LA 2024 today welcomed the groundbreaking of Los Angeles Football Club's (LAFC) new 22,000-seat Banc of California Stadium in the heart of downtown LA, hailing the new venue as a major boost for the bid’s plans to host the Games in the United States for the first time in 28 years. Set to open in 2018 to accommodate the City of Angels’ newest Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise, the stadium will be located next to the iconic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at the site of the former LA Sports Arena.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti joined hundreds of supporters and LAFC leadership, including co-owners, NBA legend and LA 2024 vice chair Earvin "Magic" Johnson, actor and comedian Will Ferrell, inspirational life coach and entrepreneur Tony Robbins, entertainment and sports legend Peter Guber, business leader and LAFC Lead Managing Owner Larry Berg, Co-Managing Owners Bennett Rosenthal and Brandon Beck, and LAFC President Tom Penn, in celebrating the landmark occasion.
The new stadium will host soccer and be located in LA 2024’s proposed downtown cluster, the beating heart of the LA 2024 Games Plan which could host over 40 percent of the Olympic competition in iconic venues such as the LA Memorial Coliseum, Staples Center, Galen Center, Microsoft Theater and USC’s Dedeaux Field. All Downtown venues are conveniently served by Los Angeles' growing light rail system, allowing fans to avoid traffic to get to the Games.
LA 2024 Chairman Casey Wasserman said: "On behalf of LA 2024, we are thrilled to welcome the newest addition to LA’s already existing abundance of world-class sports venues. It’s thanks to projects like Banc of California Stadium that we would only need to build one new permanent venue should LA be awarded the honor of hosting the Games in 2024. LAFC’s new stadium will surely bolster downtown LA’s status as a destination for passionate sports fans, while offering LA 2024 a great venue for soccer and our plans to return the Games to Los Angeles."
LAFC Lead Managing Owner Larry Berg said: "We start here. After years of planning and hard work we are set to make history here in the heart of the city. Banc of California Stadium will allow for greater sports-viewing and live entertainment experiences to take place in Los Angeles than ever before."
LAFC Executive Chairman and Owner Peter Guber said, "This world-class stadium will be a state of the art venue featuring ‘state of the heart’ experiences for players, fans and artists."
Banc of California stadium is one of two new, major, professional sporting venues announced this year in the City of Angels, the other being the Los Angeles Rams stadium, which is set to be completed by 2019 and will be able to accommodate 100,000 fans. USC also recently announced a privately funded $270 million refurbishment of the LA Memorial Coliseum.
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