Ball 3

This is still a work in progress, but my renderings are about 95% complete. I've written about most aspects of these images in  December  and  April  if you need further explanation. Although there are still a few minor details that I need to clean up, comments, criticism, and feedback are appreciated.   Overhead view of the Coliseum. Note the flex area (cardinal sections) in the west upper endzone. Also note the centered field, the endzone extensions, and field clubs. Direct view of new premium seating areas.  View of west endzone. Note the "Flex Area" in the upper bowl, and the seat extension that brings fans closer to the field. View of east endzone and peristyle. Note two new scoreboards (part of USC's proposal) and the seat extension. View of field from near the northeast videoboard. Note that the field is centered, but the endzone extension brings fans much closer. View of new premium seating areas and the new scoreboard...

I recently wrote a rambling, 2,000 word, mostly critical review of USC’s proposal to renovate the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. However, it isn’t fair to simply sit back and criticize carefully-thought out plans without giving feasible suggestions. There have been many Coliseum renovation plans presented before, but the vast majority have been entirely unrealistic or too expensive . In addition, previous plans haven’t viewed the Coliseum in the same way that the USC Athletic Department seemingly does - as a historic stadium in need of a general facelift and a few modern amenities. Thus, I set out to create an alternative that accomplishes everything that USC’s proposal does, but in a more aesthetically pleasing and flexible way. *I should note that I’m not an architect. I am someone who has traveled to see approximately 70 professional and college stadiums and who has a near-encyclopedic memory of hundreds of stadiums around the world. My drawings may not be 100% to scale, bu...

*Before I begin this review, it should be noted that my comments are in regards to the renderings and plans released by USC on October 29th. Architectural drawings have likely progressed or changed since this date.* On October 29th, USC unveiled their proposal for a comprehensive renovation of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. With an estimated cost of $270 million and a scheduled completion in 2019, USC’s plan would begin a modernization process for the stadium that first opened in 1923. The renovated Coliseum would place a new suite/club tower on the south side of the Coliseum, restore the historic peristyle, replace all seats, add new aisles, and build 2 new video boards in the east corners. In this post, I’ll take a look at the good, the bad, the ugly, and the unanswered aspects of the planned renovation. THE GOOD -The peristyle would be restored to more closely resemble its original design. The peristyle is the most prominent visual feature of the Coliseum, but in r...

A frequent topic of conversation at USC games this season has been the school’s plans for renovating the Coliseum. With the athletic department sending out a questionnaire to donors and season ticket holders this past summer, many people have become concerned about the possibility of personal seat licenses (PSL’s) being used to finance the improvements. USC, under its agreement with the city, county, and state governments, is required to spend at least $70 million on improvements to the Coliseum. However, in looking at other stadiums that have recently been renovated in the PAC-12, it becomes clear that this number will likely be much bigger. The University of Washington spent $280 million for a gut renovation of Husky Stadium that opened last season. The Rose Bowl spent $170 million on renovations that were largely tied to infrastructure and premium seating. The Coliseum is in worse condition than both of these venues were before they began their projects. In the past decade, c...

Mayor Garcetti’s recently announced Great Streets Initiative got me thinking about how Los Angeles uses its streets compared to other urban cities. While the region has some long, important thoroughfares (Wilshire, Sunset, Figueroa, and PCH immediately come to mind), few would argue that they are on the same level of the Champs Elysees or the Mall in Washington DC. LA’s major boulevards often have great settings and go through interesting neighborhoods, but an important ingredient that makes streets great is missing - place . Like pretty much any public problem, both the public and the private sectors are to blame. Let’s look at where they’ve fallen short and what they can do to improve our streets: More of this. The Public Sector - Lack of public space . Look at Wilshire, Sunset, Figueroa, and Pacific Coast Highway on google maps and you’ll see that these 4 major thoroughfares combined have only 2 major parks along their entire stretch - MacArthur Park on Wilshire and Exposi...