The ribbon cutting ceremony has taken place to mark the newly refurbished United Airlines Field at the LA Coliseum, where dramatic structural and aesthetic improvements have given a new lease of life for the 96-year-old venue.
The challenging 18-month renovation project, which had to be carried out around USC Trojan and LA Rams football games, included reducing total capacity from 92,348 to 77,500 – each of those being a new seat, complete with cup holder, installed during the rebuild.
DLR Group designed the renovation, while the construction was a joint venture of Hathaway Dinwiddie and AECOM Hunt
Premium suites and hospitality have been added including the seven-story Scholarship Club Tower with a state-of-the-art press box, Founder’s Level suites and rooftop deck for watching football and other events.
Many concession stands have received a facelift, and new TVs and speakers now enable fans to watch the game while they’re getting food or visiting the restroom.
For the home team, the locker room has been updated with new lockers, flooring, paint and graphics, however the visiting team will not see such comforts.
Enhanced wi-fi and cellular network service has been installed, and 9,600ft of new handrails have been installed for added safety purposes.
Further upgrades are planned with renovations to the stadium’s restrooms in the works. The project aims to extend the life of the iconic Coliseum, which is the only stadium in the world to have hosted the World Series, Super Bowl and Olympic Games. The lease now runs until 2111 and will be hosting its third Olympics in 2028 – the only venue to ever do so. The NFL’s LA Rams will play one more season at the Coliseum before moving to their Inglewood home in 2020.
Here are some of the numbers behind the renovation project:
Over 2,600 people worked on the privately funded project
More than 800,000 hours of labor went into the project
46,000 cubic yards of dirt was exported
470 truckloads of concrete was poured
Over 4,618 gallons of paint used
1,740 tons of rebar and 2,131 tons of structural steel was installed
More than 600 television screens have been located throughout the Coliseum’s public areas
Nearly 100 new automated ticket scanners at all Coliseum entrances will facilitate more efficient entry for fans
The Coliseum is a Zero Waste facility, diverting more than 90% of refuse from landfills to recycling and composting
