Due to renovations decreasing seating capacity by 16,000, the entire stadium will be reseated for '19GETTY IMAGES
USC Senior Associate AD, COO & CFO Steve Lopes said that the school's budget for renovating L.A. Coliseum -- "originally stated" as $270M -- is "now around" $300M, according to J. Brady McCollough of the L.A. TIMES. Lopes said that USC has received $262M in "cash and pledges" from Trojan Athletic Fund members. USC also is owed $69M over 16 years by United Airlines in the "Coliseum naming rights deal," which begins in August '19. Lopes: "One of the biggest impacts has been the Rams. When they had the playoff run that went into January last year, that impacted about three weeks of construction time." McCollough notes for about 18 months, USC athletic officials have "personally engaged the most financially generous of their fan base, hoping to make the Coliseum Renovation Project palatable for each individual case." Today, USC will "move beyond its 6,000 or so" TAF members and begin a five-month-long "outreach process to contact general season-ticket holders" who have previously not paid the minimum $200 annual fee required to join the fund. Due to renovations "decreasing seating capacity by 16,000, the entire stadium will be reseated" for '19, leaving many to wonder if they will be left behind. General season-ticket holders will "receive a mailing in the coming days that breaks down the seating map by financial commitment." The best seats in the 100 level of the south side and 100 and 200 levels of the north side "require an annual donation of $3,000-$50,000 to the TAF and a Coliseum Restoration Gift of $500-$6,000." The second category of seats "about even with the end zones in the 100 and 200 levels require a $200-$1,000 donation and a $100 gift" (L.A. TIMES, 6/1).
