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The LA Giltinis have confirmed that they will play their Major League Rugby home games at Memorial Coliseum. That in itself is not a surprise, with the team announcing their intention to play at the iconic venue in their introductory press release.
What does come as news is the length of the deal. LA have inked a five-year deal plus an option to extend that will see them staying at Exposition Park through the 2025 MLR campaign. It’s a clear statement of confidence in the long-term viability of both the team and the league itself.
Memorial Coliseum will celebrate its centennial in 2023. It hosted both the 1932 and 1984 Olympics, and will do so again when the Games return in 2028. The venue is most often associated with the USC Trojans collegiate football team and has also previously been a home for the LA Rams of the NFL.
The stadium features a Bermuda grass surface and has a capacity of 77,500. That makes it by far the largest venue in MLR and is an extraordinary figure given the league has yet to record the 10,000 mark in any game to date. The current attendance record is 9,186 at Utah’s Rio Tinto Stadium in 2018.
LA will play their first match at their new home on Saturday, March 20, against the New England Free Jacks. At the time of writing the team has not scheduled any preseason games.
