Iconic Los Angeles Coliseum, former home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is facing insolvency and could be handed over to the University of Southern California.
It’s a tough situation for the facility first built to honor World War I veterans. The state doesn’t have the money to maintain the facility, and the cash reserves for the Coliseum are running low. USC wants to take control of the stadium and have pledged tio put $70 into stadium improvements. The stadium is currently managed by a commission (with members appointed by the state, the county and the city) that’s proven to be unable to implement a workable financial plan to maintain the facility. Hence the move to lease it to USC, but that move is being met with resistance by some in the local community.
The Coliseum opened in June 1923 and over the years served as home to multiple Olympic games, the NFL, Super Bowls and Southern Cal football. The Dodgers played there in the 1958-1961 seasons until Dodger Stadium was completed. It was an unusual baseball venue; the left-field fence was only 251 feet out, leading to some memorable home runs by Wally Moon, whose predilection for popping fies over the fence led the term “Moon shot” entering the baseball lexicon.
Photo by Mark Cryan taken at a commemorative 2008 game between the Dodgers and Boston Red Sox.
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