LA28 plans ambitious Coliseum makeover, building a track on top of the existing field

To do something similar at the Coliseum, LA28 expects to begin construction as soon as USC plays its last football game of the 2027 season.

Turf and dirt will be scraped away to expose the stadium's concrete base and adjustable columns will be arranged every 10 or so feet. The work will be laborious if only because the Coliseum has only one access point from outside — the tunnel where Trojan football players run onto the field. Some building materials might have to be lifted over the top of the bowl with a giant crane.

"It's an incredibly complex build in that it's an incredibly tight space," said Bill Hanway, executive vice president for AECOM, an infrastructure consulting firm hired to oversee much of LA28's preparations.

After laying a metal deck across the top of the columns, workers will add almost 2 feet of gravel and soil to create a stable base. Then comes a synthetic track and a turf infield for events such as discus and javelin.

The space underneath the floor could be used for a warm-up area and the call room, where athletes check-in before competing. LA28 is considering a mechanical platform that would slowly raise athletes to field level for a dramatic entrance before, say, the women's 100 meters.

"We are incredibly excited about having the Games in Los Angeles," said Max Siegel, chief executive of USA Track & Field. "Just the innovative thinking that they have."

Constructing all this during seven or so months — after waiting for football season to end — means the stadium might not be ready for Olympic test events or the U.S. track trials in the early summer of 2028. It means crews will have to work quickly to restore the field for USC's football home opener in the fall.

"I guess the good thing is we have all our venues in place," Wasserman said of Southern California's existing stadiums and arenas. "The flip side of that is, they're used a lot."

If spending $100 million on a temporary remodel seems extravagant, LA28 needed a major stadium for track — one of the most-popular Olympic sports — and faced similar challenges with options such as SoFi or the Rose Bowl.

"When you think about the cost compared to a new stadium," said Hilary Ash, vice president of Games delivery and infrastructure for LA28, "it doesn't even compare."

Once the Games begin, organizers won't waste any time showing off their work: They have decided to flip the usual Olympic schedule, moving the track competition from the back half of the 17-day Games to the very start.

"We have world-class athletics at the Coliseum the first day after the opening ceremony and that hasn't happened in a long time," Wasserman said. "I think it's going to really create a lot of energy."