Long Beach City College’s new Stadium and Athletic Sports Complex (SASC) will provide a state-of-the-art facility that consolidates the decentralized components of the current athletic facilities, such as the Kinesiology Lab and Aquatic Center (KLAC) and baseball/softball fields, into one location. Artist’s redenering courtesy LBCC
Long Beach City College is saying goodbye to its longtime stadium and making plans for a new $250 state-of-the-art athletic center. To honor Veterans Memorial Stadium before work begins on the new complex, the school will host a free football game on Aug. 29 and a groundbreaking event on Sept. 9.
This fall, LBCC will demolish the current structure and begin construction on a stadium and sports complex, scheduled for completion in summer 2029. The complex, located on the Liberal Arts Campus, will include a new stadium, an arena and centralized athletic fields. The project has a budget of about $250 million, according to Associate Dean of Athletics Kal Stewart. It was funded by Measure LB, a bond measure voters approved in 2016.
A new football field, soccer field, track and new team facilities will enhance the stadium while paying homage to the original structure, Stewart said in an interview.
Jordan High seniors celebrate their graduation in the school’s 83rd commencement at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach on Tuesday, Jun 12, 2018. (Photo by Scott Varley, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach City College held its commencement at the Veterans Memorial Stadium on Thursday, June 6, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Jerome Thomas)
Long Beach Poly Ariyonna Augustine, center, wins the 100 meter dash prelim during the 99th annual CIF State Track & Field Championships in Veterans Memorial Stadium at Buchanan High School in Clovis, Calif., on Friday, June 02, 2017. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Graduates pose for photos with friends and family following their graduation ceremony at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach, CA, on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Ayala is the runner-up, losing against Millikan in the CIF-SS Division 2 girls’ soccer championship game at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach on Saturday February 28, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach City College’s 2023 commencement ceremony on Thursday, June 8, at the Veterans Memorial Stadium. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Long Beach City College’s 2023 commencement ceremony on Thursday, June 8, at the Veterans Memorial Stadium. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The Los Alamitos football team runs onto the field before a nonleague football game against Santa Margarita at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach on Thursday, September 15, 2022. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)
Graduates on the field at Veterans Memorial Stadium for their graduation from Millikan High School in Long Beach on Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Students enter Veterans Memorial Stadium for their graduation ceremony from Jordan High School
in Long Beach on Wednesday, June 16, 2021. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Graduates on the field at Veterans Memorial Stadium for their graduation from Millikan High School in Long Beach on Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
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Jordan High seniors celebrate their graduation in the school’s 83rd commencement at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach on Tuesday, Jun 12, 2018. (Photo by Scott Varley, Contributing Photographer)
“Vets Memorial Stadium is more than a football stadium,” he said. “For more than 75 years, it’s been part of the fabric of Long Beach. It served generations of Long Beach City College and LBUSD students, student athletes, coaches, families, alumni, community members.”
Vets Stadium is the home of the LBCC Vikings and Long Beach Poly High School’s football team. The city of Long Beach sold the facility, which opened in 1950, to LBCC in 1987.
The Vikings are moving home games to St. Anthony High School during the construction period. For Poly home games, Cabrillo High School’s stadium will be available, and the team may use other facilities to accommodate scheduling, said LBUSD spokesperson Eric Mitchell.
Movies and commercials have been filmed at Vets, including “Viva Knievel!” with Evel Knievel and “The Rose” with Bette Midler. The stadium has hosted graduations, motorcycle races, roller derby, rugby, swap meets and antique markets, according to an LBCC press release.
The community can cheer on the Vikings at the original stadium one more time at a Farewell Football Game on Aug. 29 at 4 p.m. LBCC will play Riverside City College. Entry is free, and the game will feature stadium signing walls, giveaways and a half-time ceremony.
“We have 12,000 seats at that stadium,” Stewart said. “Hopefully, every one of them gets filled up because I think that people have really made incredible memories here.”
On Sept. 9 at 3 p.m., LBCC will host a Veterans Memorial Stadium Legacy Ceremony and Groundbreaking to honor the stadium’s history and mark the start of its transformation. College students will speak, and the ceremony will include a video presentation, stadium signing walls, refreshments and giveaways.
Community members can reserve their free football tickets and RSVP for the groundbreaking online.
“I really do think that what the stadium has meant to people will be really impactful for how that next chapter plays out with the new state-of-the-art facility that’s going to be designed to serve our students, our student athletes and the community,” Stewart said. “The immediate impact that this will have on this community is going to be bar none.”