The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum opened on May 1, 1923, in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles as a memorial to World War I veterans. Designed by architects John and Donald Parkinson, the horseshoe-shaped stadium has served as one of the most versatile venues in American sports history, hosting everything from Olympic track and field to NFL championship games.
Beyond its athletic pedigree, the Coliseum holds a singular distinction: it hosted the Summer Olympics in 1932 and 1984, and is slated to do so again in 2028, which will make it the first stadium in history to host the Summer Games three times. Today it remains the home field of USC Trojans football, following a $315 million renovation completed in 2019 that modernized the historic bowl while preserving its iconic peristyle end.
Quick Answer
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum currently seats 77,500 fans, a figure set by the 2018-2019 renovation that rebuilt the seating bowl and added premium club areas. The stadium is a single continuous bowl (no traditional decks), divided into a lower field level, a mid-level club tier, and an upper tier reached by ramps and tunnels around the historic peristyle end.
Capacity Through the Decades
The Coliseum’s seating capacity has changed dramatically over its century of use. When it opened in 1923, it held 75,144 spectators. In 1930, with the 1932 Olympics approaching, the stadium was expanded upward to 79 rows of seats with two tiers of tunnels, pushing capacity to roughly 101,574, briefly making it one of the largest stadiums in the world.
That massive Olympic-era capacity held for decades through the Coliseum’s years as home to the NFL’s Rams, Raiders, and Chargers and college football’s UCLA Bruins. A 1964 renovation trimmed seating to around 93,000, and by the 2010s the figure was formally listed at 93,607 — still the largest football stadium in both the Pac-12 Conference and the NFL at the time. The 2018-2019 overhaul then reduced the bowl to today’s 77,500 in exchange for wider concourses, modern suites, and improved sightlines.
Seating Chart: Sections, Rows and Tiers
Unlike stadiums with distinct upper and lower decks, the Coliseum is built as one continuous bowl of roughly 93 rows per section, split informally into three tiers: rows 1-40 sit in the lower tier closest to the field, rows 41-70 make up the middle tier, and rows 71-93 form the upper tier nearest the rim and peristyle arch.
Seating runs around the horseshoe in numbered sections, with the lowest-numbered field-level sections (roughly sections 1-24) hugging the sideline and end zone closest to the action. The 300-level, which wraps the stadium’s upper rim from roughly 300A to 328B, carries more seats per row than any other level and offers the widest sweeping views of the bowl and the surrounding Exposition Park skyline. Premium club seating and suites, added in the 2019 renovation, sit in a mid-bowl band between the lower and upper tiers.
How Capacity Changes by Event
The 77,500 figure is the Coliseum’s standard football and general-admission capacity, used for USC Trojans games and most concerts and other ticketed events. Attendance can run higher for events that use standing-room, field, or overflow configurations not typical of a football Saturday.
The Coliseum’s all-time attendance record of 134,254 was set in 1963 for an appearance by evangelist Billy Graham, a figure that still stands today. More recently, a 2008 exhibition baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox drew a Guinness World Record baseball crowd of 115,300, and a 2017 Real Madrid vs. Manchester City soccer friendly pulled in 93,098 — both well above the current 77,500 seated capacity, since those events used field-level and standing configurations.
Planning Your Visit: Address, Parking, Tickets and Bag Policy
The Coliseum sits at 3911 South Figueroa Street in the Exposition Park area of Los Angeles, next to the California Science Center and the Natural History Museum. Because on-site parking is limited, the venue and Metro both encourage taking the Metro E Line to the Expo Park/USC station for most events, or purchasing advance parking passes for the Exposition Park and USC campus lots, which are priced and released separately for each event.
Tickets for USC football, concerts, and other events are sold through the Coliseum’s own box office and standard ticketing platforms; the venue is cashless, so gate purchases require a credit or debit card or mobile pay. A clear-bag policy is enforced at all gates: one clear plastic, vinyl, or PVC bag no larger than 12″ x 6″ x 12″, a one-gallon clear resealable bag, or a small hand-sized clutch is permitted, and all other bags — including backpacks and coolers — are turned away at security. For the current schedule, exact ticket prices, parking rates, and the full list of approved and prohibited items, check the official LA Memorial Coliseum website before you go.
A Century of Landmark Events
Since opening in 1923, the Coliseum has hosted an extraordinary range of history-making events, including the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics, Super Bowl I in 1967, Super Bowl VII in 1973, the 1959 World Series, and the 1960 Democratic National Convention where John F. Kennedy accepted his party’s presidential nomination.
Its list of former tenants reads like a survey of Los Angeles sports history, having hosted the Rams, Raiders, Chargers, Dodgers, and UCLA Bruins at various points before each moved to other venues. The stadium was designated a National Historic Landmark on July 27, 1984, one day before the opening ceremony of that year’s Olympic Games, cementing its status as both an architectural and cultural touchstone of the city.
Renovation and the Road to 2028
Between 2018 and 2019, the Coliseum underwent its first major upgrade in decades, a $315 million project that reduced seating from 93,607 to 77,500 while adding modern club areas, suites, and improved sightlines. The renovation preserved the stadium’s signature peristyle arch and torch, maintaining its historic character while bringing the venue up to contemporary standards.
With the 2028 Summer Olympics returning to Los Angeles, the Coliseum is preparing to make history once more as the first stadium ever to host three Olympic Games, a milestone that underscores its enduring role at the center of the city’s athletic and civic life. Current planning has the venue serving as one of the anchor sites for opening ceremonies and athletics, on top of its year-round role as USC’s home field.
LA Memorial Coliseum capacity and seating FAQs
What is the capacity of the LA Memorial Coliseum?
The Coliseum’s current seating capacity is 77,500, set during the 2018-2019 renovation. Before that project it seated 93,607, and at its largest — ahead of the 1932 Olympics — it held about 101,574.
Has the Coliseum’s capacity always been 77,500?
No. It opened in 1923 with 75,144 seats, was expanded to roughly 101,574 for the 1932 Olympics, settled around 93,000-93,607 for most of the late 20th century, and was reduced to today’s 77,500 in the 2019 renovation.
How is the Coliseum’s seating laid out?
The Coliseum is a single continuous bowl of about 93 rows per section rather than separate decks. Rows 1-40 form the lower tier, rows 41-70 the middle tier, and rows 71-93 the upper tier, with field-level sections closest to the sideline and the wraparound 300-level forming the highest rim.
What is the largest crowd ever recorded at the Coliseum?
The all-time attendance record is 134,254, set in 1963 for an appearance by evangelist Billy Graham. That figure exceeds the current 77,500 seated capacity because it involved field and overflow areas not used for standard football games.
Where is the LA Memorial Coliseum and how do I park?
The Coliseum is at 3911 South Figueroa Street in Exposition Park, next to the California Science Center. On-site parking is limited, so the venue recommends the Metro E Line to Expo Park/USC or advance parking passes for nearby Exposition Park and USC lots.
What is the Coliseum’s bag policy?
Guests may bring one clear plastic, vinyl, or PVC bag no larger than 12″ x 6″ x 12″, a one-gallon clear resealable bag, or a small hand-sized clutch. Backpacks, coolers, and non-clear bags are not permitted through security.
When did the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum open?
The Coliseum opened on May 1, 1923, as a memorial to Los Angeles County veterans of World War I.
Which teams have played at the Coliseum?
USC Trojans football currently calls the Coliseum home. Past tenants have included the Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, UCLA Bruins, and Los Angeles Dodgers.
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