Funding is coming from coliseum naming rights with United Airlines, as well as gifts and donationsgetty images
Workers on the L.A. Memorial Coliseum renovation are "scrambling to get the work done by Aug. 1 so the revamped venue will be ready" for football season, according to Kevin Smith of the L.A. DAILY NEWS. The upgrades being made by Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction and AECOM-Hunt are extensive and include "replacing every seat, adding aisles and a new seven-story structure on the coliseum’s south side to accommodate suites, loge boxes, club seats, a new concourse and a new press box." Additional improvements will "update the facility’s Wi-Fi technology, increase the number of concession stands, upgrade entry concourses, install new field and stadium lighting, add large video screens and replace the iconic venue’s aging electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems to meet current standards." Funding for the renovation is "coming from coliseum naming rights" with United Airlines, as well as gifts and donations. United "won the 16-year naming rights deal, so beginning in August the stadium will be known as United Airlines Memorial Coliseum." The price tag for the project, initially $270M, has since risen to $317M. Coliseum Senior Associate Dir of Facilities & Project Management Brian Grant said the "additional scope of work brought" the cost to that number. Hathaway Senior Manager of Community Engagement Theodora Oyie said, “We’ve had 1,765 people working on this project since we started on Jan. 2 of last year.” She added about 50% of the work is completed (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 2/7).
