In 1984, Monterey Park took part in Olympic history through the Summer Olympic Games, when field hockey competition was held at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park from July 29 through August 11. A sculpture symbolizing the Olympic torch was dedicated there on July 22, 1984, as the Olympic torch bearer passed the location en route to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where the torch's arrival on July 28, 1984, signaled the opening of the XXIIIrd Olympiad. The relay had begun in New York City on May 8, 1984, traveled nearly 12,000 miles across 33 states, and passed through about 1,000 communities in the United States, linking a centuries-old Olympic tradition with Monterey Park's part in the event.