Support for LAist comes from
Made of L.A.
Stay Connected

Share This

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Arts and Entertainment

Watch The Demolition Of L.A.'s Famed Sports Arena In Real Time

banc_california_stadium_rendering_640.jpg
Rendering of what the completed new Banc of California Stadium will look like. (Courtesy of Banc of California Stadium)
Our June member drive is live: protect this resource!
Right now, we need your help during our short June member drive to keep the local news you read here every day going. This has been a challenging year, but with your help, we can get one step closer to closing our budget gap. Today, put a dollar value on the trustworthy reporting you rely on all year long. We can't hold those in power accountable and uplift voices from the community without your partnership.

The iconic Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena is being demolished as we speak, soon to be replaced with a shiny new stadium to house the Los Angeles Football Club. Exposition Park's forthcoming Banc of California Stadium will seat 22,000 people and is scheduled to be completed in 2018, but in the meantime you can watch a live-cam of the demolition in progress, which we discovered by way of veteran L.A. journalist Richard Rushfield's The Native Angeleno. Here are some timelapses from yesterday and today:


(GIF by Julia Wick/LAist, via Banc of California Stadium Cam)

Support for LAist comes from


(GIF by Julia Wick/LAist, via Banc of California Stadium Cam)
The soon-to-be constructed arena will be the first new open-air stadium to be built in Los Angeles since Dodger Stadium was erected in 1962—it will also be the country's most expensive privately financed soccer stadium, according to the L.A. Times.

The Exposition Park arena has been the backdrop for more than its fair share of local history in the half-century since it opened its doors. It was the Lakers' first residence in L.A. when they moved from their native Minneapolis, housing the team from from 1960 to '67. The Clippers, the Kings, USC Basketball and UCLA Basketball have all called it home at some point, along with a number of different lesser-known L.A. teams (the Blades, the Sharks, the Stars, the Ice Dogs, and the Cobras). The 15,000-person capacity auditorium was also where John F. Kennedy accepted the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in 1960. Everyone from the Grateful Dead to Michael Jackson performed there.

Related: Photos: The Amazing History Of The Soon-To-Be Demolished L.A. Sports Arena

Most Read