The completion of a $315M renovation has transformed the 96-year-old L.A. Memorial Coliseum from "ravaged to ravishing," according to Helene Elliott of the L.A. TIMES. The "wide concourse and new concession stands are welcome, and the views from the 1923 Club on the rooftop are dazzling." Every fan will "benefit from enhancements made during the two-year process." Some "aren’t obvious, such as improvements to the electrical, plumbing, and WiFi systems." In addition, "crumbling concrete that made steps hazardous in many places has been replaced." In many places stair treads are "deeper, providing more leg room," while stairs in the aisles were "given a non-slip coating and handrails were installed." Every seat in the stadium is "new and wider and is equipped with a cupholder." Capacity will be 77,500, down from 92,348. Signs on the tunnels were "added to help fans find newly numbered seats, and new video boards and more than 600 TV screens will make it easy to follow games." There will be "more concession stands and the restrooms will continue to undergo improvement during the season." Elliott notes 21 of 22 suites at the Coliseum have been sold at prices that ranged from $7.5-10M with a "commitment of 20 years" (L.A. TIMES, 8/16).
BEHIND THE SCENES: POPULAR MECHANICS' Tim Newcomb wrote the renovation "required architects, building engineers, and sound engineers to revamp the modernity of the stadium while creating a brand-new, seven-story premium tower without losing a single piece of the venue's historic stone facade." DLR Group, which led the design for the renovation, used the "template of the existing two-story press box," in a way to "carve the new 235,000 square feet of space into the existing bowl, touching the existing press box but not eliminating the historic feel of a bowl originally built in a park, and certainly not altering the building's famed facade." The L.A. Coliseum's National Historic Landmark designation "did place limitations on the design, requiring the existing facade to remain and capping the height of any additions to no taller than the 101 feet the press box stood above the street" (POPULARMECHANICS.com, 8/15).
