The Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games (SCCOG) Thursday unveiled the architectural plan for a temporary addition to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in its bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The addition is to include amenities such as luxury suites, without altering the structure of the venue listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks.
The Coliseum is the only facility to host two Olympic Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies, two Super Bowls (including the first), a World Series and several significant entertainment, political and religious events.
Los Angeles is competing against Chicago to become the U.S. candidate for the 2016 Games.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said, “the Coliseum has been the site of incredible events for more than 80 years, but it never shines brighter than during the Olympic Games. In 2016 the newly designed Coliseum will glow spectacularly”.
The renderings revealed Thursday a $112 million (in today’s dollars) temporary enhancement that will add 204 luxury suites, sun shading, guest facilities, and a “dramatic” appearance to the grand stadium.
The design will preserve the Coliseum’s structural integrity and classic look both during and after the Games as the luxury suite superstructure will be removed once the Games are over.
Total cost of the addition includes installation of a track around the field and restoration of the building to pre-Games status following the Games.
Thirteen thousand of the 92,000 seats will be removed as part of the restoration of the track to surround the main field. The suite level will provide approximately 2,400 seats, which, with the inclusion of unused seating sections now in the Peristyle end, will result in a capacity of about 83,000 seats for the 2016 Games.
Should Los Angeles be selected the U.S. candidate, construction will begin in January 2016 and be completed prior to the start of the Games.
The superstructure will support 204 well-appointed 10 to 12-person luxury suites and associated facilities. According to SCCOG the design pays tribute to the tradition of the Olympics through a display of the rings, athletes and symbolic winding laurel that will circumnavigate the facility.
Barry Sanders, SCCOG Chairman said, “the Coliseum is a revered Olympic landmark and represents hallowed ground to athletes around the world. We are very proud to hold the Coliseum as a crown jewel of our bid alongside glimmering new venues including STAPLES Center, Honda Center, Galen Center and Home Depot Center”.
Sanders called the building a national monument in an interview with GamesBids.com. He said, “we didn’t want to touch it. You can’t, you shouldn’t. We wanted to respect its historic and iconic nature. This design stands for an innovative, high-tech, up-to-date and forward-looking Games with a deep bow to tradition. This stands for exactly what the bid stands for”.
When asked by GamesBids.com why a new stadium wouldn’t be built if Los Angeles becomes host city since the IOC tends to choose bids with new stadiums he said, “you got this, you go with it. How could you not offer it?” This will leave a legacy because it is guaranteed to be there after the Games, it’s an historical monument and can’t be torn down.
“In 2020 or 2025 people will remember this building as a legacy from the 2016 Games just as people today remember it from the 1984 Games even though it was used for the 1932 Games as well”, he told GamesBids.com.
The USOC Evaluation Commission will be in Los Angeles March 1 and 2 to inspect the city and hear presentations on the content of its bid book.
