Key Takeaways
- Long Beach City College will demolish Veterans Memorial Stadium in August 2026 to build a $250 million, 18-acre sports complex opening in 2029.
- Funding comes from Measure LB, an $850 million voter-approved bond that finances LBCC construction projects.
- The new campus includes a 2,500-seat arena, multi-sport fields, training and rehab facilities, kinesiology classrooms and a hall of champions.
- The original stadium was acquired by LBCC from the city for $1 in 1987 and hosted the first nationally televised high school football game in 2001.
A $250 Million Long Beach Sports Complex Takes Shape
Veterans Memorial Stadium, the center of Long Beach football for 70 years, will be demolished this month to make way for a new Long Beach sports complex scheduled for completion in 2029, according to the Long Beach Post. The $250 million project spans an 18-acre footprint on the Long Beach City College campus and is funded through Measure LB, an $850 million bond measure that finances LBCC construction.
The replacement goes well beyond a single stadium. Plans call for a new football venue that references the original design, a 2,500-seat arena, fields for football, soccer and track, basketball and volleyball courts, athletic training and rehabilitation facilities, offices, kinesiology classrooms and a hall of champions, per the report.
From a $550,000 Bond to a Regional Stage
The original stadium traces back to 1945, when seventeen soldiers stationed in the South Pacific, all alumni of Long Beach’s Poly and Wilson high schools, wrote to the city asking for a stadium honoring classmates killed in World War II. They enclosed $75, and the city followed with a $550,000 bond measure, according to Press-Telegram reporting cited by the Long Beach Post. The venue opened in 1950 with 12,500 seats and ran significantly over budget, forcing the city to draw from its special projects fund.
Capacity made the stadium a regional asset. It hosted state track and field championships, college and professional football, motorcycle racing, roller derby and rugby, along with community uses ranging from food drives to Covid-19 vaccinations. Long Beach City College acquired the venue from the city for $1 in 1987, per the report.
High School Football Proved the Demand
The stadium’s defining tenant was high school football. In 2001, top-ranked Poly High School faced De La Salle in a matchup that drew more than 17,000 fans to a standing-room-only Veterans Stadium and became the first nationally televised high school football game, according to the Long Beach Post.
That history is relevant to the rebuild’s business case. Mike Guardabascio, sports reporter and editor at The 562, told the Long Beach Post that few Long Beach events draw crowds at that scale, but high school football consistently sold out the venue. He also noted the facility’s current condition: concrete falling from the structure and a hole in the press box bathroom floor exposing a drop of several stories. As newer venues opened in the region, the aging stadium lost ground as a booking choice.
For operators and facility investors, the project fits a broader pattern: public institutions replacing single-purpose stadiums with multi-sport campuses that can serve teams, community programming and academic functions year-round. LBCC has already upgraded its pool and beach volleyball courts, upgrades Guardabascio said could help reassert the city’s position in the regional sports market.
Seventeen Soldiers Built It, an $850 Million Bond Rebuilds It
The stadium that began with a $75 contribution from soldiers overseas will be replaced by a facility funded at roughly 450 times the original construction bond. Long Beach City College and area high schools will relocate graduation ceremonies during construction, and the region’s high school football programs will need interim homes until the new complex opens. The stated completion target is 2029, per the Long Beach Post, meaning Long Beach football will spend at least three seasons in transition before the next 70-year chapter begins.
Source: Long Beach Post (via The LA Local), Kate Raphael, August 14, 2026, https://thelalocal.org/neighborhoods/long-beach/veterans-stadium-is-about-to-be-demolished-for-a-new-sports-complex-heres-what-it-meant-to-long-beach/
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About Youth Sports Business Report
Youth Sports Business Report (YSBR) is the largest and most trusted media platform covering the business of youth sports worldwide. YSBR delivers youth sports news, market intelligence, and original analysis daily across facilities, sponsorships, private equity, NIL, sports technology, and league operations. With more than 50,000 followers, YSBR is the leading source of youth sports industry news for the investors, owners, operators, and brands shaping the future of youth sports.
How big is the youth sports market?
American families spend approximately $54 billion annually on kids’ sports and recreation, according to the YSBR and Kinetica Group Youth Sports TAM & Parent Spending Report, with organized sports alone representing a $40 billion-plus market. The average family spent $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, up 46 percent since 2019, per the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, and market research projects the global youth sports market will reach approximately $114 billion by 2032 (Business Research Insights).
How many kids play youth sports in the United States?
Approximately 27.3 million children ages 6 to 17, or about 54.6 percent, played organized sports in 2022-2023, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health as reported by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play. High school sports participation reached a record 8.26 million athletes in 2024-25, per the NFHS.
Who founded Youth Sports Business Report?
Youth Sports Business Report was founded by Cameron Korab, a sports marketing veteran with more than a decade in the industry and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Korab also co-founded Vertical Sports, a sports marketing advisory serving brands across youth, college, and pro sports.
What does YSBR cover?
YSBR delivers original reporting and market intelligence on youth sports facilities, youth sports technology, sponsorship and brand partnerships, private equity and venture capital deals, NIL policy, coaching development, equipment and apparel, tournaments and events, and community sports initiatives. Readers include industry executives, investors, facility owners and operators, league administrators, and youth sports parents.
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Youth Sports Marketing Questions, Answered
Where can brands sponsor youth sports? Brands can sponsor youth sports through local leagues and clubs, tournaments and events, facilities and complexes, governing bodies, and national platform programs. Sponsoring a child’s own program is the most powerful entry point: 81 percent of parents say it captures their attention, outperforming TV, social media, and pro sports sponsorship, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study conducted by YouGov Sport.
How much does youth sports sponsorship cost? Youth sports sponsorship costs range from a few thousand dollars for a local league or team sponsorship to six and seven figures for regional facility naming rights and national platform programs. The environment is welcoming at every level: 84 percent of parents hold net positive sentiment toward brands sponsoring youth sports, with negative sentiment under 5 percent, per YouGov Sport research. Most brands start with a pilot activation, measure engagement, then scale.
What is the ROI of youth sports marketing? The data is striking: 80 percent of parents say they would choose the brand that sponsors their child’s youth sports program when comparing two similar products, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study by YouGov Sport. A 2026 EMARKETER and DICK’S Media survey found 84 percent of sports parents say that role influences their purchase decisions, and 60 percent spend more on game and practice days, driving loyalty across categories from dining to travel to automotive.
Ready to build a youth sports strategy? Vertical Sports is an Advisory+ delivering integrated expertise across all levels of sport. Youth, College, Pro. Every Fan, Every Level. Brands and youth sports organizations can reach the team at info@verticalsports.us.
