soccer

LA Breaks Ground on 22,000-Seat Soccer Stadium at Exposition Park

The first ceremonial scoop of dirt was removed from the ground in Exposition Park Tuesday at the site of a $350 million stadium that will be home to Southern California's newest soccer franchise.

The 22,000-seat stadium, at the site of the former Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, will house Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Football Club.

Among the team's owners at the event were Earvin "Magic" Johnson, actor Will Ferrell, motivational speaker Tony Robbins and team president Tom Penn. The ownership group also includes former Dodger Nomar Garciaparra and his wife, soccer star Mia Hamm-Garciaparra.

"People now can live and work and come to enjoy a great soccer team, right in their own community," Johnson said.

Los Angeles Football Club was announced in 2014 as a replacement for the disbanded Chivas USA soccer club, which played for 10 years at StubHub Center in Carson, sharing the facility with the Los Angeles Galaxy. The new MLS team is expected to begin play in 2018 at the new stadium.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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