The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum has hosted University of Southern California football games for almost a century. A few months after the Coliseum opened in 1923, the Trojans began hosting football games in the stadium. Over the years, the Coliseum’s walls witnessed and recorded countless historic moments. As the Coliseum ascended into national legend, USC Football continued to be a reliable visitor, with Trojans fans flocking there every fall. Now that its prime has passed, USC paid to refurbish their home for football.
USC has started making a multi-million dollar renovation to the Los Angeles Coliseum since it obtained the master lease in the summer of 2013. Before USC, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission had the master lease according to Joe Furin, the General Manager of the Coliseum and Sports Arena.
“The facility is 92 years old and prior to the university taking over management in July of 2013, the facilities [has] been neglected. A lot of the infrastructure had not been kept up,” he said.
The Coliseum Commission has authorized USC to spend $70 million on the stadium in the next 10 years. The USC athletics program is currently focused on enhancing convenience and entertainment for fans during football games.
Representatives from USC athletics did an in-depth study about premium product options, infrastructure, and revenue projections. Other forms of research included visiting several sports organizations, says Mark Jackson, Senior Associate Athletic Director of USC Athletics.
“We’ve done financial modeling, we’ve brought in architects to look at design, so it’s been a lot of research,” said Jackson. “We visited 20 campuses or professional sports organizations. So we just gathered a lot of information and we’re still sharpening what our plan is going to be.”
One of the new amenities added during the 2014 football season was the 10 ‘premium’ suites at the eastern end zone. The athletics department created the suites to test a VIP-style game watching experience called the Peristyle Club and the Field Club.
“We launched a product called our End Zone suites and our Peristyle club,” Jackson said. “That was a temporary premium product to give us a sense of what people are willing to purchase to enjoy the game.”
The Field Club sit in the middle of the field suites, aligned behind the eastern football upright. The suites provide food and drinks for patrons. Jackson says the Field and Peristyle clubs have been profitable to USC.
“They were very, very well received and very, very well sold,” he said. “We have a great donor base, so I think that allows us to be optimistic.”
Near gates six and 19 are tailgating areas open to the public. These areas offer catering and TV monitors for fans, according Mark Jackson.
“People can go in there and watch other football games if they’re not tailgating, you have a place to go,” said Jackson. “That’s been well received.”
Concession stands also have a new menu, providing a variety of food for fans. General Manager Furin said that amenity was a challenge due to a lack of proper accommodations for cooking in the stadium. Despite the setback, USC wanted to let fans know the Coliseum was under new management, according to Furin.
“Here is an opportunity to offer different hot dogs, sausage products, whether it’s pizza, the burgers, different things. And we’ve added sushi, we brought in a number of other outside vendors,” he said. “We’re still a little constrained by not having the proper kitchen facility, which will be corrected down the road. But in the meantime, there were some things we could do to give a fresh look and taste to the place.”
Along with more variety on the menu, concession stands have received financial improvements, according to Mark Jackson.
“With that comes more tangible improvements such as [having] instituted a point of sales for the facility which now finally allows you to use your debit card or credit card at concession stands,” he said.
Despite its allegiance to USC football, the Coliseum hosted several other events throughout the years. Since its opening, the Coliseum has hosted the Dodgers playing in the World Series, and two Olympic Games. In July 1984, The National Historic Landmarks program made the Coliseum a national landmark. Another historical feature the Coliseum has instituted is the Court of Honor, a collection of plaques that commemorate people and events that contributed to the history of the stadium. The most recent inductee was Nelson Mandela, who spoke to 80,000 people in the Coliseum in 1990. He was inducted in May 2014, according to USC.
The Coliseum Commission still has the authority to decide who will be inducted into the Court of Honor. However, USC must pay for of the upkeep and maintenance of the display, according to the Court of Honor policy. Members of the Coliseum Commission failed to comment about USC obtaining the master lease of the stadium.
More long-term renovations are still in the development stages. For major changes, the Athletics program wants to enhance other components of the football program.
“It would look at possibly changing the seating capacity, it would look at improved audio/visual systems, football support structures, such as locker rooms, sports medicine, media relations,” said Jackson. “It’s a pretty big combination of things that will make the Coliseum current because right now, it’s a little outdated.”
Long-term renovations will include premium product, says Jackson. The athletic department plans to continue the end zone suites for the 2015 football season. Jackson says the end zone seating had been very memorable for their clients.
“For a lot of people, that’s the first time they’ve ever been on the field during a USC game,” he said. “To feel that closely connected to what’s happening during the game. I think that’s the biggest take away.”
History of the Court of Honor
According to the Coliseum Commission, people who have received national and international recognition are some of the many who have earned a plaque in the Court of Honor.