Another MLS stadium in LA & more

i-d6570d5282746beb2498234d4355729a-coliseummls.pngAnother MLS stadium in LA? The Coliseum Commission has proposed demolishing the aging and underused LA Sports Arena and building a 22,000-seat soccer stadium on the site suitable for an MLS team.

More details on the proposal, one of two options outlined in the environmental analysis is here.

Note that any talk of Chivas USA moving to the stadium from Home Depot Center is way premature. It’s no secret the club, a tenant at the AEG-owned HDC, wants a stadium so it can control its own revenue streams including tickets, concessions and parking, a tactic that is the proven strategy for turning a profit. Quite how exchanging one landlord for another would do that is unclear. But at least it provides another option and perhaps bargaining chip.

Moreover, the analysis never mentions Chivas USA (that I could find in the 300-plus page document), although it does mention MLS (but not the WPS).

I’m awaiting comment from Chivas USA.

Updated

As expected a club spokesman had no comment on the “rumors and speculation” this afternoon, noting the club has “been down this road before.”

That’s a reference to a flurry of stories this summer in conjunction with Chivas USA’s game in San Diego with the mothership when a comment from a Chivas USA spokesman was misinterpreted to mean the club was looking at building a stadium in the city.

Meanwhile, rumors abound on the status of AEG purchasing part of the San Diego Chargers, a possible tenant for its proposed downtown stadium and a potential World Cup venue, of course.

Speaking of the World Cup, a reminder the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts will be named at 6:30 a.m. Thursday with viewing parties being hosted locally by the Galaxy and Chivas USA (from the club press release):

Chivas USA will be hosting a viewing party for the announcement of the hosts of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups on Thursday, December 2, at 6:30 a.m. PT at Hennessey’s Tavern in Manhattan Beach, 313 Manhattan Beach Blvd. Complimentary coffee and tea will be served with breakfast specials available for purchase as well. There will be prize giveaways and the ChivaFighter and ChivaGirls will also be present to sign autographs.

ESPN will be airing the announcement live on SportsCenter at 7:00 a.m. PT on Thursday, while Fox Soccer Channel, Univision, and CNN will have coverage of the event throughout the day. U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati, MLS Commissioner Don Garber, Landon Donovan and Former U.S. President Bill Clinton are in Zurich, serving as spokesmen for the U.S. Bid.

The U.S. is up against Qatar, South Korea, Japan and Australia for the opportunity to host in 2022.

Check out previous posts below for much more on the World Cup bid.

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