In this article we are going to explore in depth the topic of Venues of the 1984 Summer Olympics, which has sparked great interest and controversy in recent years. Since its emergence, Venues of the 1984 Summer Olympics has captured the attention of people from different fields, generating passionate debates and conflicting opinions. Through this analysis, we aim to examine in detail the different aspects surrounding Venues of the 1984 Summer Olympics, with the aim of shedding light on its importance, implications and possible future developments. With a multidisciplinary approach, we will address both its historical, cultural, social and scientific dimensions, as well as the diverse perspectives that exist on the matter, in an effort to provide a comprehensive and enriching vision of Venues of the 1984 Summer Olympics.
For the 1984 Summer Olympics, a total of thirty-one venues were used. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Rose Bowl, two venues previously used for the 1932 Summer Olympics, were used for the 1984 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. Only two new permanent venues were constructed, both using corporate sponsorship, though neither were mentioned in the official Olympic report. Many 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.
Santa Anita Park opened in 1934. Normally used for Thoroughbredhorse 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 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, respectively. 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. Los Angeles bid for the 1984 Summer Olympics with a minimal amount of new construction costs and a reliance on corporate sponsorships (unlike Montreal 76 and Moscow 80 that were government funded with high 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 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]
Stanford Stadium, the 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 Universityfootball 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 Raiders 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 remained until 2020 when they moved to their current home in Las Vegas, Nevada.[67] In January 2016, the then-St. Louis Rams received approval from the NFL to return to Los Angeles, returning to the metropolitan area after a 21-year exodus; the Rams played most of their home schedule in the Coliseum from 2016 to 2019 while SoFi Stadium was under construction in Inglewood (The Rams and Los Angeles Chargers (formerly San Diego) moved into SoFi in 2020.).[68]
In late 1999, the Staples Center opened in downtown Los Angeles.[76] 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, renamed Crypto.com Arena in early 2022.[77][78][79]
The Olympic Velodrome located on the California State University, Dominguez Hills campus was demolished in 2003.[80] Meanwhile, the Olympic Swim Stadium remains in use on the University of Southern California's campus both for recreation and for competition.[81]
Many of the venues which were used during the 1984 Olympics will host events at the 2028 Summer Olympics when Los Angeles hosts the games for a third time.
^Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky. (2008). The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. pp. 58, 71, 178, 224.
^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.
^Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 516.