LAFC will have a new training facility to go with its new stadium.
By Ivan Yeo
Check off another item on LAFC’s to-do list.
Even as the concrete is in the process of being laid down on Banc of California Stadium in downtown Los Angeles, LAFC reached another milestone in the run-up to its inaugural season next year, as the franchise announced it has reached an agreement to construct a training facility on the campus of Cal State Los Angeles.
Cal State Los Angeles sits just minutes from downtown LA, off the 10 San Bernardino Freeway, close to downtown, East Los Angeles and Monterrey Park, making it an attractive location for the franchise. The plans were approved by the CSULA’s board of trustees, LAFC will contribute $30 million towards the project and will also donate an additional $1.5 million to the school.
The facility will serve as the training grounds for the MLS club. The facility, which is also being built by the same company that is designing Banc of California Stadium, will feature a natural grass field, locker rooms, sports medicine and office spaces for the coaching staff and will also serve as the main grounds for the LAFC youth academy.
With the new stadium and training facility out the way, the club can now start to focus on on-the-field matters. The franchise still needs to find a head coach and ultimately players. Names like Bob Bradley, Sigi Schmid and Guillermo Barros Schelotto have been linked to LAFC’s coaching search while on the player front, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez has been the one name consistently linked to the franchise.
