.ft.) and a smaller room for
officials (2,200 sq.ft.).
The Coliseum is part of the 17-acre Exposition Park complex, which
includes numerous museums and gardens in addition to the Coliseum and
Sports Arena. The Coliseum offers a large conference room in the
peristyle end for meetings and there is ample space to erect temporary
hospitality facilities.
There is a 1995-installed, two-level press box atop the southern
sideline, with facilities for both print and broadcast media.
Spectator amenities include about 20,000 parking spaces in and around
Exposition Park, including lots on the USC campus and the Shrine
Auditorium; a main box office with eight windows and seven portable
booths; 62 permanent concession lines and up to 26 additional,
portable concession stands; a first aid station and two giant
scoreboards above the peristyle end, one for text (an 89 millimeter LED board measuring 37 by 19 feet) and
one capable of video replay (34 by 44 feet).
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