Nickname(s) The Wings Executive chairman Peter Guber League MLS Chairman Peter Guber | Ground Capacity 22,000 Website Club home page Founded 2014 | |
Full name Los Angeles Football Club Owners List
Henry Nguyen, Peter Guber, Tom Penn, Will Ferrell, Ruben Gnanalingam, Vincent Tan, Brandon Beck, Larry Berg, Nomar Garciaparra, Mia Hamm, Magic Johnson, Chad Hurley, Tucker Kain, Kirk Lacob, Mark Leschly, Mike Mahan, Irwin Raij, Tony Robbins, Lon Rosen, Bennett Rosenthal, Paul Schaeffer, Brandon Schneider, Mark Shapiro, Allen Shapiro, Jason Sugarman, Harry Tsao Location Los Angeles, California, United States Ground Banc of California Stadium Profiles | ||
Los Angeles Football Club is an expansion franchise in Los Angeles that plans to begin play in Major League Soccer (MLS) starting in 2018. The team was announced in October 2014.
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The ownership group is headed by venture capitalist Henry Nguyen, entrepreneur Peter Guber, and former National Basketball Association executive Tom Penn. The ownership group also includes businessmen Ruben Gnanalingam and Vincent Tan. In addition, the club has a further 21 named investors including Magic Johnson, Nomar and Mia Hamm-Garciaparra, Chad Hurley, Tony Robbins and Will Ferrell.
John Thorrington was hired as executive vice president of soccer operations.
The ownership sought input from fans to decide the permanent name and logo. On November 7, 2014, Nguyen expressed a preference for the name Los Angeles Football Club being permanent, describing it as "timeless" and saying, "in the world, football means one thing. Maybe it speaks a little bit to our own vision and our own aspirations." On September 15, 2015, the club announced the placeholder name, Los Angeles Football Club, would be the official team name.
Stadium
On May 17, 2015, the Los Angeles Times reported the team chose the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena site to build a 22,000-seat stadium in Exposition Park, costing $350 million, and having 140,000 square feet of open space. The group estimated the project would create 1,200 temporary construction jobs and 1,800 full-time jobs, generating $2.5 million in annual tax revenue. The environmental impact report, arena demolition and stadium construction are expected to take three years and delay the team's debut to 2018.
Academy
On February 1, 2016 the club announced the founding of the LAFC Academy. The academy is launching with a fully funded U12 USSDA academy team with a roster of 26 players. Joey Cascio was named coach of the U12 team along with Juan Lopez.
Colors and badge
The club's colors and logo were unveiled on January 7, 2016 at Union Station. The colors are black and gold, with a flash of red. The Art Deco-inspired logo incorporates a shield outline referencing that found on the city seal, with a winged "LA" monogram and the words "Los Angeles" and "Football Club" in Neutraface. The crest was designed by Matthew Wolff.
Culture
LAFC, through social media, invited potential fans to become LA Originals. District 9 Ultras and Black Army 1850 supporters group, formerly supporters of Chivas USA, which played in MLS at the StubHub Center from 2005 through 2014, has been a vocal presence at town meetings and at the logo unveiling.