Sports Arena Demo Floated

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum commissioners were expected to meet at press time to consider a plan to demolish the 52-year-old Los Angeles Sports Arena, with reported discussions of a replacement amphitheatre or multi-use space in the works.

According to documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times, the discussion has become necessary because the Sports Arena “has had an operating loss of between $750,000 and $900,000 each of the last five fiscal years.”

Another replacement option for the Sports Arena reportedly includes a 22,000-capacity major-league soccer stadium, the paper said.
Commissioners were also expected to discuss a proposal to allow the return of the Electric Daisy Carnival to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

The two-day rave festival drew about 185,000 people last June and raised red flags when a teen concertgoer died of a drug overdose. In addition, more than 100 young people were taken to local hospitals, mostly for drug intoxication.

A moratorium on raves at the Coliseum and Sports Arena was put in place following the incident but commissioners lifted the ban last November after several new safety and security plans were put in place.

Raves are reportedly big business for the L.A. venues, making up nearly 30 percent of revenue, the Times reported.