Veterans Memorial Stadium (Long Beach)
Encyclopedia
Veterans Memorial Stadium (also known as Veterans Stadium, Vets Stadium or simply The Vet) is a stadium located south of the Liberal Arts Campus of Long Beach City College
in Long Beach
, California
. It is the home stadium to a number of local area high school football teams, as well as Long Beach City College's football team. It was also home to Long Beach State
's football team until the program disbanded in 1991.
The stadium is also popular as a movie set for a number of Hollywood motion pictures. It also hosted the 1985 and 1988 Motorcycle Speedway World Team Cup
Finals.
and Lakewood Highschool, drawing over 11,500 spectators and regional television coverage.
Probably the most historically notable football contest at this stadium involved a completely different code—rugby league
. In 1987
, after the three regular matches in the Australia
n State of Origin
series between Queensland
and New South Wales
, the two teams went to Long Beach for a fourth match, drawing an announced crowd of 12,439 to see New South Wales win 30–18. The canonicity of the match has been in dispute ever since, with sources in New South Wales
, including the Australian Rugby League
, counting the match result in official series records and sources in Queensland
counting the match for individual player statistics but ignoring it for purposes of team records.
In 2004, Veterans Stadium received another upgrade. A new SprinTurf playing surface replaced the old playing surface in time for the 2004 football season.
Veterans Stadium is the home stadium to the Los Alamitos High School
Griffins.
lamps
on eight towers. Veterans Stadium also features a two-level press box (capacity 100) atop the west grandstand.
Spectator amenities include 4,000 surface parking spaces, two ticket booths with two windows each, three permanent concessions, and a combined message board and scoreboard.
Long Beach City College
Long Beach City College, established in 1927, is a community college located in Long Beach, California. It is divided into two campuses. The Liberal Arts Campus, known as LAC, is located in the residential community of the Lakewood Village section of Long Beach, on Carson Street west of Clark Avenue...
in Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It is the home stadium to a number of local area high school football teams, as well as Long Beach City College's football team. It was also home to Long Beach State
Long Beach State 49ers football
The Long Beach State 49ers football team represented California State University, Long Beach from the 1955 through 1991 seasons. The 49ers originally competed as an Independent before joining the California Collegiate Athletic Association in 1958. By the 1969 season, the 49ers would join the...
's football team until the program disbanded in 1991.
The stadium is also popular as a movie set for a number of Hollywood motion pictures. It also hosted the 1985 and 1988 Motorcycle Speedway World Team Cup
Speedway World Team Cup
The Speedway World Team Cup was an annual speedway event held each year in different countries. The competition started in 1960 and was replaced with the Speedway World Cup in 2001.-Format:From 1960 until 1985 each team consisted of four riders and a reserve...
Finals.
History
Veterans Stadium opened in 1948, and was owned by the City of Long Beach for a number of decades. In 1987, Long Beach City College acquired Veterans Stadium from the City of Long Beach, and in the 1990s, the college upgraded the stadium for use by the football teams of local area high schools. One of the most memorable football contests held at the stadium involved Long Beach Polytechnic High SchoolLong Beach Polytechnic High School
Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a High school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States....
and Lakewood Highschool, drawing over 11,500 spectators and regional television coverage.
Probably the most historically notable football contest at this stadium involved a completely different code—rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
. In 1987
1987 Rugby League State of Origin series
The 1987 State of Origin series was the 8th annual 'series contested between New South Wales and Queensland. It saw the emergence of new faces who would go on to become Origin legends - Queensland's Allan Langer and New South Wales' Andrew Ettingshausen; record crowds for all three Australian...
, after the three regular matches in the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n State of Origin
Rugby League State of Origin
State of Origin is an annual best of three series of rugby league football matches contested by the Maroons and the Blues, who represent the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales respectively...
series between Queensland
Queensland rugby league team
The Queensland rugby league team have represented the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1908...
and New South Wales
New South Wales rugby league team
The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Administered by the New South Wales Rugby League, the team competes in the annual State of Origin series against arch-rivals, the...
, the two teams went to Long Beach for a fourth match, drawing an announced crowd of 12,439 to see New South Wales win 30–18. The canonicity of the match has been in dispute ever since, with sources in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, including the Australian Rugby League
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
, counting the match result in official series records and sources in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
counting the match for individual player statistics but ignoring it for purposes of team records.
In 2004, Veterans Stadium received another upgrade. A new SprinTurf playing surface replaced the old playing surface in time for the 2004 football season.
Veterans Stadium is the home stadium to the Los Alamitos High School
Los Alamitos High School
Los Alamitos High School is a public school for grades 9 to 12 located in Los Alamitos, California, and also serving the city of Seal Beach and the community of Rossmoor. It is the only traditional high school in the Los Alamitos Unified School District; the far smaller Laurel High School serves...
Griffins.
The Basics
Veterans Stadium seats 11,600, and are on one side of the stadium, a grandstand facing east. 7,000 of the seats are aluminum bench bleachers, with the other 4,600 seats having fixed chairbacks. The field is surrounded by a nine-lane, 400-meter track.Location and Parking
The stadium is located on Lew Davis Street between Clark Avenue and Faculty Avenue. It is three miles west of Interstate 605 (use the Carson Street exit) and two miles north of Interstate 405 (use the Lakewood Boulevard exit or the Bellflower Boulevard exit).Technical Information
The field is open at both ends and there is a practice field on the north side and a large parking lot on the south side. There are large locker rooms for both home and visiting teams in the stadium and a smaller room for game officials. There are lights for night play using metal-halideHalide
A halide is a binary compound, of which one part is a halogen atom and the other part is an element or radical that is less electronegative than the halogen, to make a fluoride, chloride, bromide, iodide, or astatide compound. Many salts are halides...
lamps
LAMPS
LAMPS or Lamps may refer to:* Nickname for Frank Lampard, a Chelsea FC midfielder* Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System...
on eight towers. Veterans Stadium also features a two-level press box (capacity 100) atop the west grandstand.
Spectator amenities include 4,000 surface parking spaces, two ticket booths with two windows each, three permanent concessions, and a combined message board and scoreboard.
Links
- Veterans Stadium from Los Angeles Sports Council