Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena

{{Use American English|date=August 2024}} {{Short description|Former arena in California, United States}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}} {{Infobox venue | name = Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena | image = 220px|Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena | caption = The arena in April 2007 | location = 3939 South Figueroa Street Los Angeles, California 90037 | coordinates = {{coord|34.013|N|118.285|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | broke_ground = April 7, 1958 | opened = {{start date|1959|07|04}} | closed = {{end date|2016|03|19}} | demolished = September 2016 | owner = State of California County of Los Angeles City of Los Angeles | operator = University of Southern California | construction_cost = US$8.5 million (${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US|8500000|1959}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}}) | architect = Welton Becket | structural_engineer = Brandow and Johnson<ref>{{cite web |title=L.A. Memorial Sports Arena |url=https://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsapp/BT/DOMES/TIMELN/la_mem/la_mem.html |website=Housing the Spectacle: The Emergence of America's Domed Superstadiums |publisher=Columbia University |access-date=September 6, 2013}}</ref> | general_contractor = L.E. Dixon Company<ref>{{cite web |title=Los Angeles Sports Arena |url=http://basketball.ballparks.com/NBA/LosAngelesClippers/index.htm |website=National Basketball Association Arenas |publisher=Paul Munsey and Cory Suppes |access-date=September 6, 2013}}</ref> | tenants = USC Trojans basketball (NCAA) (1959–2006) UCLA Bruins basketball (NCAA) (1959–1965, 2011–2012) Los Angeles Jets (ABL) (1961–1962) Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) (1960–1967) Los Angeles Blades (WHL) (1961–1967) Los Angeles Kings (NHL) (1967) Los Angeles Stars (ABA) (1968–1970) Los Angeles Sharks (WHA) (1972–1974) Los Angeles Strings (WTT) (1974) Los Angeles Aztecs (NASL) (1980–1981) Los Angeles Clippers (NBA) (1984–1999) Los Angeles Cobras (AFL) (1988) Los Angeles Ice Dogs (IHL) (1995–1996) Los Angeles Temptation (LFL) (2009–2011) | seating_capacity = Basketball: 16,161 Ice hockey: 14,546 Boxing/wrestling: 16,740 | scoreboard = American Sign & Indicator, now Trans-Lux; later Daktronics }}

The '''Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena''' was a multi-purpose arena at Exposition Park, in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was located next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and just south of the campus of the University of Southern California, which managed and operated both venues under a master lease agreement with the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission. The arena was closed in April 2016, and was demolished in September of that same year. It was replaced with BMO Stadium, home of Major League Soccer's Los Angeles FC, which opened in 2018.

==History== The arena was opened by Vice President Richard Nixon on July 4, 1959, and its first event followed four days later, a bantamweight title fight between José Becerra and Alphonse Halimi on July 8. It became a companion facility to the adjacent Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

The venue was the home court of the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA from October 1960 to December 1967, the Los Angeles Clippers also of the NBA from 1984 to 1999, and the home ice of the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL from October to December 1967 during their inaugural 1967–68 season. It was the home for college basketball for the USC Trojans from 1959 to 2006 and the UCLA Bruins from 1959 to 1965 and again as a temporary home in the 2011–2012 season. It was also the home of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's National Finals Rodeo from 1962 to 1964. It also hosted the Los Angeles Aztecs of the NASL who played one season of indoor soccer there (1980–81),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OCRLAAAAIBAJ&pg=3356,6435669&dq=aztecs+soccer+la+sports+arena&hl=en |title=Buss Awarded Indoor Soccer Franchise |date=June 26, 1982 |work=Oxnard Press-Courier |agency=Associated Press |via=Google News Archive}}</ref> the Los Angeles Blades of the Western Hockey League from 1961 to 1967, the Los Angeles Sharks of the WHA from 1972 to 1974, the Los Angeles Cobras of the AFL in 1988, and the original Los Angeles Stars of the ABA from 1968 to 1970. The arena played host to the top indoor track athletics meet on the West Coast, the annual Los Angeles Invitational track meet (frequently called the "Sunkist Invitational", with title sponsorship by Sunkist Growers, Incorporated), from 1960 until the event's demise in 2004.

The arena hosted the 1968 and 1972 NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four, the 1992 NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four, the 1963 NBA All-Star Game, Game 6 of the 1970 ABA Finals, and the boxing competitions during the 1984 Summer Olympics.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1984/1984v1pt1.pdf |title=1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101102235952/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1984/1984v1pt1.pdf |archive-date=November 2, 2010 |pages=105-7 |publisher=The Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee}}</ref> In addition to hosting the final portion of WrestleMania 2 in 1986, the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena also hosted WrestleMania VII in 1991 as well as other WWE events. The arena hosted When Worlds Collide, a 1994 joint card between the Mexican lucha libre promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) and WCW (which normally called the Great Western Forum home until they, too, moved to Staples Center) that is credited with introducing the lucha style to English-speaking audiences in the U.S.

After then-Clippers owner Donald Sterling turned down an agreement to re-locate the franchise permanently to Anaheim's Arrowhead Pond (now Honda Center) in 1996, the Coliseum Commission had discussions to build an on-site replacement for the Sports Arena.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-06-07-mn-12752-story.html | work=Los Angeles Times | first1=Chris | last1=Baker | first2=Greg | last2=Hernandez | title=L.A. Clippers Decide Against Anaheim Move | date=June 7, 1996}}</ref> Plans included a seating capacity of 18,000 for basketball, 84 luxury suites, and an on-site practice facility for the Clippers. However, as a new Downtown Los Angeles sports and entertainment arena was being planned and eventually built (Staples Center) two miles north along Figueroa Street,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-17-me-40174-story.html | work=Los Angeles Times | first=Steve | last=Springer | title=Clippers to Join Kings, Lakers in New Arena | date=April 17, 1998}}</ref> the Coliseum Commission scuttled plans for a Sports Arena replacement, and as a result, the Clippers became one of the original tenants at the new downtown arena. There were also similar plans years earlier, in 1989, as Sterling had discussions with then-Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley and then-Coliseum Commission president (and eventual Bradley mayoral successor) Richard Riordan about a Sports Arena replacement; Sterling threatened to leave the Sports Arena and move elsewhere in the Los Angeles region if plans did not come together.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-05-11-me-3491-story.html | work=Los Angeles Times | title=Clippers' Owner Wants New Stadium | date=May 11, 1989}}</ref>

After the Trojans departed to the new Galen Center in 2006, the arena assumed a lower profile. The arena still continued to hold high school basketball championships, as well as concerts and conventions. The UCLA men's basketball team returned to the arena to play a majority of their home games at the Sports Arena during the 2011–12 season while Pauley Pavilion underwent renovation.

===2010s=== [[File:UCLA vs Richmond Basketball.JPG|thumb|250px|UCLA vs. Richmond, Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, December 23, 2011]] The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission embarked on a seismic retrofit{{when|date=September 2016}}, designed to bring the Sports Arena up to 21st century seismic standards.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} Bentley Management Group was hired as the project manager for the Seismic Bracing Remodel. In order to reinforce the existing {{convert|316700|sqft|m2|adj=on}} structure, a series of steel braced frames were connected to the existing concrete structural system at both the arena and loge levels of the building. To provide a solid footing for these steel frames, portions of the arena floor had to be excavated, then reinforced to provide extra strength. Once the steel frames were fitted and incorporated into the existing structure between existing support columns, concrete was then re-poured into the area. The original crown of the arena, one of its most distinguishing characteristics, was the countless small ceramic tiles, each measuring no more than a square inch in width. A multitude of the crown's tiles were loosening and many others were discolored. In order to remedy this, a new crown was designed, this time using individual sections of EIFS (Exterior insulation finishing system), which offered the decided advantages of better durability, easier maintenance and improved thermal characteristics. A foundation surface was applied directly over the existing tiles, in order to seal the crown and give the new surface something to adhere to. Once the structural work was finished, the walls, ceilings, doors, floors and other areas involved in the modification had to be put back together. Throughout the entire project, the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena remained open for business. The result was a brand-new crown around the exterior of the building, as well as a new terrazzo floor on the concourse level.

During an open session meeting on July 17, 2013, the Coliseum Commission authorized the amendment to the existing USC-Coliseum Commission Lease for the operation of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/los-angeles/college-football/story/_/id/9638471/usc-takes-control-los-angeles-memorial-coliseum|title=USC takes over control of Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum|work=ESPN.com|date=September 5, 2013 }}</ref>

===Closure and replacement=== {{Main|BMO Stadium}}

The Sports Arena was demolished in order to replace it with a more in-demand facility — a soccer-specific stadium that would house an MLS team. On May 18, 2015, Los Angeles Football Club announced its intentions to build a privately funded 22,000-seat soccer-specific stadium at the site for $250 million.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-lafc-stadium-focus-firmly-on-sports-arena-site-20150318-story.html | work=Los Angeles Times | title=Los Angeles Football Club's stadium focus firmly on Sports Arena site | date=March 18, 2015}}</ref> The stadium would be completed by 2018. thumb|250px|Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in January 2011

From March 15 to 19, 2016, Bruce Springsteen performed a series of three sold-out concerts, the last events held in the arena. When he introduced his song "Wrecking Ball" during the last concert, he opened by saying "We gotta play this one for the old building... We're gonna miss this place, it's a great place to play rock 'n' roll." The arena closed after the last concert. Demolition began in September 2016 for the new stadium development.<ref name="LAT Last concert"/> After a groundbreaking for the new stadium, the arena was demolished between August and October 2016.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 14, 2016 |title=RIP Sports Arena: Aerial Shots Capture Demolished Former Home Of Lakers, Clippers, DNC |url=http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2016/09/14/rip-sports-arena-aerial-shots-capture-demolished-former-home-of-lakers-clippers-dnc/ |publisher=CBS Los Angeles |access-date=September 16, 2016}}</ref> BMO Stadium now stands in the old Sports Arena footprint.

==The arena== The arena underwent major renovations to bring it up to 21st century seismic standards and was well maintained. There were four fully equipped team rooms, two smaller rooms for officials, and two private dressing rooms for individual performers. There were two additional meeting rooms on site which could be used for administrative or hospitality functions.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}}

The floor area comprised a {{convert|144|by|262|ft|adj=on}} space ({{convert|38000|sqft|abbr=on}}), affording the largest standing floor capacity of any arena in the area. There was a {{convert|75|ft|adj=on}} vertical clearance. The arena has a unique, expansive floor-level footprint of nearly {{convert|130000|sqft|abbr=on}} and {{convert|101557|sqft|m2}} on the concourse level, allowing the installation of any needed display, food or other programming requirements. There was an enormous load-in ramp at the west side of the arena with a {{convert|40|ft|m|adj=on}} wide entry. Print, radio and television media was serviced on each side of the arena by installation of any kind of portable facilities. Five permanent TV locations were sited on the concourse level. In addition, a {{convert|6|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}} catwalk was suspended from the ceiling and circled the arena for cameras or spotlights.

Spectators could reach arena level seating area either by a circulatory ramp on the southwest side of the building or by a stairway located next to the north doors. There were also escalators located at the southwest and northeast sides of the building. The Sports Arena was the first NBA arena to feature a rotating billboard at courtside, which also acted as the scorer's table. Rotating billboards eventually became standard at all NBA arenas until the mid-2000s, when LED billboard/scorer's tables were introduced.

Spectator amenities included a full-service main ticket office, a secondary box office and 2 portable booths, 6 permanent concession stands, and a first-aid station. A club and restaurant were located on the arena level of the facility. A number of operational improvements had been made to enhance accessibility for the handicapped, including the installation of 14 additional handicapped parking stalls, hand rails on both sides of the pedestrian ramp leading to the floor level seating, handicapped accessible drinking fountains, an Assistive Listening System to aid the hearing impaired, conversion of restroom facilities, dressing rooms and bathroom fixtures for the handicapped, and increased informational signage. Event presentation was augmented by a four-sided overhead scoreboard with several auxiliary boards.

===Seating capacity=== The arena seated up to 16,740 for boxing/wrestling, and 14,546 for hockey. There were 12,389 fixed upper-level, theater-type seats, and floor-level seating which could be configured by sport. The seating capacity for basketball changed over the years:

{{col-begin}}{{col-break}} {| class="wikitable" |- ! style="{{NBA color cell|Los Angeles Lakers}}"|Years ! style="{{NBA color cell|Los Angeles Lakers}}"|Capacity |- ! style="{{NBA color cell2|Los Angeles Lakers}}"|1959–1968 | 14,871<ref>{{cite news |title=Knicks Defeat Lakers 111–101|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19601025&id=DgskAAAAIBAJ&pg=7349,2743963|newspaper=The Milwaukee Journal|date=October 25, 1960|access-date=February 16, 2015}}</ref> |- ! style="{{NBA color cell2|Los Angeles Lakers}}"|1968–1981 | {{center|14,795}} |- ! style="{{NBA color cell2|Los Angeles Lakers}}"|1981–1984 | {{center|15,333}} |} {| class="wikitable" |- ! style="{{NBA color cell|Los Angeles Clippers}}"|Years ! style="{{NBA color cell|Los Angeles Clippers}}"|Capacity |- ! style="{{NBA color cell2|Los Angeles Clippers}}"|1984–1987 | 15,371<ref>{{cite news |title=Days of Our Lives Has Nothing on the Clippers|first=Gerald|last=Goldfarb|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-01-04-mn-942-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=December 27, 1986|access-date=February 16, 2015}}</ref> |- ! style="{{NBA color cell2|Los Angeles Clippers}}"|1987–1988 | {{center|15,167}} |- ! style="{{NBA color cell2|Los Angeles Clippers}}"|1988–1989 | 15,352<ref>{{cite news |title=Celtics Overwhelm the Clippers With Strong Front-Line Play, 124-108|first=Scott|last=Howard–Cooper|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-04-05-sp-812-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=April 5, 1989|access-date=February 16, 2015}}</ref> |- ! style="{{NBA color cell2|Los Angeles Clippers}}"|1989–1992 | 15,350<ref>{{cite news |title=Clippers Prove No Panacea for Lakers, 121-104|first=Scott|last=Howard–Cooper|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-01-31-sp-1149-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=January 31, 1990|access-date=February 16, 2015}}</ref> |- ! style="{{NBA color cell2|Los Angeles Clippers}}"|1992–1993 | 15,989<ref>{{cite news |title=Clippers Up in Air on Site Selection|first=Kenneth|last=Reich|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-01-04-mn-942-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=January 4, 1993|access-date=February 16, 2015}}</ref> |- ! style="{{NBA color cell2|Los Angeles Clippers}}"|1993–1994 | 16,005<ref>{{cite news |title=Clippers Move Knick Game to Anaheim During Repairs|first=Eric|last=Shepard|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-01-26-sp-15411-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=January 26, 1994|access-date=February 16, 2015}}</ref> |- ! style="{{NBA color cell2|Los Angeles Clippers}}"|1994–2001 | 16,021<ref>{{cite news |title=Our Little Secret|first=Bill|last=Plaschke|author-link=Bill Plaschke|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-12-14-sp-9025-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=December 14, 1996|access-date=February 16, 2015}}</ref> |- ! style="{{NBA color cell2|Los Angeles Clippers}}"|2001–2016 | 16,161<ref>{{cite news |title=Leaving It On Empty|first=Ben|last=Bolch|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-feb-25-sp-sportsarena25-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=February 25, 2006|access-date=February 16, 2015}}</ref> |} {{col-end}}

==Concerts== *Pink Floyd performed five shows at Memorial Sports Arena during their Wish You Were Here tour April 23–27, 1975. They would open The Wall Tour at the same venue February 7–13, 1980 and would perform three more nights in November 1987 on the A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour. *Jethro Tull performed at the Memorial Sports Arena between 1972 and 1987 numerous times. They would close the North American leg of their 1980 A Tour at the venue in November 1980 and recorded a live concert broadcast which would then be released in full in 2021 on the 3-CD/3-DVD expanded remixed and remastered version of the A album called A (The A La Mode) box set. *U2 performed five shows at Memorial Sports Arena during The Joshua Tree Tour on April 17, 18, 20, 21 and 22, 1987. *Prince performed two sold-out shows at Memorial Sports Arena during his Lovesexy Tour on November 6–7, 1988. *Michael Jackson performed six sold-out shows at Memorial Sports Arena, during his Bad World Tour on November 13, 1988, and January 16–18, 26–27, 1989. *Madonna performed five sold-out shows at Memorial Sports Arena during her Blond Ambition World Tour on May 11–13 and 15–16, 1990. *The Grateful Dead performed at the Sports Arena on December 8–10 in 1993, and December 15–16 and 18–19 in 1994. * Bruce Springsteen was a popular act at the arena, having played there 35 times between 1980 and 2016. Springsteen humorously referred to the arena as "the dump that jumps" due to its age, poor infrastructure, and its lack of VIP suites, a feature that Springsteen criticized in other arenas.<ref name="LAT Last concert">{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-springsteen-sports-arena-20160320-story.html|title=Bruce Springsteen's last stand at the Sports Arena: 'We gotta play this one for the old building'|work=Los Angeles Times|first=August |last=Brown|date= March 20, 2016|access-date=March 22, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectorsmusicreviews.com/springsteen-bruce/bruce-springsteen-a-good-job-in-the-city-godfatherecords-gr-390391/|title=Bruce Springsteen – A Good Job in The City (Godfatherecords G.R. 390/391)|author=Cliff|work=Collectors Music Reviews|date=July 18, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hrmarketer.com/blog/2011/03/ive-got-a-golden-ticket/|title=I've Got a Golden Ticket! – HRmarketer|author=Mark Willaman|work=HRmarketer}}</ref> * My Chemical Romance performed on September 30, 2005, during their first headlining tour alongside Alkaline Trio and Reggie and the Full Effect.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/my-chemical-romance-plans-first-headlining-tour-61951/|title=Tours: My Chemical Romance Plans First Headlining Tour|magazine=Billboard|date=July 28, 2005|access-date=July 16, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://top40-charts.com/mnews.php?nid=16720&cat=|title=My Chemical Romance Announce Complete 2005 Tour Dates|work=Top40-Charts|date=August 24, 2005|access-date=July 16, 2022}}</ref> * Daft Punk performed a sold-out show at the Sports Arena on July 21, 2007. Other than Coachella in 2006, this was the only LA-area show of the Alive 2006/2007 tour. * The Philippine variety show of ABS-CBN titled ''ASAP'', held an out of town show on October 11, 2014, titled "ASAP Live in LA".

==Other events== * The arena hosted the 1960 Democratic National Convention from July 11–15, when John F. Kennedy received the party's nomination.<ref name="pittLAAZ">{{cite book |last1=Pitt |first1=Leonard |last2=Pitt |first2=Dale |date=1997 |title= Los Angeles A to Z: An Encyclopedia of the City and County |location=Berkeley, Calif. |publisher=University of California Press |page=296 |isbn= 0-520-20274-0 }}</ref> * An overflow crowd of over 25,000 listened to Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. speak at a Freedom Rally on June 18, 1961, introduced by then California Governor Pat Brown<ref>{{cite news |last1=Scott |first1=Harrison |title=From the Archives: Los Angeles Times images of Martin Luther King Jr. |url=https://www.latimes.com/visuals/photography/la-me-fw-archives-los-angeles-times-images-of-martin-luther-king-jr-20180403-htmlstory.html |access-date=6 June 2025 |agency=Los Angeles Times Archives |date=3 April 2018}}</ref> * The arena hosted the World Wrestling Federation's WrestleMania VII on March 24, 1991. * Guns N' Roses used the arena in 2009 to rehearse and prepare for their 2009-10 ''Chinese Democracy'' world tour. They tested out the lighting, TV monitors, and pyro, as well as songs to be played on the tour.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnZtmAp6SWs | title=Guns N' Roses - 2009 Rehearsal (Chinese Democracy World Tour 09/10) | website=youtube.com | date=2023-07-29}}</ref> * Bernie Sanders hosted a campaign rally on August 10, 2015, that was attended by over 27,500 people.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://berniesanders.com/press-release/sanders-west-coast-swing-taps-grassroots-surge/?source=tw20150810|title=Sanders West Coast Swing Taps Grassroots Surge|work=Bernie Sanders}}</ref> * The arena was the location for a memorial ceremony honoring Gerardo Hernandez, the Transportation Security Administration officer who was killed in the 2013 Los Angeles International Airport shooting.<ref>{{cite news |title=Slain TSA agent recalled for bravery and valor|first=Kate|last=Mather|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-tsa-funeral-20131113-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=November 12, 2013|access-date=October 12, 2015}}</ref>

===Appearances in film and TV=== * The heavyweight championship fight scenes between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed characters in the 1976 Best Picture winner ''Rocky'' and its first sequel, ''Rocky II'', were filmed at the arena as a stand-in for the Spectrum in Philadelphia. * The Arena featured in a two-part episode – "Angels on Ice" – of the second season of ''Charlie's Angels'', 1977. * Portions of the 1966 science fiction film ''Fantastic Voyage'' were filmed in the interior corridors and parking areas of the arena. * The arena appears as the exterior and foyer of the euthanasia center in the 1973 film ''Soylent Green''. * The front of the building appears in the 1982 episode of ''Simon & Simon'' called "The Hottest Ticket in Town". *''The Fugitive'' episode "Decision in the Ring" features a climax that takes place in the arena. *NBC's renewed version of ''American Gladiators'' and the 1999–2001 syndicated show ''Battle Dome'' were filmed at the arena. *All of the concert footage from various arenas around the country in the 2015 film ''Straight Outta Compton'' were filmed at the arena. The exterior of the arena, for example, was used as a stand-in for the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta. *The arena stands in for Madison Square Garden in ''Space Jam'', depicting a game between the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns.<ref>{{Cite web | title=New York Knicks Legend Tells His Side of Space Jam | url=https://www.si.com/nba/knicks/news/new-york-knicks-patrick-ewing-his-side-space-jam | access-date=2025-10-04 | website=www.si.com}}</ref> *The arena was used to portray the Miami Blades ice rink in the ''Dexter'' season 1, episode 3 "Popping Cherry". In the episode, the Ice Truck Killer leaves a gruesome body at the rink.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dexter Filming Locations: The Hockey Arena |url=https://www.seeing-stars.com/Dexter/Arena.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250604022250/https://www.seeing-stars.com/Dexter/Arena.shtml |archive-date=June 4, 2025}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena}} *[http://www.lasports.org/lafacilities/display.php?s=Arena&id=26 Los Angeles Sports Council] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204134559/http://www.lasports.org/lafacilities/display.php?s=Arena&id=26 |date=February 4, 2012 }}

{{s-start-collapsible|header={{s-sta|et}}}} {{succession box | title = Home of the USC Trojans | years = 1959–2006 | before = Pan-Pacific Auditorium | after = Galen Center }} {{succession box | title = Home of the Los Angeles Stars | years = 1968–1970 | before = Anaheim Convention Center | after = Salt Palace }} {{succession box | title = Home of the Los Angeles Lakers | years = 1960–1967 | before = Minneapolis Armory | after = The Forum }} {{succession box | title = Home of the Los Angeles Clippers | years = 1984–1999 | before = San Diego Sports Arena | after = Staples Center }} {{succession box | title = Home of the UCLA Bruins | years = 1959–1965 2011–2012 | before = Pan-Pacific Auditorium Pauley Pavilion | after = Pauley Pavilion }} {{succession box | title = Host of the NBA All-Star Game | years = 1963 | before = Kiel Auditorium | after = Boston Garden }} {{succession box | title = NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Finals venue | years = 1968 1972 | before = Freedom Hall Astrodome | after = Freedom Hall St. Louis Arena }} {{succession box | title = Host of WrestleMania 2 w/ Nassau Coliseum & Rosemont Horizon | years = 1986 | before = Madison Square Garden | after = Pontiac Silverdome }} {{succession box | title = Host of WrestleMania VII | years = 1991 | before = SkyDome | after = Hoosier Dome }} {{end}} {{Democratic National Convention venues}} {{1984 Summer Olympic venues}} {{Olympic venues boxing}} {{Los Angeles Lakers}} {{Los Angeles Kings}} {{Los Angeles Clippers}} {{Los Angeles Aztecs}} {{Los Angeles Cobras}} {{UCLA Bruins men's basketball navbox}} {{USC Trojans men's basketball navbox}} {{USC Trojans women's basketball navbox}} {{LFL Venues}} {{Music venues of California}} {{Former NBA arenas}} {{Former WHA arenas}} {{Authority control}}

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