 | |
 Interactive map of Weingart Stadium | |
| Location | 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez Monterey Park CA 91754 (on campus ofEast Los Angeles College) |
|---|---|
| Owner | East Los Angeles College |
| Capacity | 22,355 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1951 |
| Construction cost | $3.1 million |
| Tenants | |
| East Los Angeles College (football, men's and women's soccer[1]) (CCCAA) (1951–present) CSULA Diablos (1958–1961, 1970–1971) Los Angeles Aztecs (NASL) (1974) Olympic Field Hockey (IOC) (1984) Los Angeles Salsa (APSL) (1993–1994) East LA Classic (CIF) | |
Weingart Stadium (formerlyEast Los Angeles College Stadium[2] orELAC Stadium) is a 22,355-capacity multi-purpose stadium located atEast Los Angeles College, inMonterey Park, California. It was built in 1951 at a cost of $3.1 million, and following renovations in 1984 it was renamed after philanthropistBen Weingart.
Weingart is the home of theEast Los Angeles College football team, but is probably best known as the site of theGarfield High School–Roosevelt High School football game. Also known as theEast Los Angeles Classic, the annual clash has resulted in the stadium's largest crowds, numbering over 25,000.
The ELAC men's and women's soccer teams have played here since the stadium was built in 1951.
TheLos Angeles Aztecs of the oldNorth American Soccer League played its first season at Weingart in 1974. The Aztecs won the Western Division with the league's best record, defeated theBoston Minutemen in the semifinals, 2-0, in front of 5,485 at ELAC, then won theNASL Final over theMiami Toros in Miami. The club would eventually move to larger stadia such as theRose Bowl and theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but never won another championship before folding after the 1981 season.
TheLos Angeles Salsa of theAPSL called Weingart home for some of their games in 1993-94. (The Salsa hosted the 1993 APSL Championship Game, but atTitan Stadium in Fullerton.) It is one of the few mid-size stadiums in the western United States retrofitted with a turf playing surface certified by theFIFA.
The stadium played host to all1984 Olympicfield hockey matches;[3] the US women's team took home the bronze medal. Also, US Field Hockey played a home game here in 1990.
Commencement ceremonies for local high schools such asMontebello High School,Schurr High School inMontebello,Garfield High School inEast Los Angeles, andBell Gardens High School inBell Gardens, California are held at Weingart Stadium.
InViva Knievel! it was used to simulate a stadium in Mexico wereEvel Knievel did a motorcycle jump. A concert featuring Mexican music was used to draw a crowd in to fill the stadium for the shoot.
InForrest Gump, special effects were used to turn the stadium into theUniversity of Alabama's football stadium; using movie trickery, a small crowd at ELAC appears to fill the entire stadium.
A portion of the 2005 soccer movieGoal! was filmed at the stadium.
On October 19, 2013, during halftime of a game between ELAC andVictor Valley College, the stadium was used as the home field of Gotham City University for the filmBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The scene involved a football game between Gotham City University and rival Metropolis State University.
The stadium was used in the music video for the song "Wishes" by Baltimore dream pop bandBeach House.[4]
34°2′34″N118°9′6″W / 34.04278°N 118.15167°W /34.04278; -118.15167
