NEWS UPDATE
MLS expansion team Los Angeles FC to move in to new US$250m home It is hoped that the 22,000-capacity stadium, located in Exposition Park, will rejuvenate and revitalise the South Los Angeles area
Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) has announced plans to build one of the most expensive privately financed soccer-specific stadiums in the US. The franchise, which will enter Major League Soccer (MLS) as an expansion team in 2018, has revealed designs for a 22,000-capacity venue on the site of the Sports Arena in South L.A.’s Exposition Park. Designed by L.A.-based architects Gensler, the $250m (£160m) downtown stadium is set to become the first open- air professional sports arena in the city since baseball’s Dodger Stadium opened in 1962. As well as the stadium, the plans cover a 15-acre area and include a conference centre, restaurants and a soccer museum. To make way for the new development, the ageing LA Sports Arena – opened in 1959 by then Vice President Richard Nixon – in Exposition Park will be demolished.
The project will be funded by the LAFC
ownership group, which includes former basketball star Earvin “Magic” Johnson; Mandalay Entertainment CEO Peter Guber, who is co-owner of the LA Dodgers MLB team and the NBA’s Golden State Warriors; self-help author Tony Robbins; and US women’s FIFA World Cup winner Mia Hamm and her husband Nomar Garciaparra, a former major league baseball all-star. The 24-member group also includes businessmen Ruben Gnanalingam and the controversial Malaysian owner of Cardiff City FC, Vincent Tan.
Commenting on the project, “Magic” Johnson said: “We’re not only committed to creating a dynamic experience for our fans, but equally excited about the impact our stadium and facilities will have in reshaping and revitalising South Los Angeles.” Soccer is popular in California – a state where 38.1 per cent of the total population
is Hispanic-Latino – and the new project has the strong support of local officials who are hoping to give a much needed economic boost to the area around the arena and the surrounding communities. “I’m excited to welcome the LAFC to the City of Angels,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “Los Angeles loves soccer and now the greatest sports town in America gets even better. “I know this ownership group is committed to representing the best our city has to offer. And I’m especially pleased that this proposed stadium will be located in South Los Angeles to help revive that neighbourhood and bring more jobs and opportunity for our residents.” South Los Angeles has poverty and unemployment rates well above the city average and the strategic plan for the construction of the new stadium will include a one-time economic activity of more than US$275m and 1,200 jobs. Additionally, net new impacts from annual operations of the new stadium are estimated to generate more than US$129m in new economic activity, create more than 1,800 full-time jobs and produce US$2.5m in annual tax revenue. • The stadium architect Gensler’s recent work includes renovating the FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland – home of the NFL team Cleveland Browns – and Sao Paulo’s Arena Corinthians in Brazil, host of the opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2014.
The early designs for the stadium have been created by LA-based architects Gensler 18 Read more:
http://lei.sr?a=a6J7h sportsmanagement.co.uk issue 2 2015 ©Cybertrek 2015
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92