july2017

26 27 LOS ANGELES MEMORIAL COLISEUM THE GREATEST STADIUM IN THE WORLD T he Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was originally commissioned in 1921 as a memorial to L.A. veterans of World War I and, in 1968, was rededicat- ed to all U.S. veterans of the “Great War.”When it opened in June 1923 at a cost of $954,873, it was the largest venue in the city with a capacity of 75,144. On October 6th of that year, the first football game was played in the sta- dium - the University of Southern California defeated Pomona College 23-7 before a crowd of 12,836. In 1930, with the Olympics due in two years, the stadium was extended upward to seventy-nine rows with two tiers of tunnels, expanding the seating to 101,574. The stadium’s signature Olympic torch was also added above the peristyle at the east end of the stadium, and for a time, the facility was known as MEMORIAL COLISEUM LOS ANGELES