Renovated Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Ready For 2019 Football Season
August 15, 2019 | Football, USC Athletics, Features
Among improvements that fans attending football games at the Coliseum in 2019 will enjoy:
- New seats with cup holders are in place throughout the stadium, including a large portion on the north and south sides with increased legroom and additional aisles for easier ingress/egress.
 - There are handrails on all aisles and anti-slip coating on aisle stairs.
 - A new technology infrastructure has been built, highlighted by a complete stadium-wide Wi-Fi system.
 - The new seven-story Scholarship Club Tower on the stadium's south side, fronted by a ribbon videoboard, houses suites, loge boxes, club seats, a new concourse with wider lower vomitories and new concession stands, a new press box and the rooftop 1923 Club (with its 360-degree view of the Los Angeles basin).
 - The colorful mural of a golden sun and bright blue sky on the ceiling of the iconic east-end peristyle's main archway, painted in 1969 by late artist Heinz Rosien, was restored to its original luster.
 - Damaged tiles throughout the peristyle were repaired.
 - Nearly 100 new automated ticket scanners at all Coliseum entrances will facilitate more efficient entry for fans.
 - Existing concession stands throughout the Coliseum have been upgraded, as will some restrooms during the season.
 - Many new food choices will be available.
 - More than 600 television screens have been located throughout the Coliseum's public areas and they will show not only the stadium's current game but games throughout the nation.
 - Game broadcast audio will air in concession and restroom areas.
 - New graphics and branding have been installed throughout the Coliseum's exterior and interior.
Earlier in the renovation, new videoboards and scoreboards and high-end LED lighting were installed and the sound system was modified.
The plaza at the peristyle is named the Julia and George Argyros Plaza, while the press box is the Otis Booth Press Box.
Seating capacity is now 77,500 (from 92,348).
"We are excited to unveil the renovated Coliseum to our fans," said USC athletic director Lynn Swann. "There will be something new and improved for every fan, enhancing everyone's experience of coming to the Coliseum and cheering their Trojan football team. We are delighted that the renovation was able to preserve the stadium's historic integrity while at the same time creating a state-of-the-art facility.
"This has been a massive undertaking that required the support and cooperation of so many people, including USC's Board and administration, the Coliseum Commission, and Exposition Park and local government officials. We are very appreciative of our fans and season ticket holders, as well as the Coliseum Founders and many Trojan Athletic Fund members who so generously backed this project so that no public money was used. We also are grateful to United Airlines for its support in naming the field while continuing to honor our veterans. And we especially want to acknowledge our talented design team and the superhuman around-the-clock efforts of the construction crew that delivered this project on budget and on time under a very tight construction schedule."
The ribbon is cut! #FightOn pic.twitter.com/AFriZ8MI3n
— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) August 15, 2019
DLR Group designed the renovation, while the construction was a joint venture of Hathaway Dinwiddie and AECOM Hunt.
Many of the 2,600-plus union construction workers, including veterans, came from the local community, with more than two-thirds living in Los Angeles County. Small business owners, including those owned by women, veterans and minorities, earned contracts worth more than $40 million from the project.
More than 800,000 hours of labor went into the project. During the renovation, 46,000 cubic yards of dirt was exported, 470 truckloads of concrete was poured, 1,740 tons of rebar and 2,131 tons of structural steel was installed and 4,618 gallons of paint was applied.
The renovation was privately funded by USC and, under the guidance of the Los Angeles Conservancy, preserves the Coliseum's historic nature. The renovated Coliseum is the crown jewel of the renaissance of Exposition Park, along with the new Banc of California Stadium and the under-construction Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.
Coliseum events provide part-time jobs for 1,700 people, many from the local community. Under the direction of USC Sustainability, the Coliseum is a nationally-recognized Zero Waste facility, diverting more than 90 percent of refuse from landfills to recycling and composting.
With the renovation now complete, USC has information available for fans regarding transit, parking, tailgating, stadium access and seating for the 2019 season. See details below.
USC has been a tenant in the Coliseum since the stadium opened in 1923 as a memorial to World War I veterans.
USC began managing the Coliseum in 2013 and two years later it announced plans to renovate and restore the stadium. New field and stadium lighting was installed for the 2016 season. New videoboards and scoreboards throughout the stadium were in place for the 2017 season, replacing the boards that sat atop the peristyle and thereby restoring the iconic peristyle to the stadium's original design. Work began on the Scholarship Club Tower after the 2017 football season and continued throughout the 2018 season. New seats with increased legroom were added on the south side of the stadium in 2018, along with handrails on south side aisles.
USC opens its 2019 season with a 7:30 p.m. PT non-conference game against Fresno State on Aug.31 in the Coliseum. For tickets, go to USCTrojans.com/tickets.
Prior to that USC-Fresno State game, there will be two public events in the Coliseum: the USC Football Fall Showcase on Aug. 17 (featuring a scrimmage, team autographs, 10-, 25- and 50-year anniversary team recognition, Scholarship Club Tower tours and appearances by the Trojan Marching Band, Song Girls and Traveler) and the Los Angeles Rams will host the Denver Broncos on Aug. 24 in a pre-season game.
TRANSIT OPTIONS
Because of limited parking options in Exposition Park, fans are encouraged to use public transit options to get to the Coliseum, including Metro's Expo Line rail and Silver Line park and ride (from the Harbor Gateway Transit Center), as well as ridesharing services.Fans who drive are encouraged to carpool. Those arriving from the north via the 110 Freeway should exit at Exposition Blvd., those arriving from the south via the 110 Freeway should exit at Martin Luther King Blvd. (or at 39th St. if in the Express Lane) and those arriving from the east or west via the 10 Freeway should exit at Vermont St., and follow the signs to park.
Exposition Blvd. both eastbound and westbound between Bill Robertson Ln. and Figueroa St. will close starting 1 hour before kickoff (both directions re-open 45 minutes after the game's end).
PARKING
Parking in Coliseum Lots 4, 5, 6 on the south, on the South Lawn of the Natural History Museum, in the Exposition Park Visitor Parking Structure to the east of the stadium is reserved for existing pass holders. Those lots, which open up at 8 a.m. on USC game days, are not available for general public parking. There will be limited public parking in the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art underground South Parking Structure on the west side of the stadium, accessible southbound on Bill Robertson Ln. from Exposition Blvd.Fans without passes are encouraged to park on the USC campus and walk through Exposition Park to the Coliseum. Available USC on-campus lots are located on the north side of Jefferson Blvd. near the Shrine Auditorium, on the south side of Jefferson Blvd. near Vermont Ave. and on either side of Figueroa St. near the Galen Center, as well as in the Grand Avenue Parking Center (Grand Ave. and Jefferson Blvd.), Downey Way Structure (Vermont Ave. and Downey Way), Flower Street Structure (Exposition Blvd. and Figueroa St.) and Royal Street Structure (south side of Jefferson Blvd. near the Shrine Auditorium). Parking in the Grand Avenue Parking Center, Downey Way Structure and Royal Street Structure can be reserved in advance at usc.clickandpark.com. Parking in USC lots, which open at 6 a.m. on Trojan game days, costs $25 on a first-come, first-served basis.
RV parking is not available in Exposition Park or the USC campus.
Left turns into parking lots or structures are not permitted on game day. Bill Robertson Lane will have limited pedestrian access during USC games.
TAILGATING
Tailgating areas in Exposition Park are limited. Trojan Fan Fest, including the Ralphs Ultimate Tailgate Experience (available with product purchases at Ralphs), will be in Christmas Tree Lane.Tailgate Guys offers turn-key, hassle-free tailgating packages in Christmas Tree Lane. For information, go to tailgateguys.com/home/usc.
Tailgating is allowed on the USC campus; groups must reserve a spot. There also is the Trojan Family Game Day Experience in Alumni Park on campus. No tailgating is allowed in the USC Village. For campus tailgating information, go to gameday.usc.edu.
The United Coliseum Clubs, located near Gates 12, 19 and 33, feature food, beer and wine service. All United Coliseum Clubs are accessible once gates open except for Club 33, which opens 30 minutes prior to kick-off. Entrance for all Coliseum Clubs is reserved exclusively for Trojan Athletic Fund members. Club 33 is located on the peristyle plaza and provides field viewing throughout the game.
STADIUM ENTRY AND SEATING
There are 6 main entry gates into the Coliseum (Gates 1, 4, 8, 19, 23 and 28), each with new automated ticket scanners for easier entry. Gates open two hours prior to kickoff. Trojan Athletic Fund members with a TAF logo on their ticket can use dedicated TAF entry gates at Gates 18 and 33.There is a new numbering system in the seating area, with each section divided into the 100s (below the lower vomitory), 200s (between the lower and upper vomitories) and 300s (above the upper vomitory). A seat in section 108, therefore, would be in the lower rows of section 8. New wayfinding signage will assist fans to their seating areas.
Trojan Athletic Fund members attending the TAF pre-game party at the peristyle end of the Coliseum should enter at Gate 33 (it opens 3 hours prior to kickoff).
Fans are encouraged to enter the stadium early. All fans will go through metal detector screening. A "clear bag" policy is enforced; for information, go to lacoliseum.com/beclear. Smoking and smoking implements are prohibited inside the Coliseum.
Pre-installed cushions for seat backs and bottoms can be ordered at order.seatbacks.com/trojanseats.
