Is the Colosseum a stadium?

The Colosseum or Coliseum ( ), also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre (Latin: "Amphitheatrum Flavium"; Italian: "Anfiteatro Flavio" or "Colosseo" ), is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. Built of travertine, tuff, and brick-faced concrete, it is the largest amphitheatre ever built. The Colosseum is situated just east of the Roman Forum. Construction began under the emperor Vespasian in AD 72, and was completed in AD 80 under his successor and heir Titus. Further modifications were made during the reign of Domitian (81–96). These three emperors are known as the Flavian dynasty, and the amphitheatre was named in Latin for its association with their family name "(Flavius)".

Colosseum

The Colosseum could hold, it is estimated, between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators, having an average audience of some 65,000; it was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles (for only a short time as the "hypogeum" was soon filled in with mechanisms to support the other activities), animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.

Although partially ruined because of damage caused by earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is still an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome and is listed as one of the New7Wonders of the World. It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions and also has links to the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchlit "Way of the Cross" procession that starts in the area around the Colosseum.

The Colosseum is also depicted on the Italian version of the five-cent euro coin.

The Colosseum's original Latin name was "Amphitheatrum Flavium", often anglicized as "Flavian Amphitheatre". The building was constructed by emperors of the Flavian dynasty, following the reign of Nero. This name is still used in modern English, but generally the structure is better known as the Colosseum. In antiquity, Romans may have referred to the Colosseum by the unofficial name "Amphitheatrum Caesareum" (with "Caesareum" an adjective pertaining to the title "Caesar"), but this name may have been strictly poetic as it was not exclusive to the Colosseum; Vespasian and Titus, builders of the Colosseum, also constructed an amphitheater of the same name in Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli).

The name "Colosseum" is believed to be derived from a colossal statue of Nero nearby. This statue was later remodeled by Nero's successors into the likeness of Helios ("Sol") or Apollo, the sun god, by adding the appropriate solar crown. Nero's head was also replaced several times with the heads of succeeding emperors. Despite its pagan links, the statue remained standing well into the medieval era and was credited with magical powers. It came to be seen as an iconic symbol of the permanence of Rome.

In the 8th century, an epigram attributed to the Venerable Bede celebrated the symbolic significance of the statue in a prophecy that is variously quoted: "Quamdiu stat Colisæus, stat et Roma; quando cadet colisæus, cadet et Roma; quando cadet Roma, cadet et mundus" ("as long as the Colossus stands, so shall Rome; when the Colossus falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, so falls the world"). This is often mistranslated to refer to the Colosseum rather than the Colossus (as in, for instance, Byron's poem "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage"). However, at the time that the Pseudo-Bede wrote, the masculine noun "coliseus" was applied to the statue rather than to what was still known as the Flavian amphitheatre.

The Colossus did eventually fall, possibly being pulled down to reuse its bronze. By the year 1000 the name "Colosseum" had been coined to refer to the amphitheatre. The statue itself was largely forgotten and only its base survives, situated between the Colosseum and the nearby Temple of Venus and Roma.

The name further evolved to "Coliseum" during the Middle Ages. In Italy, the amphitheatre is still known as "il Colosseo", and other Romance languages have come to use similar forms such as "Coloseumul" (Romanian), "le Colisée" (French), "el Coliseo" (Spanish) and "o Coliseu" (Portuguese).

The site chosen was a flat area on the floor of a low valley between the Caelian, Esquiline and Palatine Hills, through which a canalised stream ran. By the 2nd century BC the area was densely inhabited. It was devastated by the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64, following which Nero seized much of the area to add to his personal domain. He built the grandiose "Domus Aurea" on the site, in front of which he created an artificial lake surrounded by pavilions, gardens and porticoes. The existing "Aqua Claudia" aqueduct was extended to supply water to the area and the gigantic bronze Colossus of Nero was set up nearby at the entrance to the Domus Aurea. Although the Colossus was preserved, much of the Domus Aurea was torn down. The lake was filled in and the land reused as the location for the new Flavian Amphitheatre. Gladiatorial schools and other support buildings were constructed nearby within the former grounds of the Domus Aurea. Vespasian's decision to build the Colosseum on the site of Nero's lake can be seen as a populist gesture of returning to the people an area of the city which Nero had appropriated for his own use. In contrast to many other amphitheatres, which were located on the outskirts of a city, the Colosseum was constructed in the city centre; in effect, placing it both symbolically and precisely at the heart of Rome.

Construction was funded by the opulent spoils taken from the Jewish Temple after the Great Jewish Revolt in 70 AD led to the Siege of Jerusalem. According to a reconstructed inscription found on the site, "the emperor Vespasian ordered this new amphitheatre to be erected from his general's share of the booty." Along with the spoils, estimated 100,000 Jewish prisoners were brought back to Rome after the war, and many contributed to the massive workforce needed for construction. The slaves undertook manual labor such as working in the quarries at Tivoli where the travertine was quarried, along with lifting and transporting the quarried stones 20 miles from Tivoli to Rome. Along with this free source of unskilled labor, teams of professional Roman builders, engineers, artists, painters and decorators undertook the more specialized tasks necessary for building the Colosseum. The Colosseum was constructed with several different materials: wood, limestone, tuff, tiles, cement, and mortar.

Construction of the Colosseum began under the rule of Vespasian in around 70–72 AD (73–75 AD according to some sources) The Colosseum had been completed up to the third story by the time of Vespasian's death in 79. The top level was finished by his son, Titus, in 80, and the inaugural games were held in AD 80 or 81. Dio Cassius recounts that over 9,000 wild animals were killed during the inaugural games of the amphitheatre. Commemorative coinage was issued celebrating the inauguration. The building was remodelled further under Vespasian's younger son, the newly designated Emperor Domitian, who constructed the "hypogeum", a series of underground tunnels used to house animals and slaves. He also added a gallery to the top of the Colosseum to increase its seating capacity.

In 217, the Colosseum was badly damaged by a major fire (caused by lightning, according to Dio Cassius) which destroyed the wooden upper levels of the amphitheatre's interior. It was not fully repaired until about 240 and underwent further repairs in 250 or 252 and again in 320. Gladiatorial fights are last mentioned around 435. An inscription records the restoration of various parts of the Colosseum under Theodosius II and Valentinian III (reigned 425–455), possibly to repair damage caused by a major earthquake in 443; more work followed in 484 and 508. The arena continued to be used for contests well into the 6th century. Animal hunts continued until at least 523, when Anicius Maximus celebrated his consulship with some "venationes", criticised by King Theodoric the Great for their high cost.

The Colosseum underwent several radical changes of use. By the late 6th century a small chapel had been built into the structure of the amphitheater, though this apparently did not confer any particular religious significance on the building as a whole. The arena was converted into a cemetery. The numerous vaulted spaces in the arcades under the seating were converted into housing and workshops, and are recorded as still being rented out as late as the 12th century. Around 1200 the Frangipani family took over the Colosseum and fortified it, apparently using it as a castle.

Severe damage was inflicted on the Colosseum by the great earthquake in 1349, causing the outer south side, lying on a less stable alluvial terrain, to collapse. Much of the tumbled stone was reused to build palaces, churches, hospitals and other buildings elsewhere in Rome. A religious order moved into the northern third of the Colosseum in the mid-14th century and continued to inhabit it until as late as the early 19th century. The interior of the amphitheater was extensively stripped of stone, which was reused elsewhere, or (in the case of the marble façade) was burned to make quicklime. The bronze clamps which held the stonework together were pried or hacked out of the walls, leaving numerous pockmarks which still scar the building today.

During the 16th and 17th century, Church officials sought a productive role for the Colosseum. Pope Sixtus V (1585–1590) planned to turn the building into a wool factory to provide employment for Rome's prostitutes, though this proposal fell through with his premature death. In 1671 Cardinal Altieri authorized its use for bullfights; a public outcry caused the idea to be hastily abandoned.
In 1749, Pope Benedict XIV endorsed the view that the Colosseum was a sacred site where early Christians had been martyred. He forbade the use of the Colosseum as a quarry and consecrated the building to the Passion of Christ and installed Stations of the Cross, declaring it sanctified by the blood of the Christian martyrs who perished there ("see Significance in Christianity"). However, there is no historical evidence to support Benedict's claim, nor is there even any evidence that anyone before the 16th century suggested this might be the case; the "Catholic Encyclopedia" concludes that there are no historical grounds for the supposition, other than the reasonably plausible conjecture that some of the many martyrs may well have been.
Later popes initiated various stabilization and restoration projects, removing the extensive vegetation which had overgrown the structure and threatened to damage it further. The façade was reinforced with triangular brick wedges in 1807 and 1827, and the interior was repaired in 1831, 1846 and in the 1930s. The arena substructure was partly excavated in 1810–1814 and 1874 and was fully exposed under Benito Mussolini in the 1930s.

The Colosseum is today one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions, receiving millions of visitors annually. The effects of pollution and general deterioration over time prompted a major restoration programme carried out between 1993 and 2000, at a cost of 40 billion Italian lire ($19.3m / €20.6m at 2000 prices).

In recent years the Colosseum has become a symbol of the international campaign against capital punishment, which was abolished in Italy in 1948. Several anti–death penalty demonstrations took place in front of the Colosseum in 2000. Since that time, as a gesture against the death penalty, the local authorities of Rome change the color of the Colosseum's night time illumination from white to gold whenever a person condemned to the death penalty anywhere in the world gets their sentence commuted or is released, or if a jurisdiction abolishes the death penalty. Most recently, the Colosseum was illuminated in gold in November 2012 following the abolishment of capital punishment in the American state of Connecticut in April 2012.

Because of the ruined state of the interior, it is impractical to use the Colosseum to host large events; only a few hundred spectators can be accommodated in temporary seating. However, much larger concerts have been held just outside, using the Colosseum as a backdrop. Performers who have played at the Colosseum in recent years have included Ray Charles (May 2002), Paul McCartney (May 2003), Elton John (September 2005), and Billy Joel (July 2006).

Unlike earlier Greek theatres that were built into hillsides, the Colosseum is an entirely free-standing structure. It derives its basic exterior and interior architecture from that of two Roman theatres back to back. It is elliptical in plan and is 189 meters (615 ft / 640 Roman feet) long, and 156 meters (510 ft / 528 Roman feet) wide, with a base area of. The height of the outer wall is 48 meters (157 ft / 165 Roman feet). The perimeter originally measured 545 meters (1,788 ft / 1,835 Roman feet). The central arena is an oval 87 m (287 ft) long and 55 m (180 ft) wide, surrounded by a wall 5 m (15 ft) high, above which rose tiers of seating.

The outer wall is estimated to have required over of travertine stone which were set without mortar; they were held together by 300 tons of iron clamps. However, it has suffered extensive damage over the centuries, with large segments having collapsed following earthquakes. The north side of the perimeter wall is still standing; the distinctive triangular brick wedges at each end are modern additions, having been constructed in the early 19th century to shore up the wall. The remainder of the present-day exterior of the Colosseum is in fact the original interior wall.
The surviving part of the outer wall's monumental façade comprises three stories of superimposed arcades surmounted by a podium on which stands a tall attic, both of which are pierced by windows interspersed at regular intervals. The arcades are framed by half-columns of the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders, while the attic is decorated with Corinthian pilasters. Each of the arches in the second- and third-floor arcades framed statues, probably honoring divinities and other figures from Classical mythology.

Two hundred and forty mast corbels were positioned around the top of the attic. They originally supported a retractable awning, known as the "velarium", that kept the sun and rain off spectators. This consisted of a canvas-covered, net-like structure made of ropes, with a hole in the center. It covered two-thirds of the arena, and sloped down towards the center to catch the wind and provide a breeze for the audience. Sailors, specially enlisted from the Roman naval headquarters at Misenum and housed in the nearby "Castra Misenatium", were used to work the "velarium".

The Colosseum's huge crowd capacity made it essential that the venue could be filled or evacuated quickly. Its architects adopted solutions very similar to those used in modern stadiums to deal with the same problem. The amphitheatre was ringed by eighty entrances at ground level, 76 of which were used by ordinary spectators. Each entrance and exit was numbered, as was each staircase. The northern main entrance was reserved for the Roman Emperor and his aides, whilst the other three axial entrances were most likely used by the elite. All four axial entrances were richly decorated with painted stucco reliefs, of which fragments survive. Many of the original outer entrances have disappeared with the collapse of the perimeter wall, but entrances XXIII (23) to LIV (54) survive.

Spectators were given tickets in the form of numbered pottery shards, which directed them to the appropriate section and row. They accessed their seats via "vomitoria" (singular "vomitorium"), passageways that opened into a tier of seats from below or behind. These quickly dispersed people into their seats and, upon conclusion of the event or in an emergency evacuation, could permit their exit within only a few minutes. The name "vomitoria" derived from the Latin word for a rapid discharge, from which English derives the word vomit.

According to the Codex-Calendar of 354, the Colosseum could accommodate 87,000 people, although modern estimates put the figure at around 50,000. They were seated in a tiered arrangement that reflected the rigidly stratified nature of Roman society. Special boxes were provided at the north and south ends respectively for the Emperor and the Vestal Virgins, providing the best views of the arena. Flanking them at the same level was a broad platform or "podium" for the senatorial class, who were allowed to bring their own chairs. The names of some 5th century senators can still be seen carved into the stonework, presumably reserving areas for their use.

The tier above the senators, known as the "maenianum primum", was occupied by the non-senatorial noble class or knights ("equites"). The next level up, the "maenianum secundum", was originally reserved for ordinary Roman citizens ("plebeians") and was divided into two sections. The lower part (the "immum") was for wealthy citizens, while the upper part (the "summum") was for poor citizens. Specific sectors were provided for other social groups: for instance, boys with their tutors, soldiers on leave, foreign dignitaries, scribes, heralds, priests and so on. Stone (and later marble) seating was provided for the citizens and nobles, who presumably would have brought their own cushions with them. Inscriptions identified the areas reserved for specific groups.

Another level, the "maenianum secundum in legneis", was added at the very top of the building during the reign of Domitian. This comprised a gallery for the common poor, slaves and women. It would have been either standing room only, or would have had very steep wooden benches. Some groups were banned altogether from the Colosseum, notably gravediggers, actors and former gladiators.

Each tier was divided into sections ("maeniana") by curved passages and low walls ("praecinctiones" or "baltei"), and were subdivided into "cunei", or wedges, by the steps and aisles from the vomitoria. Each row ("gradus") of seats was numbered, permitting each individual seat to be exactly designated by its gradus, cuneus, and number.

The arena itself was 83 meters by 48 meters (272 ft by 157 ft / 280 by 163 Roman feet). It comprised a wooden floor covered by sand (the Latin word for sand is "harena" or "arena"), covering an elaborate underground structure called the "hypogeum" (literally meaning "underground"). The hypogeum was not part of the original construction but was ordered to be built by Emperor Domitian. Little now remains of the original arena floor, but the "hypogeum" is still clearly visible. It consisted of a two-level subterranean network of tunnels and cages beneath the arena where gladiators and animals were held before contests began. Eighty vertical shafts provided instant access to the arena for caged animals and scenery pieces concealed underneath; larger hinged platforms, called "hegmata", provided access for elephants and the like. It was restructured on numerous occasions; at least twelve different phases of construction can be seen.
The "hypogeum" was connected by underground tunnels to a number of points outside the Colosseum. Animals and performers were brought through the tunnel from nearby stables, with the gladiators' barracks at the Ludus Magnus to the east also being connected by tunnels. Separate tunnels were provided for the Emperor and the Vestal Virgins to permit them to enter and exit the Colosseum without needing to pass through the crowds.

Substantial quantities of machinery also existed in the "hypogeum". Elevators and pulleys raised and lowered scenery and props, as well as lifting caged animals to the surface for release. There is evidence for the existence of major hydraulic mechanisms and according to ancient accounts, it was possible to flood the arena rapidly, presumably via a connection to a nearby aqueduct. However, the construction of the hypogeum at Domitian's behest put an end to the practise of flooding, and thus also to naval battles, early in the Colosseum's existence.

The Colosseum and its activities supported a substantial industry in the area. In addition to the amphitheatre itself, many other buildings nearby were linked to the games. Immediately to the east is the remains of the "Ludus Magnus", a training school for gladiators. This was connected to the Colosseum by an underground passage, to allow easy access for the gladiators. The "Ludus Magnus" had its own miniature training arena, which was itself a popular attraction for Roman spectators. Other training schools were in the same area, including the "Ludus Matutinus" (Morning School), where fighters of animals were trained, plus the Dacian and Gallic Schools.

Also nearby were the "Armamentarium", comprising an armory to store weapons; the "Summum Choragium", where machinery was stored; the "Sanitarium", which had facilities to treat wounded gladiators; and the "Spoliarium", where bodies of dead gladiators were stripped of their armor and disposed of.

Around the perimeter of the Colosseum, at a distance of 18 m (59 ft) from the perimeter, was a series of tall stone posts, with five remaining on the eastern side. Various explanations have been advanced for their presence; they may have been a religious boundary, or an outer boundary for ticket checks, or an anchor for the "velarium" or awning.

Right next to the Colosseum is also the Arch of Constantine.

The Colosseum was used to host gladiatorial shows as well as a variety of other events. The shows, called "munera", were always given by private individuals rather than the state. They had a strong religious element but were also demonstrations of power and family prestige, and were immensely popular with the population. Another popular type of show was the animal hunt, or "venatio". This utilized a great variety of wild beasts, mainly imported from Africa and the Middle East, and included creatures such as rhinoceros, hippopotamuses, elephants, giraffes, aurochs, wisents, Barbary lions, panthers, leopards, bears, Caspian tigers, crocodiles and ostriches. Battles and hunts were often staged amid elaborate sets with movable trees and buildings. Such events were occasionally on a huge scale; Trajan is said to have celebrated his victories in Dacia in 107 with contests involving 11,000 animals and 10,000 gladiators over the course of 123 days. During lunch intervals, executions "ad bestias" would be staged. Those condemned to death would be sent into the arena, naked and unarmed, to face the beasts of death which would literally tear them to pieces. Other performances would also take place by acrobats and magicians, typically during the intervals.

During the early days of the Colosseum, ancient writers recorded that the building was used for "naumachiae" (more properly known as "navalia proelia") or simulated sea battles. Accounts of the inaugural games held by Titus in AD 80 describe it being filled with water for a display of specially trained swimming horses and bulls. There is also an account of a re-enactment of a famous sea battle between the Corcyrean (Corfiot) Greeks and the Corinthians. This has been the subject of some debate among historians; although providing the water would not have been a problem, it is unclear how the arena could have been waterproofed, nor would there have been enough space in the arena for the warships to move around. It has been suggested that the reports either have the location wrong, or that the Colosseum originally featured a wide floodable channel down its central axis (which would later have been replaced by the hypogeum).

"Sylvae" or recreations of natural scenes were also held in the arena. Painters, technicians and architects would construct a simulation of a forest with real trees and bushes planted in the arena's floor, and animals would then be introduced. Such scenes might be used simply to display a natural environment for the urban population, or could otherwise be used as the backdrop for hunts or dramas depicting episodes from mythology. They were also occasionally used for executions in which the hero of the story – played by a condemned person – was killed in one of various gruesome but mythologically authentic ways, such as being mauled by beasts or burned to death.

The Colosseum today is now a major tourist attraction in Rome with thousands of tourists each year entering to view the interior arena. There is now a museum dedicated to Eros located in the upper floor of the outer wall of the building. Part of the arena floor has been re-floored. Beneath the Colosseum, a network of subterranean passageways once used to transport wild animals and gladiators to the arena opened to the public in summer 2010.

The Colosseum is also the site of Roman Catholic ceremonies in the 20th and 21st centuries. For instance, Pope Benedict XVI led the Stations of the Cross called the Scriptural Way of the Cross (which calls for more meditation) at the Colosseum on Good Fridays.

In 2011 Diego Della Valle, head of the shoe firm Tod's, entered into an agreement with local officials to sponsor a €25 million restoration of the Colosseum. Work was planned to begin at the end of 2011, taking up to two and a half years. Due to the controversial nature of using a public–private partnership to fund the restoration, work was delayed and began in 2013. The restoration is the first full cleaning and repair in the Colosseum's history. The first stage is to clean and restore the Colosseum's arcaded façade and replace the metal enclosures that block the ground-level arches. Taking three years, the final product of this work was unveiled 1 July 2016, when the Italian minister of culture, Dario Franceschini, also announced that the funds have been committed to replace the floors by the end of 2018. These will provide a stage that Franceschini says will be used for "cultural events of the highest level." The project also plans to create a services center and to restore the galleries and underground spaces inside the Colosseum. New to tours of the restored marvel beginning 1 November 2017, the top two levels have been opened for guided visits. The fourth level held the marketplace, and the top fifth tier is where the poorest citizens, the plebians, gathered and watched the show, bringing picnics for the day-long event.

The Colosseum is generally regarded by Christians as a site of the martyrdom of large numbers of believers during the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, as evidenced by Church history and tradition. On the other hand, other scholars believe that the majority of martyrdoms may have occurred at other venues within the city of Rome, rather than at the Colosseum, citing a lack of still-intact physical evidence or historical records. These scholars assert that "some Christians were executed as common criminals in the Colosseum—their crime being refusal to reverence the Roman gods", but most Christian martyrs of the early Church were executed for their faith at the Circus Maximus. According to Irenæus (died about 202), Ignatius of Antioch was fed to the lions in Rome around 107 A.D and although Irenaeus says nothing about this happening at the Colosseum, tradition ascribes it to that place.

In the Middle Ages, the Colosseum was not regarded as a monument, and was used as what some modern sources label a "quarry," which is to say that stones from the Colosseum were taken for the building of other sacred sites. This fact is used to support the idea that, at a time when sites associated with martyrs were highly venerated the Colosseum was not being treated as a sacred site. It was not included in the itineraries compiled for the use of pilgrims nor in works such as the 12th century "Mirabilia Urbis Romae" ("Marvels of the City of Rome"), which claims the Circus Flaminius – but not the Colosseum – as the site of martyrdoms. Part of the structure was inhabited by a Christian religious order, but it is not known whether this was for any particular religious reason.

Pope Pius V (1566–1572) is said to have recommended that pilgrims gather sand from the arena of the Colosseum to serve as a relic, on the grounds that it was impregnated with the blood of martyrs, although some of his contemporaries did not share his conviction. A century later Fioravante Martinelli listed the Colosseum at the head of a list of places sacred to the martyrs in his 1653 book "Roma ex ethnica sacra". Martinelli's book evidently had an effect on public opinion; in response to Cardinal Altieri's proposal some years later to turn the Colosseum into a bullring, Carlo Tomassi published a pamphlet in protest against what he regarded as an act of desecration. The ensuing controversy persuaded Pope Clement X to close the Colosseum's external arcades and declare it a sanctuary.

At the insistence of St. Leonard of Port Maurice, Pope Benedict XIV (1740–1758) forbade the quarrying of the Colosseum and erected Stations of the Cross around the arena, which remained until February 1874. Benedict Joseph Labre spent the later years of his life within the walls of the Colosseum, living on alms, before he died in 1783. Several 19th century popes funded repair and restoration work on the Colosseum, and it still retains its Christian connection today. A Christian cross stands in the Colosseum, with a plaque, stating:

The amphitheater, one consecrated to triumphs, entertainments, and the impious worship of pagan gods, is now dedicated to the sufferings of the martyrs purified from impious superstitions.
Other Christian crosses stand in several points around the arena and every Good Friday the Pope leads a Via Crucis procession to the amphitheater.

The Colosseum has a wide and well-documented history of flora ever since Domenico Panaroli made the first catalogue of its plants in 1643. Since then, 684 species have been identified there. The peak was in 1855 (420 species). Attempts were made in 1871 to eradicate the vegetation, because of concerns over the damage that was being caused to the masonry, but much of it has returned. 242 species have been counted today and of the species first identified by Panaroli, 200 remain.

The variation of plants can be explained by the change of climate in Rome through the centuries. Additionally, bird migration, flower blooming, and the growth of Rome that caused the Colosseum to become embedded within the modern city centre rather than on the outskirts of the ancient city, as well as deliberate transport of species, are also contributing causes. Another reason often given is their seeds being unwittingly transported either on the fur or in the feces of animals brought there from all corners of the empire.

The Colosseum was featured in the 2010 video game "". The Colosseum is of great importance to the entire "Assassin's Creed" series as a whole: first, it was an entrance site to a Lair of Romulus, second, the Lair beneath the Colosseum led directly to the Temple of Juno Moneta which housed the Apple of Eden, third, it was used in a Passion Play depicting Jesus Christ's crucifixion where an assassination attempt was unfoiled by the protagonist Ezio Auditore da Firenze, fourth, in the 21st century, Desmond Miles freeran through the maze in the Colosseum in order to find the Temple of Juno Moneta below the Basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli and the Apple kept in it by Ezio in 1506 and fifth, it has a glyph at the top. In addition, the Colosseum is elliptical (oval-shaped) in reality, but it was made circular for "Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood", since devising shadows for different sides of the buildings would have "driven game designers nuts".

The iconic status of the Colosseum has led it to be featured in numerous films, such as "Roman Holiday", "Demetrius and the Gladiators", "20 Million Miles to Earth", "Way of the Dragon", "Gladiator" (in which it was re-created via CGI), "", "The Core", "The Lizzie McGuire Movie", "Jumper", and the animated movie "".

Colosseum

The Colosseum could hold, it is estimated, between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators, having an average audience of some 65,000; it was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles (for only a short time as the "hypogeum" was soon filled in with mechanisms to support the other activities), animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.

Although partially ruined because of damage caused by earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is still an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome and is listed as one of the New7Wonders of the World. It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions and also has links to the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchlit "Way of the Cross" procession that starts in the area around the Colosseum.

The Colosseum is also depicted on the Italian version of the five-cent euro coin.

The Colosseum's original Latin name was "Amphitheatrum Flavium", often anglicized as "Flavian Amphitheatre". The building was constructed by emperors of the Flavian dynasty, following the reign of Nero. This name is still used in modern English, but generally the structure is better known as the Colosseum. In antiquity, Romans may have referred to the Colosseum by the unofficial name "Amphitheatrum Caesareum" (with "Caesareum" an adjective pertaining to the title "Caesar"), but this name may have been strictly poetic as it was not exclusive to the Colosseum; Vespasian and Titus, builders of the Colosseum, also constructed an amphitheater of the same name in Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli).

The name "Colosseum" is believed to be derived from a colossal statue of Nero nearby. This statue was later remodeled by Nero's successors into the likeness of Helios ("Sol") or Apollo, the sun god, by adding the appropriate solar crown. Nero's head was also replaced several times with the heads of succeeding emperors. Despite its pagan links, the statue remained standing well into the medieval era and was credited with magical powers. It came to be seen as an iconic symbol of the permanence of Rome.

The Colossus did eventually fall, possibly being pulled down to reuse its bronze. By the year 1000 the name "Colosseum" had been coined to refer to the amphitheatre. The statue itself was largely forgotten and only its base survives, situated between the Colosseum and the nearby Temple of Venus and Roma.

The name further evolved to "Coliseum" during the Middle Ages. In Italy, the amphitheatre is still known as "il Colosseo", and other Romance languages have come to use similar forms such as "Coloseumul" (Romanian), "le Colisée" (French), "el Coliseo" (Spanish) and "o Coliseu" (Portuguese).

The Colosseum underwent several radical changes of use. By the late 6th century a small chapel had been built into the structure of the amphitheater, though this apparently did not confer any particular religious significance on the building as a whole. The arena was converted into a cemetery. The numerous vaulted spaces in the arcades under the seating were converted into housing and workshops, and are recorded as still being rented out as late as the 12th century. Around 1200 the Frangipani family took over the Colosseum and fortified it, apparently using it as a castle.

The Colosseum is today one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions, receiving millions of visitors annually. The effects of pollution and general deterioration over time prompted a major restoration programme carried out between 1993 and 2000, at a cost of 40 billion Italian lire ($19.3m / €20.6m at 2000 prices).

Because of the ruined state of the interior, it is impractical to use the Colosseum to host large events; only a few hundred spectators can be accommodated in temporary seating. However, much larger concerts have been held just outside, using the Colosseum as a backdrop. Performers who have played at the Colosseum in recent years have included Ray Charles (May 2002), Paul McCartney (May 2003), Elton John (September 2005), and Billy Joel (July 2006).

Unlike earlier Greek theatres that were built into hillsides, the Colosseum is an entirely free-standing structure. It derives its basic exterior and interior architecture from that of two Roman theatres back to back. It is elliptical in plan and is 189 meters (615 ft / 640 Roman feet) long, and 156 meters (510 ft / 528 Roman feet) wide, with a base area of. The height of the outer wall is 48 meters (157 ft / 165 Roman feet). The perimeter originally measured 545 meters (1,788 ft / 1,835 Roman feet). The central arena is an oval 87 m (287 ft) long and 55 m (180 ft) wide, surrounded by a wall 5 m (15 ft) high, above which rose tiers of seating.

Two hundred and forty mast corbels were positioned around the top of the attic. They originally supported a retractable awning, known as the "velarium", that kept the sun and rain off spectators. This consisted of a canvas-covered, net-like structure made of ropes, with a hole in the center. It covered two-thirds of the arena, and sloped down towards the center to catch the wind and provide a breeze for the audience. Sailors, specially enlisted from the Roman naval headquarters at Misenum and housed in the nearby "Castra Misenatium", were used to work the "velarium".

Spectators were given tickets in the form of numbered pottery shards, which directed them to the appropriate section and row. They accessed their seats via "vomitoria" (singular "vomitorium"), passageways that opened into a tier of seats from below or behind. These quickly dispersed people into their seats and, upon conclusion of the event or in an emergency evacuation, could permit their exit within only a few minutes. The name "vomitoria" derived from the Latin word for a rapid discharge, from which English derives the word vomit.

According to the Codex-Calendar of 354, the Colosseum could accommodate 87,000 people, although modern estimates put the figure at around 50,000. They were seated in a tiered arrangement that reflected the rigidly stratified nature of Roman society. Special boxes were provided at the north and south ends respectively for the Emperor and the Vestal Virgins, providing the best views of the arena. Flanking them at the same level was a broad platform or "podium" for the senatorial class, who were allowed to bring their own chairs. The names of some 5th century senators can still be seen carved into the stonework, presumably reserving areas for their use.

Another level, the "maenianum secundum in legneis", was added at the very top of the building during the reign of Domitian. This comprised a gallery for the common poor, slaves and women. It would have been either standing room only, or would have had very steep wooden benches. Some groups were banned altogether from the Colosseum, notably gravediggers, actors and former gladiators.

Each tier was divided into sections ("maeniana") by curved passages and low walls ("praecinctiones" or "baltei"), and were subdivided into "cunei", or wedges, by the steps and aisles from the vomitoria. Each row ("gradus") of seats was numbered, permitting each individual seat to be exactly designated by its gradus, cuneus, and number.

Substantial quantities of machinery also existed in the "hypogeum". Elevators and pulleys raised and lowered scenery and props, as well as lifting caged animals to the surface for release. There is evidence for the existence of major hydraulic mechanisms and according to ancient accounts, it was possible to flood the arena rapidly, presumably via a connection to a nearby aqueduct. However, the construction of the hypogeum at Domitian's behest put an end to the practise of flooding, and thus also to naval battles, early in the Colosseum's existence.

The Colosseum and its activities supported a substantial industry in the area. In addition to the amphitheatre itself, many other buildings nearby were linked to the games. Immediately to the east is the remains of the "Ludus Magnus", a training school for gladiators. This was connected to the Colosseum by an underground passage, to allow easy access for the gladiators. The "Ludus Magnus" had its own miniature training arena, which was itself a popular attraction for Roman spectators. Other training schools were in the same area, including the "Ludus Matutinus" (Morning School), where fighters of animals were trained, plus the Dacian and Gallic Schools.

Also nearby were the "Armamentarium", comprising an armory to store weapons; the "Summum Choragium", where machinery was stored; the "Sanitarium", which had facilities to treat wounded gladiators; and the "Spoliarium", where bodies of dead gladiators were stripped of their armor and disposed of.

Around the perimeter of the Colosseum, at a distance of 18 m (59 ft) from the perimeter, was a series of tall stone posts, with five remaining on the eastern side. Various explanations have been advanced for their presence; they may have been a religious boundary, or an outer boundary for ticket checks, or an anchor for the "velarium" or awning.

Right next to the Colosseum is also the Arch of Constantine.

"Sylvae" or recreations of natural scenes were also held in the arena. Painters, technicians and architects would construct a simulation of a forest with real trees and bushes planted in the arena's floor, and animals would then be introduced. Such scenes might be used simply to display a natural environment for the urban population, or could otherwise be used as the backdrop for hunts or dramas depicting episodes from mythology. They were also occasionally used for executions in which the hero of the story – played by a condemned person – was killed in one of various gruesome but mythologically authentic ways, such as being mauled by beasts or burned to death.

The Colosseum today is now a major tourist attraction in Rome with thousands of tourists each year entering to view the interior arena. There is now a museum dedicated to Eros located in the upper floor of the outer wall of the building. Part of the arena floor has been re-floored. Beneath the Colosseum, a network of subterranean passageways once used to transport wild animals and gladiators to the arena opened to the public in summer 2010.

The Colosseum is also the site of Roman Catholic ceremonies in the 20th and 21st centuries. For instance, Pope Benedict XVI led the Stations of the Cross called the Scriptural Way of the Cross (which calls for more meditation) at the Colosseum on Good Fridays.

At the insistence of St. Leonard of Port Maurice, Pope Benedict XIV (1740–1758) forbade the quarrying of the Colosseum and erected Stations of the Cross around the arena, which remained until February 1874. Benedict Joseph Labre spent the later years of his life within the walls of the Colosseum, living on alms, before he died in 1783. Several 19th century popes funded repair and restoration work on the Colosseum, and it still retains its Christian connection today. A Christian cross stands in the Colosseum, with a plaque, stating:

The amphitheater, one consecrated to triumphs, entertainments, and the impious worship of pagan gods, is now dedicated to the sufferings of the martyrs purified from impious superstitions.
Other Christian crosses stand in several points around the arena and every Good Friday the Pope leads a Via Crucis procession to the amphitheater.

The Colosseum has a wide and well-documented history of flora ever since Domenico Panaroli made the first catalogue of its plants in 1643. Since then, 684 species have been identified there. The peak was in 1855 (420 species). Attempts were made in 1871 to eradicate the vegetation, because of concerns over the damage that was being caused to the masonry, but much of it has returned. 242 species have been counted today and of the species first identified by Panaroli, 200 remain.

The variation of plants can be explained by the change of climate in Rome through the centuries. Additionally, bird migration, flower blooming, and the growth of Rome that caused the Colosseum to become embedded within the modern city centre rather than on the outskirts of the ancient city, as well as deliberate transport of species, are also contributing causes. Another reason often given is their seeds being unwittingly transported either on the fur or in the feces of animals brought there from all corners of the empire.

The iconic status of the Colosseum has led it to be featured in numerous films, such as "Roman Holiday", "Demetrius and the Gladiators", "20 Million Miles to Earth", "Way of the Dragon", "Gladiator" (in which it was re-created via CGI), "", "The Core", "The Lizzie McGuire Movie", "Jumper", and the animated movie "".

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is an American outdoor sports stadium located in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. The stadium serves as the home to the University of Southern California (USC) Trojans football team of the Pac-12 Conference. It is also the temporary home of the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). The Coliseum was home to the Rams from 1946 to 1979, when they moved to Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim. The Coliseum is serving as their home stadium again until the completion of Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park in Inglewood. The facility had a permanent seating capacity of 93,607 for USC football and Rams games, making it the largest football stadium in the Pac-12 Conference and the NFL. USC, which operates and manages the Coliseum, began a major renovation of the stadium in early 2018. During the renovation project the seating capacity will be 78,467. Once USC completes the renovation in 2019, the seating capacity will be 77,500.

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

The stadium is located in Exposition Park, which is owned by the State of California, and across the street from USC. The Coliseum is jointly owned by the State of California, Los Angeles County, City of Los Angeles and is managed and operated by the Auxiliary Services Department of the University of Southern California. From 1959 to 2016, the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was located adjacent to the Coliseum; the Sports Arena was closed in March 2016 and demolished between August and October 2016. Banc of California Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium and home of Major League Soccer's Los Angeles FC, was constructed on the former Sports Arena site and opened in April 2018.

The Coliseum will be the first stadium to have hosted the Summer Olympics three times, in 1932, 1984, and the future Summer Olympics in 2028, after the International Olympic Committee confirmed a deal it established on July 31, 2017, during the 131st IOC Session.

The stadium also was the temporary home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball from 1958 to 1961 and was the host venue for games 3, 4, and 5 of the 1959 World Series. It was the site of the First AFL-NFL World Championship Game, later called Super Bowl I, and Super Bowl VII. Additionally, it has served as a home field for a number of other teams, including the Los Angeles Raiders of the NFL, and UCLA Bruins football. It was declared a National Historic Landmark on July 27, 1984, the day before the opening ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics.

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission, which consists of six voting members appointed by the three ownership interests and meets on a monthly basis, provides public oversight of the master lease agreement with USC. Under the lease the University has day-to-day management and operation responsibility for both the Coliseum and Banc of California Stadium properties. The 98-year lease took effect on July 29, 2013, and was signed by the parties on September 5, 2013. The agreement required the University to make approximately $100 million in physical repairs to the Coliseum, pay $1.3 million each year in rent to the State of California for the state owned land the Coliseum property occupies in Exposition Park, maintain the Coliseum's physical condition at the same standard used on the USC Campus, and assume all financial obligations for the operations and maintenance of the Coliseum and Banc of California Stadium Complex.

On Monday, January 8, 2018, the University began its $300 million project to renovate and improve the Coliseum. The project, which is solely funded by the University, is scheduled to be completed by the 2019 football season and is the first major upgrade of the stadium in twenty years. Once completed the capacity will go from about 93,607 to 77,500 and the project includes replacing every seat in the stadium along with the addition of luxury boxes and club suites. On January 29, 2018, United Airlines, Inc. became the stadium's first naming rights partner, thus making the stadium the United Airlines Memorial Coliseum; the name change will take effect August 2019.

The Coliseum is now primarily the home of the USC Trojans football team and the temporary home of the Los Angeles Rams (until their new stadium is completed). Most of USC's regular home games, especially the alternating games with rivals UCLA and Notre Dame, attract a capacity crowd. The current official capacity of the Coliseum is 78,467. USC's women lacrosse and soccer teams use the Coliseum for selected games, usually involving major opponents and televised games. USC also rents the Coliseum to various events, including international soccer games, musical concerts and other large outdoor events.

The Olympic cauldron (also known as the Olympic Torch) was built for the stadium's two Olympic Games. It is still lit during USC football games and for Los Angeles Rams games, and other special occasions (e.g., when the Olympics are being held in another city).

In addition, the torch has been lit on the following historic occasions:

The Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a memorial to L.A. veterans of World War I (rededicated to all United States veterans of World War I in 1968). The official ground breaking ceremony took place on December 21, 1921 with construction being completed in just over 16 months, on May 1, 1923. Designed by John and Donald Parkinson, the original bowl's initial construction costs were $954,873. When the Coliseum opened in 1923, it was the largest stadium in Los Angeles with a capacity of 75,144. In 1930, however, with the Olympics due in two years, the stadium was extended upward to seventy-nine rows seats with two tiers of tunnels, expanding the seating capacity to 101,574. The now-signature Olympic torch was added. For a time it was known as Olympic Stadium. The Olympic cauldron torch which burned through both Games remains above the peristyle at the east end of the stadium as a reminder of this, as do the Olympic rings symbols over one of the main entrances. The football field runs east to west with the press box on the south side of the stadium. The scoreboard and video screen that tower over the peristyle date back to 1983; they replaced a smaller scoreboard above the center arch installed in 1972, which in turn supplanted the 1937 model, one of the first all-electric scoreboards in the nation. Over the years new light towers have been placed along the north and south rims. The large analog clock and thermometer over the office windows at either end of the peristyle were installed in 1955. In the mid-and late 1950s the press box was renovated and the "Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum" lettering and Olympic rings, lighted at night, were added to the eastern face of the peristyle tower. Between the double peristyle arches at the east end is the Coliseum's "Court of Honor"—plaques recognizing many of the memorable events and participants in Coliseum history, including a full list of 1932 and 1984 Olympic gold medalists. (The complete roster of honorees can be seen below).

A pair of life-sized bronze nude statues of male and female athletes atop a 20,000 pound (9,000 kg) post-and-lintel frame formed the "Olympic Gateway" created by Robert Graham for the 1984 games. The statues, modeled on water polo player Terry Schroeder and long jumper from Guyana, Jennifer Inniss, who participated in the games, were noted for their anatomical accuracy. A decorative facade bearing the Olympic rings was erected in front of the peristyle for the 1984 games, and the structure remained in place through that year's football season. The stadium rim and tunnels were repainted in alternating pastel colors that were part of architect Jon Jerde's graphic design for the games; these colors remained until 1987.

For many years the Coliseum was capable of seating over 100,000 spectators. In 1964 the stadium underwent its first major renovation in over three decades. Most of the original pale green wood-and-metal bench seating was replaced by individual theater-type chairs of dark red, beige, and yellow; these seats remained until 2018, though the yellow color was eliminated in the 1970s. The seating capacity was reduced to approximately 93,000.

The Coliseum was problematic as an NFL venue. At various times in its history, it was either the largest or one of the largest stadiums in the NFL. While this allowed the Rams and Raiders to set many NFL attendance records, it also made it extremely difficult to sell out. When the NFL amended its blackout rule to allow games to be televised locally if they were sold out 72 hours before kickoff. However, due to the Coliseum's large size, Rams (and later Raiders) games were often blacked out in Southern California even in the teams' best years.

Partly due to this, from 1964 to the late 1970s it was common practice to shift the playing field to the closed end of the stadium and install end zone bleachers in front of the peristyle, limiting further the number of seats available for sale. For USC–UCLA and USC-University of Notre Dame games, which often attracted crowds upward of 90,000, the bleachers were moved eastward and the field was re-marked in its original position. When a larger east grandstand was installed in 1977–1978 at the behest of Rams owner Carroll Rosenbloom, the capacity was just 71,500. With the upcoming 1984 Summer Olympic Games, a new track was installed and the playing field permanently placed inside it. However, the combination of the stadium's large, relatively shallow design, along with the presence of the track between the playing field and the stands, meant that some of the original end zone seats were as far from the field by the equivalent length of another football field. To address these and other problems, the Coliseum underwent a $15 million renovation before the 1993 football season which included the following:Additionally, for Raiders home games, tarpaulins were placed over seldom-sold sections, reducing seating capacity to approximately 65,000. The changes were anticipated to be the first of a multi-stage renovation designed by HNTB that would have turned the Coliseum into a split-bowl stadium with two levels of mezzanine suites (the peristyle end would have been left as is). However, after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the $93 million was required from government agencies (including the Federal Emergency Management Agency) to repair earthquake damage, and the renovations demanded by the Raiders were put on hold indefinitely. The Raiders then redirected their efforts toward a proposed stadium at Hollywood Park in Inglewood before electing to move back to the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum prior to the 1995 NFL season. The last element of the Northridge earthquake repairs was the replacement of the condemned press box with a new press box in 1995.

In August 2011, construction began on the Coliseum's west end on a new 6,000 square-foot high-definition video scoreboard, accompanying the existing video scoreboard on the peristyle (east end) of the stadium. The video scoreboard officially went into operation on September 3, 2011, at USC football's home opener versus the University of Minnesota, with the game being televised on ABC.

In July 2013, USC gained the master lease of the Coliseum, after the previously governing owner Coliseum Commission failed to deliver promised renovations. Part of the 98-year lease contract states that USC will provide $100 million in improvements in the first half of the contract, with $70 million of that coming in the first 10 years.

On October 29, 2015, the University of Southern California unveiled an estimated $270-million project for a massive renovation and restoration the Coliseum. The upgrades include: replacing all seats in the stadium, construction of a larger and modern press box (that contains new box suites, premium lounges, a viewing deck, V.I.P. section and introduction of LED ribbon boards), adding new aisles and widening some seats, a new surround sound system, restoration and renaming of the Peristyle (soon to be called the Julia and George Argyros Plaza), stadium wide Wi-Fi, two new High-definition video jumbotrons and scoreboard, new concession stands, upgraded entry concourses, new interior and exterior lighting, modernization of plumbing and electrical systems, and a reduction in capacity of about 16,000 seats, with the final total at approximately 78,500seats. The plans have been met with mixed reactions from the public. The Los Angeles 2028 Olympic bid committee proposes spending $300 million in added renovations to support its bid added to USC's total.

Construction began when the 2017 football season ended, and is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2019. USC officials stated that construction would be planned around the school's (and the Rams') 2018 home football schedule, with no interruption.

In 1923, Pomona College and USC played in the inaugural game at the Coliseum on October 6, with the Trojans prevailing 23–7. Situated just across the street from Exposition Park, USC agreed to play all its home games at the Coliseum, a circumstance that contributed to the decision to build the arena.

From 1928 through 1981, the UCLA Bruins also played home games at the Coliseum. When USC and UCLA played each other, the "home" team (USC in odd-numbered years, UCLA in even), occupied the north sideline and bench, and its band and rooters sat on the north side of the stadium; the "visiting" team and its contingent took to the south (press box) side of the stadium. Excepting the mid-1950s and 1983–2007, the two teams have worn their home jerseys for the rivalry games for the Victory Bell; this tradition was renewed in 2008, even though the two schools now play at different stadiums. UCLA moved to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena in 1982.
In 1932, the Coliseum hosted the 1932 Summer Olympic Games; the first of two Olympic Games hosted at the stadium. The Coliseum served as the site of the field hockey, gymnastics, the show jumping part of the equestrian, and the track and field events along with the opening and closing ceremonies. The 1932 games marked the introduction of the Olympic Village as well as the victory podium.

The former Cleveland Rams of the National Football League relocated to the Coliseum in 1946, becoming the Los Angeles Rams; but the team later relocated again, first to Anaheim in 1980, then to St. Louis, Missouri in 1995 only to move back to Los Angeles in 2016. The Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference played in the Coliseum from 1946 to 1949, when the Dons franchise merged with its NFL cousins just before the two leagues merged.

The Coliseum hosted the NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 1934, 1939, 1949 and 1955.

Among other sporting events held at the Coliseum over the years were games of Major League Baseball, which were held at the Coliseum when the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League relocated to the West Coast in 1958. The Dodgers played here until Dodger Stadium was completed in time for the 1962 season. Even allowing for its temporary status, the Coliseum was extremely ill-suited for baseball due to the fundamentally different sizes and shapes of football and baseball fields. A baseball field requires roughly 2.5 times more area than a football gridiron, but the playing surface was just barely large enough to accommodate a baseball diamond. As a result, foul territory was almost nonexistent down the first base line, but was very expansive down the third base line with a very large backstop for the catcher. Sight lines also left much to be desired; some seats were as far as from the plate. Also, from baseball's point of view, the locker rooms were huge, because they were designed for football (not baseball) teams.

In order to shoehorn even an approximation of a baseball field onto the playing surface, the left-field fence was set at only from the plate. This seemed likely to ensure that there would be many "Chinese home runs", as such short shots were called at the time, and sportswriters began jokingly referring to the improvised park as "O'Malley's Chinese Theatre" or "The House that Charlie Chan Built", drawing protests from the Chinese American community in the Los Angeles area. They also expressed concern that cherished home run records, especially Babe Ruth's 1927 seasonal mark of 60, might easily fall as a result of 250-foot pop flies going over the left-field fence. "Sports Illustrated" titled a critical editorial "Every Sixth Hit a Homer!" Players, too, complained, with Milwaukee Braves' ace Warren Spahn calling for a rule that would require any home run to travel at least before it could be considered a home run.

Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick ordered the Dodgers to erect two screens in left field to prevent pop flies from becoming home runs. One screen would have topped the left field wall, while the second would have been in the stands, from the plate. A ball hit to left would have to clear both screens to be a home run; if it cleared the first screen, it would be a ground-rule double. However, the Dodgers discovered that the state's earthquake safety laws barred construction of a second screen. The first screen was built, however; its cables, towers, wires and girders were in play.

As it was, the "short porch" in left field looked attractive to batters. In the first week of play during the 1959 season, the media's worst preseason fears seemed to be realized when 24 home runs were hit in the Coliseum, three of them by Chicago Cubs outfielder Lee Walls, not especially distinguished as a hitter. But pitchers soon adapted, throwing outside to right-handed hitters, requiring them to pull the bat hard if they wanted to hit toward left. Perhaps no player took better advantage than Dodgers outfielder Wally Moon, who figured out how to hit high fly balls that dropped almost vertically just behind the screen. By season's end, he had hit 19 homers, all but 5 of them in the Coliseum. In recognition, such homers were dubbed "Moon Shots."

Unable to compel the Dodgers to fix the situation, the major leagues passed a note to Rule 1.04 stating that any stadium constructed after June 1, 1958, must provide a minimum distance of down each foul line. Also, when the expansion Los Angeles Angels joined the American League for 1961, Frick rejected their original request to use the Coliseum as a temporary facility. This rule was revoked (or perhaps, simply ignored) when the Baltimore Orioles launched the "Retro Ballpark" era in 1993, with the opening of Camden Yards. With a right field corner of only 318 feet, this fell short. However, baseball fans heartily welcomed the "new/old" style, and all new ballparks since then have been allowed to set their own distances.

Late that season, the screen figured in the National League pennant race. The Braves were playing the Dodgers in the Coliseum on September 15, 1959, and Joe Adcock hit a ball that cleared the screen but hit a steel girder behind it and got stuck in the mesh. According to the ground rules, this should have been a home run. However, the umpires ruled it a ground-rule double. Then the fans shook the screen, causing the ball to fall into the seats. The umpires changed the call to a homer, only to change their minds again and rule it a ground-rule double. Adcock was left stranded on second. The game was tied at the end of nine innings and the Dodgers won it in the tenth inning. At the end of the regular season, the Dodgers and Braves finished in a tie. The Dodgers won the ensuing playoff and went on to win the World Series.
Although less than ideal for baseball due to its poor sight lines and short dimensions (left field at 251 feet [mentioned above] and power alleys at ) it was ideally suited for large paying crowds. Each of the three games of the 1959 World Series played there drew over 92,000 fans, with game 5 drawing 92,706, a record unlikely to be seriously threatened anytime soon, given the smaller seating capacities of today's baseball parks. A May 1959 exhibition game between the Dodgers and the New York Yankees in honor of legendary catcher Roy Campanella drew 93,103, the largest crowd ever to see a baseball game in the Western Hemisphere until an exhibition game in 2008 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox to mark the 50th anniversary of MLB in Los Angeles. The Coliseum also hosted the second 1959 MLB All-Star Game.

The Coliseum was also the site of John F. Kennedy's memorable acceptance speech at the 1960 Democratic National Convention. It was during that speech that Kennedy first used the term "the New Frontier".

The Rams hosted the 1949, 1951, and 1955 NFL championship games at the Coliseum. The Coliseum was the site of the very first NFL-AFL Championship Game in January 1967, an event since renamed the Super Bowl. It also hosted the Super Bowl in 1973, but future Super Bowls in the Los Angeles region would instead be hosted at the Rose Bowl, which has never had an NFL tenant. The venue was also the site of the NFL Pro Bowl from 1951 to 1972 and again in 1979.

In 1960, the American Football League's Los Angeles Chargers played at the Coliseum before relocating to San Diego the next year; the team moved back to its original home in 2017.

The United States men's national soccer team played its first match as the stadium in 1965, losing to Mexico in a 1966 World Cup qualifier. Also, the Los Angeles Wolves of the United Soccer Association played their home games in the Coliseum for one year (1967) before moving to the Rose Bowl.

The largest gathering in the Coliseum's history was a Billy Graham crusade which took place on September 8, 1963 with 134,254 in attendance, noted by the Coliseum's website as an all-time record. With the renovations of 1964, the capacity of the Coliseum was reduced to roughly 93,000 for future events.

In July 1972, the Coliseum hosted the "Super Bowl" of Motocross. The event was the first motocross race held inside a stadium. It has evolved into the AMA Supercross championship held in stadiums across the United States and Canada.

On August 20, 1972, Wattstax, also known as the "Black-Woodstock", took place in the Coliseum. Over 100,000 Black residents of Los Angeles attended this concert for African American pride. Later, in 1973, a documentary was released about the concert.

In 1973, Evel Knievel used the entire distance of the stadium to jump 50 stacked cars at the stadium. Knievel launched his motorcycle from atop one end of the Coliseum, jumping the cars in the center of the field, and stopping high atop the other end. The jump was filmed by ABC Wide World of Sports. Also in 1973, the Coliseum was host to Super Bowl VII which saw the AFC champion Miami Dolphins (17–0) defeat the NFC champion Washington Redskins (13–4), 14–7, and become the only team in NFL history to attain an undefeated season and postseason.

The Los Angeles Rams played their home games in the Coliseum until 1979, when they moved to Anaheim prior to the 1980 NFL Season. They hosted the NFC Championship Game in 1975 & 1978 in which they lost both times to the Dallas Cowboys by lopsided margins.

The Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League used the Coliseum as their home ground in both the 1977 and 1981 seasons.

The Coliseum was also home to the USFL's Los Angeles Express between 1983 and 1985. In this capacity, the stadium also is the site of the longest professional American football game in history; a triple-overtime game on June 30, 1984 (a few weeks before the start of the 1984 Summer Olympics) between the Express and the Michigan Panthers, which was decided on a 24-yard game-winning touchdown by Mel Gray of the Express, 3:33 into the third overtime to give Los Angeles a 27–21 win. Until 2012, this game marked the only time in the history of pro football that there was more than one kickoff in overtime play in the same game.

In 1982, the former Oakland Raiders moved in. The same year, UCLA decided to move out, relocating its home games to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

The Coliseum was also the site of the 1982 Speedway World Final, held for the first and, to this day, only time in the USA. The event saw Newport Beach native Bruce Penhall retain the title he had won in front of 92,500 fans at London's Wembley Stadium in 1981. An estimated 40,000 fans were at the Coliseum to see Penhall retain his title before announcing his retirement from motorcycle speedway to take up an acting role on the NBC drama series "CHiPs".

Los Angeles hosted the 1984 Summer Olympics, and the Coliseum became the first stadium to host the Summer Olympic Games twice; again serving as the primary track and field venue and site of the opening and closing ceremonies.

The Coliseum played host to the 2-day California World Music Festival on April 7–8, 1979.

The Rolling Stones played at the stadium on their 1981 "Tattoo You" tour (October 9 & 11), supported by George Thorogood, J. Geils Band, and a relatively unknown newcomer called Prince.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band concluded their Born in the U.S.A. Tour, with four consecutive concerts on September 27, 29–30 and October 2, 1985. These shows were recorded and eight songs from the show of September 30 appear on their box set, entitled "Live 1975–85".

U2 played at the stadium on leg 3 of their breakout Joshua Tree tour in 1987 with two consecutive nights, November 17 and 18, 1987. They later returned on their Pop Mart tour, June 21, 1997.

Los Angeles natives Mötley Crüe played at the stadium on December 13, 1987 during the second leg of their ""Girls, Girls, Girls"" World Tour with fellow heavy metal and Los Angeles-based band Guns N' Roses as the opening act. Mötley Crüe at the time was one of the most popular and successful musical acts on the planet, while Guns N' Roses was one of the largest up-and-coming acts. Guns N' Roses would later return for four shows in October 1989 as the opening act for The Rolling Stones, then again on September 27, 1992 on their infamous co-headlining tour with Metallica.

The stadium played host to The Monsters of Rock Festival Tour, featuring Van Halen, Scorpions, Dokken, Metallica and Kingdom Come, on July 24, 1988. A second show was planned to take place on the 23rd, but was later canceled.

The stadium also played host to Amnesty International's Human Rights Now! Benefit Concert on September 21, 1988. The show was headlined by Sting and Peter Gabriel and also featured Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Tracy Chapman, Youssou N'Dour and Joan Baez.

The Coliseum was set to be the site of WrestleMania VII on March 24, 1991. However, the event was eventually moved to the nearby Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Officially, the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) claimed the decision to move the event was due to security concerns (this may have been in reference to then-champion Sgt Slaughter, who was playing a heel Iraqi sympathizer character to coincide with Operation Desert Storm). However, that claim has often been disputed and the venue change attributed to low ticket sales. When it was first announced that the Coliseum was to host WM7, WWF owner Vince McMahon's original promos for the event told that they expected over 100,000 fans to attend. The reported attendance in the Sports Arena was 16,158. The 100,000-plus mark would later occur 25 years later on April 3, 2016 when AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas housed 101,763 fans for WrestleMania 32.

The Raiders began looking to move out of the Coliseum as early as 1986. In addition to the delays in renovating the stadium, they never drew well; even after they won Super Bowl XVIII in 1984, they had trouble filling it. The NFL scheduled all of the Raiders' appearances on Monday Night Football as road games since the Los Angeles market would have been blacked out due to the Coliseum not being sold out. Finally, in 1995, the Raiders left Los Angeles and returned to Oakland, leaving the Coliseum without a professional football tenant for the first time since the close of World War II.

The most recent pro football tenant prior to the return of the Rams was the short-lived Los Angeles Xtreme, the first and only champion of the XFL. It won the championship game at the Coliseum over San Francisco.

The Legends Football League began as a halftime spectacular known as the Lingerie Bowl. The first 3 years (2004, 2005, 2006) were played at the Coliseum. From 2009 to 2011, a couple of Los Angeles Temptation games were played in the Coliseum. Beginning in 2015, the Temptation resumed playing at the Coliseum after 3 seasons at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario.

The stadium hosted several matches, including the semi-finals and final, of the women's FIFA World Cup. The world's largest audience for a women's sporting event. The U.S. NWT beat China in a shoot-out. The 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer tournament was also held at the Coliseum. The United States national team beat Honduras in the final. The Coliseum also staged the final match of the Gold Cup in the 1996, 1998, and 2000 tournaments. In October 2000, United States played its last match at the stadium in a friendly versus Mexico. Since then, the team has preferred the Rose Bowl Stadium and Dignity Health Sports Park as home stadiums in the Greater Los Angeles.

The stadium hosted the K-1 Dynamite!! USA mixed martial arts event. The promoters claimed that 54,000 people attended the event, which would have set a new attendance record for a mixed martial arts event in the United States; however, other officials estimated the crowd between 20,000 and 30,000.

In May 1959, the Dodgers had hosted an exhibition game against the reigning World Series champion New York Yankees at the Coliseum, a game which drew over 93,000 people. The Yankees won that game 6–2. As part of their west coast 50th anniversary celebration in 2008, the Dodgers again hosted an exhibition game against the reigning World Series Champions, the Boston Red Sox. The middle game of a three-game set in Los Angeles, held on March 29, 2008, was also won by the visitors, by the relatively low score of 7–4, given the layout of the field – Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek had joked that he expected scores in the 80s.

As previously mentioned in the 1950s–1960s section, during 1958–1961, the distance from home plate to the left field foul pole was with a screen running across the close part of left field. Due to the intervening addition of another section of seating rimming the field, the 2008 grounds crew had much less space to work with, and the result was a left field foul line only, with a screen, which one Boston writer dubbed the "Screen Monster". Even at that distance, 201 feet is also short of the minimum legal home-run distance. This being an exhibition game, balls hit over the temporary screen were still counted as home runs. There were only a couple of home runs over the screen, as pitchers adjusted (and Manny Ramirez did not play).
A diagram () illustrated the differences in the dimensions between 1959 and 2008:
A sellout crowd of 115,300 was announced, which set a Guinness World Record for attendance at a baseball game, breaking the record set at a 1956 Summer Olympics baseball demonstration game between teams from the US and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The Coliseum formerly hosted the major U.S. electronic dance music festival Electric Daisy Carnival. It last hosted the event in 2010; following the drug-related death of an underage attendee at EDC that year, the festival's organizer Insomniac Events was blacklisted from hosting future events at the venue, and it subsequently moved to Las Vegas Motor Speedway beginning in 2011.

In 2006, the Coliseum Commission focused on signing a long-term lease with USC; the school offered to purchase the facility from the state but was turned down. After some at-time contentious negotiations, with the university threatening in late 2007 to move its home stadium to the Rose Bowl, the two sides signed a 25-year lease in May 2008 giving the Coliseum Commission 8% of USC's ticket sales, approximately $1.5 million a year, but commits the agency to a list of renovations.

In 2006, the Mexican group RBD held a concert during the RBD Tour USA for more than 70,000 people, the tickets sold out in less than 30 minutes.

On June 23, 2008, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission announced they were putting the naming rights of the Coliseum on the market, predicting a deal valued at $6 million to $8 million a year. The funds would go towards financing more than $100 million in renovations over the next decade, including a new video board, bathrooms, concession areas and locker rooms. Additional seating was included in the renovation plans which increased the Coliseum's seating capacity to 93,607 in September 2008.
On June 17, 2009, the Coliseum was the terminus for the Los Angeles Lakers 2009 NBA Championship victory parade. A crowd of over 90,000 attended the festivities, in addition to the throngs of supporters who lined the 2-mile parade route. The Coliseum peristyle was redesigned in purple and gold regalia to commemorate the team and the Lakers' court was transported from Staples Center to the Coliseum field to act as the stage. Past parades had ended at Staples Center, but due to the newly constructed L.A. Live complex, space was limited around the arena.

On July 30, 2011, the LA Rising festival with Rage Against the Machine, Muse, Rise Against, Lauryn Hill, Immortal Technique and El Gran Silencio was hosted at the Coliseum.

On April 27, 2013, the stadium hosted the Stadium Super Trucks.

On July 29, 2013, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission and USC implemented the Second Amendment to the Lease and Agreement between the Coliseum Commission and USC which transferred to USC the responsibility for the long-term (98 years) operation of both the Coliseum and the then Sports Arena facilities and the capital renewal of the Coliseum.

On September 13, 2014, the Coliseum hosted the 5th-place game, 3rd-place game, and Final of the 2014 Copa Centroamericana in front of 41,969 spectators.

In August 2015, the Coliseum hosted the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games.
On October 29, 2015, the University of Southern California unveiled an estimated $270-million plan to renovate and restore the historic stadium.

On January 13, 2016, the NFL gave permission for the St. Louis Rams to relocate back to Los Angeles. The Rams resumed play at the Coliseum, while awaiting completion of the Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park in Inglewood.

On August 13, 2016, the Coliseum hosted its first NFL game at the stadium since 1994, as the Rams hosted Dallas Cowboys at a preseason game to a crowd of 89,140 people.

On September 18, 2016, the Coliseum hosted the first Rams regular season home game since 1979, against the Seattle Seahawks.

On January 6, 2018, the Coliseum hosted its first Rams playoff game since the 1978 NFC Championship game, against the defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons.

On November 19, 2018, the Coliseum hosted its first Monday Night Football game since 1985, and the first Monday night game the Rams hosted at the Coliseum exact date 40 years later, with the Rams taking on the Kansas City Chiefs. That game, which was originally scheduled to be played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City that night, was moved to the Coliseum due to poor field conditions at the former. The Rams won the game, 54-51, over the Chiefs in the highest-scoring game in Monday Night Football history.

On January 29, 2018, it was announced by the University of Southern California that United Airlines, Inc. had bought the naming rights to the Coliseum. Memorial Coliseum will be retained in the name of the stadium by the condition of the Coliseum Commission's requirement in its master lease agreement with the University. It will be called the United Airlines Memorial Coliseum starting in August 2019.

The International Olympic Committee announced that Los Angeles would again host the Summer Olympics in 2028. Athletics will be held at the Coliseum during the 2028 Summer Olympics as well as the closing ceremony. During the 131st IOC Session, the International Olympic Committee officially awarded the 2028 Summer Olympics to Los Angeles. The Coliseum will be the first stadium to host events for three different Olympic games.

There was much debate about the Coliseum's potential to be a modern NFL venue. Although the Coliseum has significant historical value, it is regarded by some as inadequate to be the home of a major professional sports team. Since it was designed and built long before the age of club seats, luxury boxes, and the other revenue-generating amenities that modern football stadiums possess, any professional team moving to the Coliseum will likely have to perform extensive renovations. Also, its status as a National Historic Landmark means any renovations would have to be complementary to the most identifiable parts of the building, a guideline that was not followed during Soldier Field's renovations in 2002. Soldier Field was stripped of its landmark status as a result of its renovation. Los Angeles County voters have been generally uninterested in appropriating tax revenue toward building a new stadium. Without public funds, the costs of renovation would have to be borne by any future tenant of the Coliseum. Because of the difficulties that the NFL had with trying to finance a renovated Coliseum, Rose Bowl or until 2016 a brand new stadium, pro football was absent from the second-largest media market in the United States for two decades. (The NFL was to award a franchise to Los Angeles in 2002, but debate over a stadium, coupled with Houston's aggressiveness, led the NFL to award the franchise to Houston instead.)

On November 10, 2005, then-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue announced that the NFL and city officials had reached a preliminary agreement on bringing an NFL team back to the Coliseum. However, this did not come to fruition.

An article in the May 24, 2006 issue of the "Los Angeles Times" made light of a proposition to spend tens of millions of dollars of city funds to heavily renovate the stadium, and indicated that the city may make more than $100 million in added funds available in the future toward further renovation. City leaders who supported the spending despite significant disapproval from the local population cited that the renovations were necessary to help attract a new NFL team to the city and that the tax revenue generated by the presence of a new franchise team would have eventually paid back the investment many times over.

While a proposal to bring pro football back to the Los Angeles area was still in the works (at the time), there had been little action taken in the last years of the NFL's absence from the Los Angeles market to bring an NFL team to the Coliseum. Up until 2013, USC had a series of mostly one- and two-year leases with the commission. In November 2007, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa declared that the policy of requiring the NFL to relocate to the Coliseum would change and other options would be explored. The Coliseum Commission's June 23, 2008 decision to sell naming rights to the stadium had signaled a likely end to the prospects of the NFL's returning to the Coliseum as the prospect of a naming-rights deal by a future NFL team tenant could have helped lure a new pro team.

In August 2011, Tim Leiweke, President of AEG, Inc., stated publicly that his interest in using the Coliseum as a possible temporary venue for an NFL team that might relocate to Los Angeles would require that such negotiations with AEG be conducted with USC and not with the Coliseum Commission.

On September 7, 2011, the Coliseum Commission voted unanimously to request USC to undertake negotiations for possible management agreement regarding the Coliseum and the then Sports Arena. USC and the Commission began negotiations at the end of September and concluded in December 2011 with a Term Sheet outlining basic points of agreement negotiated between USC and the Commission negotiating committee. The full Commission on December 21, 2011 unanimously endorsed the terms and instructed its legal counsel to proceed with development of an actual lease agreement so that a draft could be made available for public comment. Over the next 18 months the Commission and its staff held several public meetings on the draft lease and discussion meetings with the California Science Center (representative for the State owned property in Exposition Park).

During an open session meeting on July 17, 2013, the Commission authorized the amendment to the existing USC-Coliseum Commission Lease for the operation of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the then Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. On July 25, 2013, the Coliseum Commission and USC executed this new long-term master lease agreement. It became effective on July 29, 2013, and the Commission transferred day-to-day management and financial responsibilities for the Coliseum and Sports Arena to USC. This included the rehiring by USC, on a fixed term basis, of the Coliseum/Sports Arena employees who had been working for the Commission the previous day. For most of the former Coliseum Commission employees, the fixed term of their employment would be short-lived, ending 10 months later on May 30, 2014.

The new master lease contained a provision that required USC to cooperate with any request by the City or County of Los Angeles for use of the Coliseum on a temporary basis (no longer than 4 years) by an NFL team. USC was required to negotiate in good faith with the NFL to structure a sublease or occupancy agreement on fair market terms; USC could require the NFL team to contribute to any capital improvements in the Coliseum; USC is not obligated under the master lease to incur any additional expense or liabilities from the use of the Coliseum by an NFL team. Additionally, under the master lease USC had the right to refuse to enter into an agreement with the NFL if the school reasonably determined that the NFL team being proposed posed security or safety concerns for the USC campus or if the activities associated with the NFL team would cause violations of NCAA or Pac-12 bylaws, regulations, or policies/procedures.

That lease provision was executed when the Rams relocated back to Los Angeles for the 2016 NFL season, the Coliseum serves as their temporary stadium until the Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park is finished in 2020.

On December 6, 2016, it was reported by "USA Today" that the San Diego Chargers (a candidate to move to Los Angeles) were in contact with the Coliseum Commission about playing at the stadium should they move; the Chargers ultimately chose the much smaller Dignity Health Sports Park as their temporary home.

Beginning in the 2017 season, the seating capacity for Rams games was capped at 70,000 due to limited logistics for larger crowds.*For college football

Records differ between the 2006 USC football media guide and 2006 UCLA football media guide. (This may be due to only keeping records for "home" games until the 1950s.) The USC Media guide lists the top five record crowds as:

The UCLA Media guide does not list the 1939 game against USC, and only lists attendance for the second game in 1945 for Coliseum attendance records. These are the top three listed UCLA record Coliseum crowds:
The largest crowd to attend a USC football game against an opponent other than UCLA or Notre Dame was 96,130 for a November 10, 1951 contest
with Stanford University. The largest attendance for a UCLA contest against a school other than USC was 92,962 for the November 1, 1946 game with Saint Mary's College of California.

The Los Angeles Rams played the San Francisco 49ers before an NFL record attendance of 102,368 on November 10, 1957. This was a record paid attendance that stood until September 2009 at Cowboys Stadium, though the overall NFL regular season record was broken in a 2005 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. Both records were broken on September 20, 2009 at the first regular season game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants.

In 1958 the Rams averaged 83,680 for their six home games, including 100,470 for the Chicago Bears and 100,202 for the Baltimore Colts.

In their 13 seasons in Los Angeles the Raiders on several occasions drew near-capacity crowds to the Coliseum. The largest were 91,505 for an October 25, 1992 game with the Dallas Cowboys, 91,494 for a September 29, 1991 contest with the San Francisco 49ers, and 90,380 on January 1, 1984 for a playoff game with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Coliseum hosted the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game, later called the Super Bowl. The January 15, 1967 game, pitting the Green Bay Packers against the Kansas City Chiefs, attracted 61,946 fans—a lower-than anticipated crowd (by comparison, a regular-season game between the Packers and Rams a month earlier drew 72,418). For Super Bowl VII in 1973, which matched the Miami Dolphins against the Washington Redskins, the attendance was a near-capacity 90,182, a record that would stand until Super Bowl XI at the Rose Bowl. The 1975 NFC Championship Game between the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys had an attendance of 88,919, still the largest crowd for a conference championship game since the conference-title format began with the 1970 season. The 1983 AFC Championship Game between the Raiders and Seattle Seahawks attracted 88,734.

The Rams' first NFL game at the Coliseum since 1979, after spending fifteen years at Anaheim Stadium and then twenty-one seasons in St. Louis, a pre-season contest against the Cowboys on August 13, 2016, drew a crowd of 89,140. The team's first regular-season home game, on September 18 against the Seattle Seahawks, attracted 91,046—the largest attendance for a Rams game at the Coliseum since 1959.

Contemporary baseball guides listed the theoretical baseball seating capacity as 92,500. Thousands of east-end seats were very far from home plate, and were not sold unless needed. The largest regular season attendance was 78,672, the Dodgers' home debut in the Coliseum, against the San Francisco Giants on April 18, 1958.

The May 7, 1959, exhibition game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the 1958 World Series Champion New York Yankees, in honor of disabled former Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella, drew 93,103, which was a Major League Baseball record prior to 2008.

All three Dodgers home games in the 1959 World Series with the Chicago White Sox exceeded 90,000 attendance. Game 5 drew 92,706 fans, a major league record for a non-exhibition game.

The attendance for the exhibition game on March 29, 2008, between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers, was 115,300, setting a new Guinness World Record for attendance at a baseball game. The previous record of an estimated 114,000 was in the 1956 Summer Olympics at Melbourne Cricket Ground for an exhibition game between teams from branches of American Military Forces and Australia.Several factors allowed the city of Los Angeles and its metropolitan area to become the footballing central United States, both for local and international football. Including the common demographic factor in the area since the mid-twentieth century began to hold thousands and then millions, especially Mexican Latin American immigrants ; California leading the city's fondness for soccer called. To this incipient city footballing tradition dating back to 1902. Initially found joins football stadiums hosted a small area like Wrigley Field (Chicago Stadium homonymous) and Veterans Memorial Stadium, however the growing fondness for football, moved the dispute encounters the biggest stage in the city, the Memorial Coliseum.

The first official match in the competition that developed serious property was on March 7, 1965, corresponding to the qualifiers for the World Cup 1966 England between the U.S. and Mexico that ended with a tie at two goals.

Although the stadium represents the second most active venue in the history of the U.S. national team (after Robert F. Kennedy), it has played only 20 games in it, the last one in 2000.

However, the national team with increased activity in the Memorial Coliseum is Mexico, who has played 61 games in the building. Even the Los Angeles stage is the second stage where most capped the Mexican representative, only after its official seat Estadio Azteca, more than any other enclosure in his country and the United States. It was the mid-1980s when the Mexican national team began to adopt it as usual venue of their friendly games in the neighboring country, largely by population uniqueness of Los Angeles, which places it as the second-biggest city with Mexicans in the world.

Given its capacity and importance of the area in which it is located, it has been striking for different club and international matches, both friendly and official. While it is emphasizing the fact it had not been considered as the venue for the 1994 World Cup, awarded to its neighbor the Rose Bowl Stadium.

Although the stadium has never hosted the MLS Cup (final title game of Major League Soccer) or the end of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (the tournament's oldest soccer country), it was the seat of the first final of a professional soccer tournament in the country, when it was the setting for the 1967 championship, organized by the United Soccer Association.

"Commemorating outstanding persons or events, athletic or otherwise, that have had a definite impact upon the history, glory, and growth of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum"

Due to its location near Hollywood, the Coliseum has been used in numerous commercials, TV programs, videogames and films over the years.
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