Venues of the 1984 Summer Olympics

2005 picture of the gate to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Coliseum served as the main stadium for both the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics.

For the 1984 Summer Olympics, a total of thirty-one sports venues were used. Two venues from the 1932 Summer Olympics, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Rose Bowl, were used for these Games. Between the 1932 and the 1984 Summer Olympics, the expansion of professional sports teams assisted in the growth of the facilities that would be used for the 1984 events. In an effort to control costs in the wake of the problems incurred during the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, only two new permanent venues were constructed, both using corporate sponsorship though neither were mentioned in the official Olympic report. Many of the other venues had temporary adjustments and returned to their normal usage once the 1984 Olympics were completed. Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto and the Rose Bowl later served as venues for the Super Bowl, the FIFA World Cup, and the FIFA Women's World Cup. The velodrome that was constructed for the 1984 Games was demolished in 2003.

Venues

Los Angeles

North side of Pauley Pavilion in 2008. It hosted the gymnastics events for the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Venue Sports Capacity Ref.
Albert Gersten Pavilion Weightlifting 4,156 [1]
Eagle's Nest Arena Judo 4,200 [2]
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Athletics, Ceremonies (opening/ closing) 92,516 [3]
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Boxing 15,700 [4]
Olympic Swim Stadium Diving, Swimming, Synchronized swimming 16,500 [5]
Pauley Pavilion Gymnastics 12,829 [6]
Streets of Los Angeles Athletics (20 km/ 50 km walk, marathon) Not listed. [7]

Elsewhere in Southern California

The Forum in 1997 (Shown as the Great Western Forum and uploaded in 2007.). It hosted the basketball events for the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Venue Sports Capacity Ref.
Anaheim Convention Center Wrestling 7,200 [8]
Artesia Freeway Cycling (road team time trial) Not listed. [9]
Coto de Caza Modern pentathlon (fencing, riding, running, shooting) 8,000 [10]
El Dorado Park Archery 4,000 [11]
Fairbanks Ranch Country Club Equestrian (eventing endurance) 50,000 [12]
The Forum Basketball 17,505 [13]
Heritage Park Aquatic Center Modern pentathlon (swimming) 8,000 [10]
Lake Casitas Canoeing, Rowing 4,680 [14]
Long Beach Arena Volleyball 12,000 [15]
Long Beach Convention Center Fencing 2,500 [15]
Long Beach Shoreline Marina Sailing Not listed. [16]
Olympic Velodrome Cycling (track) 8,400 [17]
Prado Regional Park Shooting 5,000 [18]
Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool Water polo 5,000 [19]
Rose Bowl Football (final) 103,300 [20]
Santa Anita Park Equestrian 33,500 [21]
Santa Monica College Athletics (marathon start) Not listed. [7]
Streets of Mission Viejo Cycling (individual road race) Not listed. [9]
Streets of Santa Monica Athletics (marathon) Not listed. [7]
Titan Gymnasium Handball 3,300 [22]
Weingart Stadium Field hockey 22,000 [23]

Other venues

Venue Location Sports Capacity Ref.
Harvard Stadium Boston, Massachusetts Football 30,323 [20][24]
Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, Maryland Football 34,000 [20][25]
Stanford Stadium Stanford, California Football 85,500 [20][26]

Demonstration sports

Venue Sports Capacity Ref.
Dodger Stadium Baseball 56,000
Los Angeles Tennis Center Tennis 5,800

Before the Olympics

A 2005 image of the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. The arena hosted the 1984 Summer Olympic boxing competitions.

When the Summer Olympics came to Los Angeles in 1932, two of the venues that hosted were the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.[27] The former hosted the athletics, equestrian eventing and jumping, field hockey, and gymnastics event while the latter was constructed into a velodrome for track cycling events.[27] In 1973, the Coliseum played host to Super Bowl VII where the Miami Dolphins defeated the Washington Redskins 14-7 to go undefeated for the entire 1972 National Football League (NFL) season.[28] In 1979, the then-Los Angeles (now St. Louis) Rams won their seventh straight NFL National Football Conference (NFC) Western Division title, and finally advanced to Super Bowl XIV where they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Rose Bowl.[29][30] That season would also be the Rams' last season at the Coliseum where they lost their last game there against the New Orleans Saints 29-14.[31] For the 1980 NFL season, the Rams moved to Anaheim (southeast of Los Angeles) to Anaheim Stadium (Angel Stadium of Anaheim since 2004) though they lost their first game there against the Detroit Lions.[32] The Rams would remain at Anaheim Stadium until the end of the 1994 season when they moved to St. Louis, Missouri where they have remained as of 2010.[33][34][35] Their last game in Anaheim was against the Redskins, losing 24-21.[36] Following the 1981 NFL season, the Coliseum became home for the Oakland Raiders NFL team, where they opened up their 1982 season results with a win over the defending Super Bowl champions San Francisco 49ers 23-17.[37] The Coliseum since 1923 has continued to play host for the University of Southern California football team and still does as of 2010.[38] The Trojans' cross-town rivals, the UCLA Bruins, shared the Coliseum with Trojans from 1928 to 1981.[39][40] In 1982, the Bruins moved to the Rose Bowl where they have remained as of 2010.[41][42] Besides Super Bowl XIV, the Rose Bowl hosted Super Bowl XVII where the Redskins avenged their Super Bowl loss to the Dolphins from ten years earlier with a 27-17 victory.[43]

Santa Anita Park opened in 1934. Normally used for Thoroughbred horse racing, the home stretch of the track was converted to house dressage, eventing, and jumping events for the 1984 Summer Games, including stands.[21]

Seven years after the 1932 Summer Games, a Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games (SCCOG) was created. This was in an effort to bring the Summer Olympics back to Los Angeles. The first attempt was for the then-cancelled 1940 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Following World War II, Los Angeles and SCCOG made bids for the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics, losing to eventual winners Helsinki and Melbourne, respctively. The United States Olympic Committee selected Detroit over Los Angeles for the United States's bid for the Summer Olympics between 1960 and 1972 without success. SCCOG did provide assistance to Squaw Valley in the northern part of the state near Lake Tahoe for the 1960 Winter Olympics. Los Angeles first bid for the 1976 Summer Olympics was in 1967, though it had to beat its northern neighbor San Francisco for being the American representative in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) bidding in 1969. Montreal was awarded the 1976 Summer Olympics over Moscow and Los Angeles. New leadership in SCCOG in 1972 along with lessons learned helped Los Angeles in bidding for the 1980 Summer Olympics though this time they would lose out to Moscow for the 1980 Summer Olympics. Runaway costs from the 1976 Summer Olympics, including several venues that were not completed until either before the start of the games or only halfway done in the case of the Olympic Stadium, led Los Angeles to bid for the 1984 Summer Olympics with a minimal amount of new construction costs. Bid studies were done in Los Angeles between 1975 and 1978. The city was awarded the 1984 Games in 1978 by the IOC since they were the sole bidder.[44]

In 1959, the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was completed.[45] The following year, it hosted the 1960 Democratic National Convention.[45] Following the 1959-60 NBA season, the National Basketball Association (NBA) Lakers franchise would move from Minneapolis to Los Angeles, where they would use the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena from the 1960-61 to the 1966-67 season before they moved to The Forum in Inglewood, a Los Angeles suburb, for the 1967-68 season.[46][47][48][49] From 1959 to 1964, the Sports Arena served as home for the UCLA Bruins men's basketball team until the Bruins moved to Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus.[50] The USC Trojans men's basketball team also used the Sports Arena as home.[51]

Lake Casitas was formed when the Ventura River was dammed in 1962. This was done for drinking water purposes in the Oak View area.[52]

In 1966, Los Angeles was awarded a National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, the Los Angeles Kings. They spent the first two months of their inaugural season at the Long Beach Arena before joining the NBA's Lakers at The Forum.[53]

Only two new permanent venues were constructed for the Games. They were the Olympic Velodrome on the California State University, Dominguez Hills campus and the Olympic Swim Stadium on the University of Southern California campus.[5][17] The Velodrome was constructed between 1981 and 1982 while the Swim Stadium was constructed between 1980 and 1983.[5][17] 7-Eleven convenience stores sponsored the Velodrome while McDonald's sponsored the Swim Stadium, though neither corporate name was mentioned in the official Olympic report.[5][17]

Temporary venues were set up for El Dorado and Prado Parks.[11][18]

During the Olympics

At the Coliseum, Carl Lewis of the United States matched the four gold medals set by Jesse Owens at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin with four golds of his own in the men's 100 m, 200 m, 4 x 100 m relay, and long jump events.[54] During the inaugural women's marathon event, Honduras's Leda Díaz de Cano fell 6.5 minutes behind the lead pack after 5 km (3.1 mi) and 27.5 minutes after 20 km (12 mi), eventually being convinced by track officials to leave the course in order to allow road traffic to recapture the streets of Los Angeles to comply with the Olympic schedule.[55]

During the cycling men's individual road race, a crowd of 300,000 lined the route.[56]

After the Olympics

East Los Angeles College's Weingart Stadium in 2008. Field hockey competitions for the 1984 Summer Olympics took place at the stadium.

Stanford Stadium, host to some of the football preliminaries, played host to NFL's Super Bowl XIX in January 1985 where the 49ers defeated the Dolphins 38-16.[57] The stadium is still home to the Stanford University football team, even after it was reconstructed in 2006, reducing its capacity to 50,000.[26]

For the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Stanford and the Rose Bowl both hosted matches. Stanford hosted the quarterfinal match between Sweden and Romania while the Rose Bowl hosted the final match between Brazil and Italy, both matches were decided by penalty kicks.[58][59] Five years later, the two venues would be used to host FIFA Women's World Cup matches. Stanford hosted the semifinal match between the United States and Brazil while the Rose Bowl hosted the final match between the United States and China, also decided in a shootout.[60][61] Prior to the World Cups, the Rose Bowl also hosted Super Bowls XXI and XXVII.[62][63] The Rose Bowl remains the venue for UCLA's football team while Pauley Pavilion remains the venue for UCLA's basketball teams.[50][64]

The Raiders remained at the Coliseum until the end of the 1994 NFL season.[65] The last NFL game played at the Coliseum was a 19-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.[66] Next year, the Raiders returned to Oakland where they remain today.[67]

Both association football venues on the East Coast of the United States, Harvard Stadium and Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, remain in use to this day. Harvard Stadium, on the campus of Harvard University, is best known as home to the school's (American) football team, but is also home to Harvard's teams in men's and women's lacrosse, and has been used for several other sports.[68] Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, on the grounds of the United States Naval Academy, hosts the Academy's football, men's lacrosse, and women's lacrosse teams.[69] Since the 2013 edition, the Military Bowl, a college football bowl game, has been played at the stadium as well.[70]

The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena remained home to the University of Southern California's baskbetball team until the 2005-06 NCAA basketball season when the Trojans moved on campus.[51] For the 1984-85 NBA season, the Clippers franchise relocated from San Diego to Los Angeles where they played at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.[71] The Clippers shared its home between the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena and the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (Honda Center since 2006) from the 1994-95 to the 1997-98 NBA seasons.[72][73]

In late 1999, the Staples Center opened in downtown Los Angeles.[74] For the 1999–2000 NBA and NHL seasons, the NBA's Lakers and Clippers, and the NHL's Kings all moved out of the Los Angeles Sports Arena and the Forum in Inglewood, and moved into the Staples Center.[75][76][77]

The Olympic Velodrome located on the California State University, Dominguez Hills campus was demolished in 2003.[78] Meanwhile, the Olympic Swim Stadium remains in use on the University of Southern California's campus both for recreation and for competition.[79]

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1984 Summer Olympics venues.

References

  1. ↑ 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 150-2. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  2. ↑ 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 137-9. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  3. ↑ 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 72-9. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  4. ↑ 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 105-7. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 90-2. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  6. ↑ 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 132-4. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 97-8. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  8. ↑ 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 153-5. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 113-6. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 140-3. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 94-6. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  12. ↑ 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 117-22. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  13. ↑ 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 102-4. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  14. ↑ 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 108-12. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 123-8. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  16. ↑ 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 156-60. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 80-2. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 87-9. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  19. ↑ 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 147-9. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 129-31. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 117-20. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  22. ↑ 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 135-6. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  23. ↑ 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 83-6. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  24. ↑ Gocrimson.com profile of Harvard Stadium. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  25. ↑ Navysports.com profile of Navy - Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Gostanford.com profile of Stanford Stadium. Accessed 24 November 2010.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 1932 Summer Olympics official report. pp. 61-8, 74. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  28. ↑ Pro-football-reference.com Super Bowl VII Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 14 January 1973 MIA-WAS results. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  29. ↑ Pro-football-reference.com NFL 1979 Los Angeles Rams season results. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  30. ↑ Pro-football-reference.com Super Bowl XIV Pasadena Rose Bowl 20 January 1980 PIT-LA results. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  31. ↑ Pro-football-reference.com NFL Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 16 December 1979 NO-LA results. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  32. ↑ Pro-football-reference.com Anaheim Stadium 7 September 1980 DET-LA results. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  33. ↑ Pro-football-reference.com NFL 1994 Los Angeles Rams season results. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  34. ↑ Pro-football-reference.com NFL 1995 St. Louis Rams season results. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  35. ↑ Pro-football-reference.com NFL 2010 St. Louis Rams season. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  36. ↑ Pro-football-reference.com NFL Anaheim Stadium 24 December 1994 WAS-LAR results. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  37. ↑ Pro-football-reference.com NFL Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 12 September 1982 LAD-SF results. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  38. ↑ USCtrojans.com profile of the football team. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  39. ↑ Sports-reference.com 1928 UCLA Bruins season results. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  40. ↑ Sports-reference.com 1981 UCLA Bruins season results. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  41. ↑ 1982 UCLA Bruins season results. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  42. ↑ 2010 UCLA Bruins season results. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  43. ↑ Pro-football-reference.com NFL Super Bowl XVII Pasadena Rose Bowl 30 January 1983 WAS-MIA results. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  44. ↑ 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 6-9. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 LAColiseumlive.com history of the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  46. ↑ Basketball-reference.com NBA 1959-60 Minneapolis Lakers season results. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  47. ↑ Basketball-reference.com NBA 1960-61 Los Angeles Lakers season results. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  48. ↑ Basketball-reference.com NBA 1966-67 Los Angeles Lakers season results. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  49. ↑ Basketball-reference.com NBA 1967-68 Los Angeles Lakers season results. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 Grfx.cstv.com history of the UCLA Bruins men's basketball team. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 USCTrojans.com 2006-7 USC Trojans media guide. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  52. ↑ Casitaswater.org history of Lake Casitas. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  53. ↑ Kings.nhl.com History of the NHL Los Angeles Kings. Accessed 26 November 2010.
  54. ↑ Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky. (2008). The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. pp. 58, 71, 178, 224.
  55. ↑ Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Track & Field (Women): Marathon". In The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. pp. 318-20.
  56. ↑ Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 516.
  57. ↑ Pro-football-reference.com Super Bowl XIX Palo Alto, California Stanford Stadium 20 January 1985 SF-MIA results. Accessed 27 November 2010.
  58. ↑ FIFA.com World Cup Palo Alto, California Stanford Stadium 10 July 1994 SWE-ROU quarterfinal results. Accessed 27 November 2010.
  59. ↑ FIFA.com World Cup Pasadena Rose Bowl 17 July 1994 BRA-ITA final results. Accessed 27 November 2010.
  60. ↑ FIFA.com Women's World Cup Palo Alto, California Stanford Stadium 4 July 1999 USA-BRA semifinal results. Accessed 27 November 2010.
  61. ↑ FIFA.com Women's World Cup Pasadena Rose Bowl 10 July 1999 USA-CHN final results. Accessed 27 November 2010.
  62. ↑ Pro-football-reference.com NFL Super Bowl XXI Pasadena Rose Bowl 25 January 1987 NYG-DEN results. Accessed 27 November 2010.
  63. ↑ Pro-football-reference.com NFL Super Bowl XXVII Pasadena Rose Bowl 31 January 1993 DAL-BUF results. Accessed 27 November 2010.
  64. ↑ UCLABruins.com profile of The Rose Bowl. Accessed 27 November 2010.
  65. ↑ Pro-football-reference.com NFL 1994 Los Angeles Raiders season results. Accessed 27 November 2010.
  66. ↑ Pro-football-reference.com NFL Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 24 December 1994 KC-LAD results. Accessed 27 November 2010.
  67. ↑ Pro-football-reference.com NFL Oakland Raiders 1995 season results. Accessed 27 November 2010.
  68. ↑ "Harvard Stadium". Harvard University Athletics. September 8, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  69. ↑ "Facilities: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium - Football/Lacrosse". Naval Academy Athletics. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  70. ↑ Patterson, Chip (May 20, 2013). "Military Bowl moving to Annapolis, adds Conference USA for '13". Eye on College Football (CBSSports.com). Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  71. ↑ Basketball-reference.com NBA Los Angeles Clippers 1984-85 season results. Accessed 27 November 2010.
  72. ↑ Basketball-reference.com NBA Los Angeles Clippers 1994-95 schedule and results. Includes neutral site competitions. Accessed 27 November 2010.
  73. ↑ Basketball-reference.com NBA Los Angeles Clippers 1997-98 schedule and results. Includes neutral site competitions. Accessed 27 November 2010.
  74. ↑ Staplescenter.com history. Accessed 27 November 2010.
  75. ↑ Basketball-reference.com NBA Los Angeles Clippers 1999–2000 season results. Accessed 27 November 2010.
  76. ↑ Basketball-reference.com NBA Los Angeles Lakers 1999–2000 season results. Accessed 27 November 2010.
  77. ↑ Hockey-reference.com NHL Los Angeles Kings 1999–2000 season results. Accessed 27 November 2010.
  78. ↑ Carson, CA profile of the 1984 Olympic Velodrome. Accessed 27 November 2010.
  79. ↑ USCTrojans.com profile of the Swim Stadium. Accessed 27 November 2010.