LAFC will play in front of its supporters for one last time before the end of 2022. The Banc is the stage for the final MLS game of the season, in a contest between the Philadelphia Union and the home team, a game coming five years after the squad first began playing at the Stadium near Downtown Los Angeles.
Loud and Proud: The Heart of Los Angeles
LAFC came into the scene in the shadows of a significant sports failure in a city that’s quite unforgiven regarding sports loyalties. The Chivas USA saga is the eyesore of the League. One MLS is happy to have recovered from.
This turnaround allowed the El Trafico rivalry to be born. A big part of this rivalry is having fans travel to the opposite stadium to face one another through the 110, considered the main artery connecting the city’s north and south central areas of town. And while the road between the two stadiums is only 12 miles long, it presents one of the most significant mutual home-field advantages for each team.
Out of the 12 wins and losses in games between the two teams, only one came in the opponent’s field, a 2-0 LA Galaxy win over LAFC during a very chaotic pandemic year with the team going very deep but eventually falling short during the CCL final game.
Downtown LA from the media room at Banc of California Stadium / Celso Oliveira – TMLS
The stadium is in the Heart of Los Angeles, and a drive towards it reminds you of the inequalities and difficulties the four million plus people who live in the City of Angels tend to deal with daily. The Banc, however, is where most people donning black and gold tend to forget about race, social class, national origin, or status. Most seats are so close to the field and so close to one another that there’s no wrong place to watch the game unfold. Taking a lap around the whole thing to see if there’s a new food venue won’t get you lost. And you get to see just how many familiar faces you see as you go down the concession halls before kickoff.
Built for the 3252 loyal followers of the Black and Gold
The Stadium would be just another Stadium if it weren’t for the 3252 seats at the north end of the field. That’s one of the unique features of this venue, which, after all, was built with the fan in mind from Day 1. It was the first open-air stadium built in Los Angeles since the iconic Dodgers Stadium in 1962, replacing the old Sports Complex Arena, an indoor venue near the Coliseum Stadium where USC holds its football games. At 34 degrees, the seating in the North End of the stadium is among the steepest in MLS, while the closest seats on the pitch are only 12 feet from the touchline. The stadium roof is 85 feet tall, creating a roaring platform for sound to travel and get the place rocking after each LAFC score.
Bitter End to 2021
The night was chilly, and LAFC needed a win to remain alive in the playoffs before heading to Colorado, which at the time commanded the Western Conference. LAFC was ready to give it all, but after 90 minutes, a lackluster tie against a weaker opponent was all the Black and Gold had to show for. The now-gone coach Bob Bradley had had his last game at the venue, a place that made him a legend in 2019 and essentially put LAFC on the map and on display for the world to see. No one wanted to admit it that day, but “Change” was in the air. The week after, LAFC lost in Colorado and would miss the playoffs for the first time since beginning play. The Banc was closed until 2022.
The Stage Is Set: LAFC vs Philadelphia Union
It’s been a great five years for this illustrious franchise, navigating through the ups and downs of MLS, dealing with the loss of a legendary coach, rehabbing its star back into a meaningful contributor in every game, and seeing him eventually capturing the honor of being on the Ultimate MLS starting 11 team.
John Thorrington will likely win Executive of the Year once again for the work he’s done with this roster; a nice win, though it comes after such a turnaround from a successful 2019, where the team seemed to be on a tear. Then the unlucky season began, and soon it appeared there were cracks in the leadership structure of the Club. Fixing these cracks with ‘tweaks,’ as John called it back at the beginning of the season, gets him the prize. He deserves it more than any other executive.
Regardless of the result on Saturday, it’s hard not to think of Banc of California Stadium as the ideal venue for the Cup. I know it’s tough to see a final for the most prominent soccer game in the US held in a stadium that seats 22,000 people, but the advantage The Banc creates for LAFC is too much for anyone to ignore. Nonetheless, given the issues with parking on game day and the already-announced match at the Rose Bowl for the next El Trafico, I wonder if an alternative venue, like SoFi Stadium, was in consideration for Saturday’s game.
Too late now. Suppose you’re among the 22,000 loyals who have a ticket, congratulations! Enjoy the state-of-the-art facility and the best two teams in this league, squaring off in pursuit of a new title. Getting there may be an issue, so plan to go early and stay late!
