Shaded Seats at LA Memorial Coliseum

LA Memorial Coliseum is one of the most historic and celebrated sports venues in the world. Primarily known as the home field for the USC Trojans football team, it also famously hosted two Olympic Games and is set to host again in 2028. Given Los Angeles’ famously warm and sunny climate, fans attending events at the Coliseum can use the seating chart along with this article to identify the shaded seats at LA Memorial Coliseum.

Where are the seats in the shade and sun at LA Memorial Coliseum?

As a general rule, the seats in the shade at LA Memorial Coliseum are located:

• South Sideline: Shade on the away team’s side of the stadium
• West End Zone: Shaded in the late afternoon and evening

And the seats in the sun at LA Memorial Coliseum are located:

• North Sideline: Sunny on USC’s home side of the stadium
• East End Zone: Exposed to the sun all day

Trojans games at the Coliseum kick off as early as noon and as late as 8:00 PM, with intermediate times mixed into the schedule as well. For specific details about shaded sections at different start times, please continue reading.

LA Memorial Coliseum Orientation to the Sun

LA Memorial Coliseum is oriented east to west. This is a fairly unique orientation for football stadiums and means that, by noon, the sun is above and behind the press box and suites on the south side of the stadium. Over the course of the afternoon, it continues to dip behind the south side of the stadium and eventually sets behind the west end zone. This configuration makes the south side of the stadium the “shade side” and the north side the sunny side. The end zones are sunny early in the day, but the west end zone becomes shaded for late afternoon games.

The graphic below shows the approximate hour-by-hour position of the sun throughout the day on September 1st.

See an interactive seating chart for the next event at LA Memorial Coliseum

Seats in the Sun and Shade at Early Afternoon LA Memorial Coliseum Games

The Coliseum is a historic stadium that’s over one hundred years old. It features a horseshoe design, with most seating along the sidelines and additional seating behind the west end zone. In 2019, USC made several upgrades to the stadium, including luxury boxes and club suites on the south sideline. The Coliseum is otherwise completely open to the elements, with no canopy or roof to block out the sun.

That’s all to say that shade is hard to come by early in the afternoon. For a game that kicks off at noon or 1:00 PM, the sun is high above Los Angeles, and nearly every seat, aside from the luxury suites, is sun-soaked. Even if most seats start the game in the sun, more and more will become shaded throughout the afternoon. Focus your shade search on the south sideline. Seats in Sections 101-110, 200-210, and 300-310 will have the sun at their back, though you still want to use sunscreen on the back of your neck. Rows in the back half of Sections 104-109 are your best bet for early-day shade, as the suites and luxury boxes rise above and provide a barrier to the sun.

The sunniest seats are on the north side of the stadium and behind the end zone. Barring a cloudy day, all rows in Sections 111-128, 211-228, and 311-328 are virtually guaranteed to be in the path of the sun for the entirety of an afternoon game.

Seats in the Sun and Shade at Late Afternoon and Evening LA Memorial Coliseum Games

Thanks to the design of the Coliseum, the same basic principles apply later in the day: pick a seat on the south side of the stadium for maximum access to shade. For games that start at 3:30 PM or later, the good news is that seats behind the west end zone become shaded as well. Shade seekers can now prefer seats in Sections 101-114, 200-214, and 300-314.

Expect sun in Sections 115-128, 215-228, and 315-328. Very late in the day, shade will start to cover some home team sideline seats closer to the west end zone, but seats near the east end zone will stay sunny the longest.

By mid-afternoon seats on the south side of the Coliseum (right) and behind the west end zone are shaded while those on the north side (left) are still in the sun.
Photo by Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire

Ready to buy shaded seats at LA Memorial Coliseum?

Use the individual game links or click or tap here to see the upcoming game list for LA Memorial Coliseum.