Month / April 2018

by thedudedennis24

LAFC’s Banc of California Stadium and what it means for Los Angeles and the MLS

The home of Major League Soccer’s latest expansion team, LAFC, opened to the public for the first time on Apr. 18, 2018, yet the fans are not the only ones who are excited by the Banc of California Stadium’s potential.

The Los Angeles Times reported on May 17, 2015 that the team chose the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena site to build a 22,000 seat capacity, state of the art stadium for the MLS in Exposition Park, bringing excitement about another franchise and venue for Southern Californians to enjoy.

The report also estimated the project would cost $250 million, create 1,200 temporary construction jobs and 1,800 full-time jobs and generate $2.5 million in annual tax revenue, also a plus for Californians living in the surrounding cities.

 

 

 

 

 

The MLS can also benefit from the Banc of California stadium in a few ways.

Major League Soccer had its debut season as the best professional soccer league in the United States in 1996.

The league had 10 teams in 1996 and now has 23 teams fighting for a chance to hoist the 2018 MLS Cup.

The stadium will not only bring added revenue to the MLS, but it will help make soccer more popular in Los Angeles and hopefully more in the United States, a much needed adjustment, especially in a time following a low-point in the history of the United States Men’s National Team.

In a state that is so close to a country like Mexico, where soccer is the primary sport, soccer has been popular in the state of California, but seems to be just Southern California that has most of the state’s premier youth club teams and leagues of development.

 

 

The addition of LAFC to the MLS and a budding rivalry with cross-town giants Los Angeles Galaxy can be just what the MLS needs to gain popularity among other Americans, not just people from Southern California.

 

The MLS has come a long way since its opening season in 1996, just as the popularity of soccer has grown drastically since that time.

The addition of a state of the art venue for LAFC seems like only a small improvement, but for the city of Los Angeles as well as the MLS, the benefits will exceed expectations financially as well as the impact it has on raising the competition level soccer in California as well as the United States.

by thedudedennis24

Headed to an Angels or Dodgers game this season? Both teams unveiled new, costly menu items for the 2018 season

 

The start of the 2018 Major League Baseball season has brought with it a number of new menu items to American ballparks.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim unveiled a total of 15 dishes to their menu, while the Los Angeles Dodgers brought ten new menu items to Dodger Stadium.

Food prices on Yelp for these tasty items has a cost that ranges from $7 to $25 per item at Dodger Stadium and $8.50 to $25 per item at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

The Dodgers have an item that has already become a fan favorite: the Cheet-O-Lote, a roasted sweet corn rubbed with lime, mayo, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, cotija cheese and tajin seasoning.

Another popular item at Dodger Stadium is the Churro Cake, composed of hot churro, horchata ice cream, Abuelita’s brand caramel and Abuelita’s brand shavings.

In Anaheim, Angel Stadium provides fans with its own array of calorie-loaded items, including the popular Pastrami Fries, which are loaded with pastrami, cheese, pickles and secret sauce.

The Smoked Ring Spud, a baked potato stuffed with smoked pork, cheddar cheese, green onions and topped with fried onions, has also established itself as one of Angel Stadium’s most delicious menu items.

Before mentioning a few of these mouth-watering foods, it is safe to assume that any kind of food or beverage you purchase at an Angels or Dodgers game will not be cheap.

 

 

Each year, the items on the menus at sporting events continue to grow in price, yet fans don’t seem to care, as MLB games continue to be great occasions for fans to spend their time and money.

 

 

 

 

 

 

by thedudedennis24

What football fans can expect from the Chargers’ and Rams’ new stadium

 

Southern California is set to add another entertainment venue to its list of attractions, this time in the form of a $2.6 billion stadium, which will be the centerpiece of a 298-acre sports and entertainment district in Inglewood.

The new stadium, named the Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park, is set to open by the start of the 2020 NFL season and will host both the Los Angeles Rams and as the Los Angeles Chargers.

Football fans in Southern California will not be disappointed: the NFL’s soon-to-be largest stadium, which will have a seat capacity of 80,000, will also be the most expensive sports arena in the world.

 

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The NFL has been criticized in the past for its handling of re-locating some franchises.

Most people can agree that the new entertainment palace that is the Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park will be everything fans want it to be, yet the location of the stadium was an area of discussion when proposing the upcoming stadium.

On January 31, 2014, the Los Angeles Times reported that Stan Kroenke, owner of the (then) St. Louis Rams, purchased a 60-acre parcel of land just north of the Hollywood Park site.

The area of land happens to be located in Inglewood, which some people did not see as an ideal location for a stadium due to the belief that the city is dangerous.

Another concern about the location of the Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park was that Inglewood is a city that is not close to any tourist attractions.

This second concern is a seemingly small one, however, due to the fact that the new stadium is going to be the centerpiece of a larger development known as the sports and entertainment district.

The sports and entertainment district will be a major gathering spot compared to the likes of Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Culver City and Playa Vista.

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Pictured here: the former Hollywood Park horse racing track that will be the location for the Chargers and Rams home games starting in 2020

 

Chris Hibbs, the chief revenue officer for the L.A. Stadium and Entertainment District, revealed a model of the stadium and ensured that fans will not be disappointed.

Hibbs says to make sure you have cold beer, great hot dogs and food options, great sight lines and video boards that bring replays and Red Zone to life like no other building.

Fan bases for both the Rams and Chargers, as well as fans of opposing teams who visit the Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park, are in for a real treat when the stadium opens in 2020.