Soccer Crowd Generates Nice Payday for Coliseum

The Coliseum netted revenues of nearly $240,000 from Sunday’s Gold Cup soccer games, “as well as we would do for a National Football League playoff game,” Coliseum General Manager Pat Lynch said Monday.

The 88,155 fans who attended the doubleheader, the U.S.-Guatemala and Mexico-Brazil games on a rainy day, paid an average ticket price of $22.50 and made up the largest soccer crowd in the history of the 73-year-old stadium, Lynch said.

Besides nearly $160,000 from the rental deal that gave the Coliseum 8% of gross ticket revenues, Lynch confirmed that about $80,000 was realized as the Coliseum’s 45% share of concessions.

Additionally, thousands of dollars in parking revenues went to the state, because it owns the land on which the parking lots are situated. Those revenues are not counted in the $240,000 figure.

Lynch said that about 20,000 walk-up fans were turned away because there were no seats for them. He said 83,000 tickets were sold before game day, and another 5,000 reserved seats were sold Sunday at $35 each.

“All of this is phenomenal in terms of the one-day event,” Lynch said. “but in terms of the future, it’s an indicator of the appetite of the L.A. fans for quality international soccer.

“I really believe that’s the key, bringing in quality international teams, such as Mexico, El Salvador, Brazil and Spain,” he added. “They draw far more than an American team.

“The Mexican national team loves playing here. They do as well here as they do in Mexico, and because of the comparative value of the dollar versus the peso, it is even more attractive for them.”