Burn Notice: Coliseum Opens Its New Venue
In a year of ceaseless pivoting, innovating and iterating comes The Torch, a new 10,000-capacity outdoor venue opened in mid-August beside the historic Los Angeles Coliseum that may set the bar for repurposing underused outdoor space.
AT LOS ANGELES’ VENERABLE STADIUM, THE TORCH IS LIT
It is the only venue in the world with plaques in bronze relief of Knute Rockne, Jesse Owens, Bruce Springsteen, Pope John Paul II, Vin Scully and Armistice Day, among many others. This because the new venue’s footprint includes the 1923 building’s grand peristyle plaza, the venue’s signature feature, consisting of a large center arch with a sometimes-flaming cauldron atop it along with six flanking arches on each side and a total of 24 columns surrounding the Memorial Court of Honor.
In August 2019, The Coliseum, with a capacity of 78,467, finished a $315 million renovation, which included a new rooftop deck, the 1923 Club and well-appointed luxury suites. The building had intended to bring in major concerts the following year, including Rammstein, which was rescheduled. “We had one full season with the Rams and the Trojans and then along came COVID,” explained Teresa Guy, director of booking and partnerships for the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. “We spent a long time this past year ideating and figuring out new ways.”