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: What Is the Coliseum’s Capacity?
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum currently seats 77,500 fans. That figure dates to the 2018-2019 renovation, which rebuilt the seating bowl, added premium club areas, and reduced capacity from the pre-renovation total of 93,607.
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.
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.
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. For the latest ticketing, event, and visitor information, the official LA Memorial Coliseum website is the authoritative source.
la memorial coliseum capacity 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.
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.
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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