Students should support Coliseum updates
In late October, USC officially announced a $270 million plan to renovate the Coliseum. Pending approval, renovations will begin at the end of the 2017 season to be completed for the 2019 season.
The renovations — which include replacing every seat; installing handrails; building a new press box, suites and luxury boxes; and upgrading Wi-Fi capacity in the stadium — will be the first since earthquake repairs in 1994 and the construction of a new press box in 1995. The renovations will more than fulfill USC’s commitment to $100 million in improvements to the Coliseum by 2054 and will benefit both the Trojan Family and greater Los Angeles in the long term.
The proposed improvements are not without controversy. The changes will reduce the number of seats from 93,607 to 77,500, and critics have pointed out that the renovations focus heavily on building new luxury suites that will benefit a small percentage of attendees. In addition, some consider a $270 million commitment to a stadium that USC only leases unnecessary when tuition hikes, faculty wages and costly construction of the USC Village are such hot topics on campus.
These concerns, however, are vastly outweighed by the benefits of the renovation. The Coliseum is the ninth-largest college football stadium in the country, the largest in the Pac-12, and is a nearly 100-years-old institution fundamentally tied to USC’s highest-revenue sport. Renovating the stadium reminds Trojans that, even in this post-Carroll era slump, the USC football program is still relevant.
Though there have been periods in USC’s history when the Coliseum would sell out, it is rare, and in the past several years USC has been averaging attendance well below capacity. Reducing the number of seats will make USC’s lease on the Coliseum more cost effective, and the stadium will still be larger than most in college football.
Even though these spots are in part being replaced by more luxury seating, the stadium stands to improve for everybody regardless. Right now, luxury tents stand on the field as an eyesore, and the press box has been criticized as having an inadequate view of the field. Though more luxury seating — including “suites, loge boxes, club seats, a new concourse and a new press box,” according to the USC Ripsit blog — could mean fewer regular season tickets, streamlining the Coliseum’s layout stands to improve the aesthetic without impacting attendance, given current numbers.
The high cost of the renovation will also not negatively impact students or University academics. According to a press release, the Athletics Department will fund the project entirely “from capital gifts, sponsorship revenue, non-USC events at the Coliseum and donor naming opportunities.” Student tuition will be unaffected, as will overall University funds that will go toward students’ education.
Beyond USC, the renovations will make Los Angeles even more relevant as a sports city, which could be increasingly important in the next decade. In September, Mayor Eric Garcetti delivered a bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics to the International Olympic Committee in person. Given the role of USC housing and the Coliseum in the 1984 Olympics, a renovation of the Coliseum combined with increased housing in the new USC Village would ensure L.A. is a top contender.
A new and improved Coliseum would also draw attention to L.A. as a home for an NFL team. In an interview with NBC, Athletic Director Pat Haden said that University officials have discussed the Coliseum as an NFL stadium with at least one professional team, and that even before renovations the stadium could serve as a team’s temporary location, which would likely lead to a more permanent deal. Getting an NFL team involved would both cut costs and add to Los Angeles’s legitimacy as an Olympics host, as well as create another huge source of revenue and entertainment for the city.
The Coliseum is a long-standing symbol of USC, an icon central to the legendary football program that generates massive revenue for the University — as such, it is not a waste for the University to spend a considerable amount on renovations. Not only will these improvements help USC in the long run, but they will also add to the notion that Los Angeles is a world-class sports city. The potential economic benefits are far greater than the reduced capacity or the inconvenience it may cause for just a few years.
Daily Trojan Fall 2015 Editorial Board