Los Angeles Football Club to Return to Rose Bowl Next Month

The LA Galaxy earned a 2-1 win over LAFC in the 20th edition of El Tráfico before a new MLS single-match standalone attendance record of 82,110 fans at Rose Bowl Stadium on Tuesday night. [Photos: LA Galaxy, MLS via Twitter]

After selling out the Rose Bowl on July 4, the Los Angeles Football Club is scheduled to return to the iconic stadium next month.

The City Council approved a license agreement allowing LAFC to compete in a soccer match on Aug. 11.

The vote comes less than a week after the LAFC faced the LA Galaxy in front of 80,000 fans in the famous stadium on Independence Day.

“The Rose Bowl has had a tremendous history of hosting soccer at our venue, including the finals of both the men’s and women’s World Cups as well as the Finals of the Olympics in 1984, and COPA America in June of 2016,” according to a staff report contained in Monday’s City Council agenda. “Our historic landmark has also hosted national teams of United States, Brazil, and Mexico.”

The attendance for the Aug. 11 event is expected to be around 50,000.

As per the staff report, the event will directly generate $250,000 revenue, which will help fund the Rose Bowl’s operating budget and unfunded capital projects.

The stadium hosted the Los Angeles Galaxy as a tenant from 1996-2002. In recent years, the Rose Bowl has hosted European club teams, specifically Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Manchester United.

The Arroyo Public Lands Ordinance establishes guidelines and policies related to the administration of the Arroyo Seco, including the Rose Bowl.

According to the ordinance, the City seeks to achieve a balance between the use of the Rose Bowl and impact of such use on surrounding residential areas.

To achieve that balance, the ordinance limits the number of so-called displacement events to no more than 15 in any calendar year.

A displacement event refers to any event with an expected attendance of 20,000 people or more.

In order to exceed 15 displacement events, the City Council must make certain findings.

The August soccer match is anticipated to be the 25th displacement event this year.

The first 24 displacement events in 2023 are: six scheduled UCLA football games, the Rose Bowl Game, 10 Music Festival dates, four concerts with Live Nation, two soccer matches with AEG, and one soccer match with Primetime Sports and Entertainment.