Quake’s Toll on Coliseum: $35 Million

The 70-year-old Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum suffered more damage than any other public facility in the Jan. 17 earthquake, an estimated $35-million loss that has closed the historic stadium until its operators can find the money to make repairs, officials said Friday.

The facility in Exposition Park--home to the Los Angeles Raiders and USC Trojans and twice the home of the Summer Olympics--is covered with cracks and undermined by more serious structural failures that are under assessment, officials said.

The 92,000-seat stadium sustained $17 million in damage and will require another $18 million for seismic strengthening, according to a report from city Administrative Officer Keith Comrie’s office.

“It’s a disaster, which is a word I guess we are using too often these days in Los Angeles,” said Matt Grossman, president of the Coliseum Commission, which operates the building and the adjoining Sports Arena.

The commission will meet Wednesday to begin discussing where to get the money for the rehabilitation work.

“We need to get some help on the funding to get it done,” Grossman said. “The alternative is to just turn our backs on the Coliseum, and I don’t think anyone would choose that.”

Stadium officials said they have been assessing damage since the day of the quake. They said no announcement was made about the extent of the repairs necessary because only a soccer match in February has had to be postponed and because the assessment is incomplete.

The public learned of less serious earthquake failures at the adjoining Sports Arena because several USC and Los Angeles Clippers basketball games had to be shifted to other buildings. The indoor arena, at the Coliseum’s east end, is scheduled to reopen tonight for a 7:30 basketball game between the Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Much of the outdoor stadium probably will require substantial buttressing with concrete and steel before it can reopen, said Don Webb, manager of an ongoing renovation project at the facility.

“We have all sorts of problems here, some of which are visible and some of which are not,” Webb said. The building is cracked throughout, including the columns beneath the Olympic torch, Webb said.

He added that there is not yet a timetable for the work, but Grossman said the commission is determined to reopen in time for USC and Raider football games next summer.

The stadium was built in 1923 and expanded for the Summer Olympic Games in 1932, the year before California strengthened its earthquake safety codes.

The Coliseum is run by a joint-powers authority of the city, county and state. With all the governments strapped for funds, Coliseum officials are hoping that the Federal Emergency Management Agency can provide restoration money.

So far, there has been no word on whether the repair of a sports complex qualifies for federal assistance.

“We need to get some help,” Grossman said, “hopefully from some of the agencies that have indicated a willingness to assist rebuilding public facilities.”

Officials said it is too soon to say how earthquake repairs will affect the renovation of the stadium. The playing field has been lowered and seats have been moved closer to the field to create a more intimate environment. New restrooms and locker rooms have been installed.

In the next phase of renovation, concession stands were to be expanded and modernized. But the money for that work has not been found, and now there are more pressing problems.