90,000 Fans Expected At Rams First Preseason Game

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — The NFL will return to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Saturday for the first time since 1994 when the Los Angeles Rams face the Dallas Cowboys in the preseason opener for both teams.

A crowd of more than 80,000 is expected.

A limited number of tickets remained available as of Friday afternoon, according to Artis Twyman, the Los Angeles Rams senior director of communications.

The Rams, NFL and USC, which manages the Coliseum in association with the stadium's staff, are working with city, state and federal agencies including the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, California Highway Patrol and the FBI, in addition to private security firms to ensure a safe experience, Twyman said.

Parking in lots at USC and in Exposition Park is by permit only. There is no public parking on-site for Rams games.Parking lots open five hours prior to kickoff and close 90 minutes after
the end of game. Vehicles must exit the stadium parking lots by 90 minutes after the conclusion of the game. Due to limited parking, fans are encouraged to take Metro to the game.
On game days, Metro will add service to the Expo Line two hours before and after the game, to run every six minutes, instead of every 12.

This will be the first time light rail service will be available to a Ram game at the Coliseum since Sept. 27, 1953, three days before passenger service was discontinued on the Santa Monica Air Line. The Expo Line reuses the right-of-way of the Santa Monica Air Line along Exposition Boulevard.

Look at this packed Coliseum! #RamsAreBack!! #DALvsLA #CBSLA pic.twitter.com/9oegAuMWHN

— Greg Mills (@GregMillsTVNews) August 14, 2016

Rams coach Jeff Fisher said this week he typically plays his starters the first two or three series in the first preseason game. In an interview Thursday, the final day he was made available to reporters, Quarterback Jared Goff, the first player chosen in the NFL draft, said the team's coaching staff had not told him when he will enter today's game in relief of Case Keenum and how much he will play.
One challenge the Rams will face is having their kickers -- incumbent Greg Zuerlein and rookie free agent Taylor Bertolet -- acclimate themselves to the Coliseum, special teams coordinator John Fassel said. "There's a depth perception at either end with the field goals," Fassel said. "There is some weird sighting depending on which way you kick." Fassel said the Rams will need the preseason for whoever opens the season as kicker to become comfortable with kicking in the Coliseum. Fassel said the team will try to have one more practice in the Coliseum between the end of the preseason and the start of the regular season.

Fisher said he wants Ram fans "to go home having lost their voices.""We want to hear them," Fisher said. "We need that 12th man."
The Rams will wear white jerseys with white pants while the Cowboys will wear Navy jerseys, team officials said.

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