It was 2013 when Pat Haden asked fans to support USC taking control of the Coliseum. It was perfectly reasonable for USC to formulate a renovation plan and then take some time to raise money. And of course the Rams have delayed any desire to start a renovation.
But as this season at the Coliseum ended Saturday, I cannot help but note how little USC’s done to improve anything or even some minor facelifts that make things more tolerable for the fans until the actual renovation begins. USC did not hesitate to make security a priority this season, which caused longer wait times to enter the stadium. So why not a few things to make things more comfortable or modern? Like improving the Wi-Fi or replacing these old TV monitors?
Anything governed by Pat Haden should be looked at closely, because he has questionable, character.
Nice tube! Flow, do you have the same model at home?
He took the picture so he could buy one on sale.
Magnavox?
It’s Music City…
You don’t need Wi-Fi or a monitor to watch a game being played on the field. Come on, man.
But you do want good monitors to watch the game while waiting in line for water that will never come.
I love watching the brainless rah rah’s knee jerk reaction of defending the lazy, stupid, visionless, incompetent paid employees over the fans.
Think about it.
Really? We need better TVs to watch while standing in line with friends to order food when most of us tailgate heavily and don’t need nor even want to buy food inside the stadium while the game is on?
Never in my life after over 100 Coliseum visits have i heard anyone even mention the TV monitors.
SW is one strange dude. Nuts.
Why not? When you have to stand in line for 20 minutes to use the Mens Room or buy food/drinks why wouldn’t you want to watch what’s happening on the field??
Any idiot who has to stand 20 mins to take a whizz in the Coli is obviously in the wrong line. That’s just an urban legend, unless you happen to be one of those idiots.
having to stand in a long line does not make one an idiot… but you probably already knew that, right?
Come on, that monitor is sweet. Didn’t you see the built-in DVD player.
Someone with foresight would have put in the Rams deal future rent in their stadium while a new Coliseum is built.
That was not part of the job description, and why they hired Haden.
100% behind you on this gripe, Scott. The user experience went down this season, not up.
Trust me – facilities matter. Ours are the are the best. People want to bring their children to clean, bright, happy places
USC, in Los Angeles where there’s unlimited other things to do 50 miles in every direction, has substantially better attendance than the ORE Ducks do, even when our teams are mediocre.
Oregon constantly fills every seat…unlike SC.
It’s amazing with such devotion, the Ducks haven’t been able to win one single football national championship in over a hundred years.
I’d say Duck fans deserve better, but now ORE is back at the very bottom of the barrel, a new uniform every week apparently worthless in the quest for a championship.
I, for one, am happy to see them fall. I never much cared for their “johnny come lately” swagger…their horrible band, and their frocks.
Puddle On, Puddles. The uniform shtick has officially run its course.
Somebody remind puddles what bowl game the quackerheads will be playing in. #34-24Beavs
Yikes.
At Oregon what matters more is paying street agents to land recruits. Recruiting has really tailed off since Kelly was exposed by Seastrunk.
I kid, I kid, Oregon is great for meth and strippers with missing teeth.
Go easy on them. They got brutalized by the NCAA for the Seastruck incident. I think they lost half a scholarship for the month of March.
Now that was amazing and it came directly from the HC, perfect paper trail. Funny stuff goin’ on in the penalty committee.
Come on Jack! A head coach paying cash for a blue chip is nothing compared to a player’s parents getting free rent from a wannabe sports agent 100 miles away with a remote chance that an assistant coach knew about it. What’s next – are you gonna claim 25 years of systematic academic fraud by school employees to keep star athletes eligible is a big deal?
Hopefully the giant press box design goes away with Haden. USC fans deserve better that an elitist tower filled with non fan corporate sponsors. How about a nice track to let the horse run!!!
Hey does any of this matter? If USC continues winning (especially at the start of next season, fans will show up even if the coliseum turns into a cow pasture. Around here, its strictly about winning football games.
Lack of pride in the built environment is something LA is famous for. You won’t find fans anywhere else in the country who don’t care about the quality of the stadium – the design, conveniences and amenities – that they pay $100s of dollars to watch a game in…
USC has one of the most beautiful campuses in the United States. It’s incredible what has been developed on the ever-expanding campus in the last 20 years. It’s a truly amazing place and the new University Village is just the latest example of SC’s total devotion to enriching the student’s experience.
USC plays football in a treasured historical landmark (which cannot simply be torn down and replaced) that is not owned by the university. Until recently, USC had no control over that facility but thanks to the enormous efforts of the school, USC is now in the process of updating the Coli and will end up spending untold millions of dollars more than obligated to under its agreement with the state/city/county of L.A.
In the meantime, USC has climbed back to the elite of the college football world and with any continued winning ways, 80-90 K will soon be flocking to the Coli, like before. L.A. is a frontrunner town. Always has been, always will be, being the entertainment capital of the world.
If anything, USC stands for pride, tradition and progress and anyone remotely familiar with the highly-respected university would understand that.
Jack, the blog monitors disallow posting of links to sources of information, so I will just encourage you to google this: DLR Architects LA Coliseum.
I sit on the 45 under the press box. I tailgate in the same area with the same friends for the last 25 years. Game experience is great. Couldn’t care less if they ever change a thing and I’ve probably been to at least 20 other stadiums like Death Valley, The Big House, Memorial Stadium, et al. I love the Coliseum. Awesome place.
That’s real nice. I’m sure you feel “at home” in the Coliseum….but to say it is anything like the 100% filled stadiums that you mention…with 100% IN THEIR SEATS before kickoff…and not leaving in the 4th quarter because, well, “looks like the game’s over”… or the freeway might be jammed…that’s just BS…
Ya, living in a resort Calif beach town really sucks compared to anywhere in Oklahoma, Nebraska, Pennsylvania or Texas.
To each his own.
what does living in a beach town have to do with committing yourself to 6 home games a year at the coliseum?
I’ll spell this out for you. I go to the games I want and pass on games when I have something better to do. It’s not that tough to figure out.
…which means you’re a fair weather fan. got it. that’s what america sees when they tune into an sc game with tens of thousands of empty seats.
Obviously you’ve never got anything better to do than go to a football game. That’s what I thought.
time to pull that crystal ball outta’ yerazz.
Truth: USC has about 20k fans who will travel…20k real fans. Other Big Time programs make SC look like a very small affair.
Please watch TV games. You’ll
find that even friggin’ Louisville or Penn State or you-name-it makes a home game for USC look like small fries.
BE REAL. Without a Top 10 team on a roll, SC game time is rather boring….
Nobody’s asking you to show up. In the meantime, sorry your Coliseum experience obviously leaves so much to be desired. Maybe you should find a new team to root for. There’s some reality for ya.
yea….no.
yeah, the coli.
A plausible reason why those 2 things may not have been improved is that they would have to be removed when the re-construction of the Coliseum does begin. To incur costs for temporary improvements may not be the best use of resources. I am lucky if I get to LA once a year & not having Wi-Fi or a TV monitor available is not a big deal to me. But, I recognize it is important to many.
So the seats aren’t in great shape and there is tons of deferred maintenance. I still love the coliseum the way it is (assuming it is kept up). I don’t go to the coliseum to sit in luxury boxes to watch other sports on the monitor and YouTube videos on my phone.
Why does SC need to create a showboat venue when there is now exactly zero chance of attracting an NFL team or any other source of regular revenue that will pay for the improvements? We lose 20,000 seats for that?
USC has been the consistent tenant since 1923 and regularly sells at least as many seats as will be the capacity after the makeover. How about keeping the capacity in place to make big games available to as many paying fans as possible? The coliseum is a great and historic venue. Maybe put the running track back in. Otherwise, deal with the deferred maintenance and let’s move on.
…a “great and historic venue” that is rusting and crumbling. So much for stewardship of the historic venue. The peristyle is a junk heap of outdated and unnecessary big-box scoreboards and video screens; it is trashed by pseudo-luxury suite tent structures; its 1930’s era mosaic is stained and cracked; the Olympic Torch is bent and beat up by the elements. Shame!
The Coli is a designated historical landmark. Can’t level it. Better off to leave it and build a new stadium next to it, then let the city worry about it again. But then didn’t Haden sign a 99 year lease? Interesting how USC draws about 70k for a game, but the Coliseum record goes to Billy Graham, 134k.
Those modern “conveniences” are why tickets are so expensive. When I go to a game, I go for the game, not wi-fi and drink lids. Give me a beer at kickoff, a beer at halftime and I’m happy.
…then you are unlike 95% of football fans. The Coliseum is a dump, and there’s no excuse for that. 50 years of neglect, abuse and pisspoor management are on display.
It is probably good to sleep thru a Ram of bRuin game. LOL
That’s predictably stupid.
Go online. It can be done! City of LA has published certain conditions that need to be met in order for demolitio of a historical landmark! It’s all there!
Haden needs to do his job as an attorney and blow up the old girl!
They might go for it at least if we are winning someone in that stadium will be.