LAFC-LA Galaxy El Tráfico to simmer Rose Bowl

Article posted by Coliseum, October 6^th, 2022

Image: MJR Group Ltd./Coliseum

The Major League Soccer (MLS) teams Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) and LA Galaxy will open next year’s MLS season at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California (US) on February 25^th, the first match between the City rivals to be held at the 90,888-capacity stadium, the teams announced recently.

‘The Guardian’ stated that if they sell out the stadium in Pasadena it would set an attendance record for an MLS match.

The Los Angeles Football Club, commonly referred to as LAFC, is an American professional football team based in Los Angeles, US. The club competes in Major League Soccer as a member club of the league’s Western Conference.

The 22,000-capacity Banc of California Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, US. It is the home of Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles FC and the National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL’s) Angel City FC.

LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, is an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, US. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play in 1996 as one of the league’s 10 charter members.

The 27,000-capacity Dignity Health Sports Park is a multiuse sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California, US. It serves as the home ground of LA Galaxy.

The Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men’s professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport’s highest level in the United States. The league comprises 28 teams – 25 in the US and 3 in Canada – and will expand to 29 teams for the 2023 season.

The 90,888-capacity Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium located in Pasadena, California, US. Opened in October 1922, the stadium is recognized as a National Historic Landmark and a California Historic Civil Engineering landmark.

Stated Larry Freedman, LAFC Co-President and CBO, “This rivalry has, from Day One, delivered an energy and electricity that together with incredible moments and memories on the pitch, has established it among the most engaging not only in Los Angeles but across MLS. It is only fitting that we are now taking it to one of the most iconic venues in all of sports.”

‘The Guardian’ further stated that it will be the 17th meeting between the teams in the derby (a match between two nearby teams with a longstanding rivalry) known as El Tráfico. The Galaxy, who called the Rose Bowl home from their start in 1996 until their move to Carson in 2003, have won seven and lost four of their previous encounters.

El Tráfico, also known as the Battle of L.A. and Los Angeles Derby, is a soccer rivalry between the two Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs based in the Greater Los Angeles area, LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC.

Commented Chris Klein, LA Galaxy President, “The LA Galaxy are excited to write a new chapter in the storied soccer legacy of Los Angeles as we kick off our 2023 campaign against our interCity rival LAFC at the iconic Rose Bowl Stadium. We have a great history at the most legendary sports venue in the United States and know this will be a great spectacle for fans as we place one of the most exciting new rivalries in the world on LA’s biggest stage.”

Built in 1922, the Rose Bowl has hosted five National Football League (NFL) Super Bowls, Olympic soccer matches in 1984, the 1994 men’s World Cup final, and the women’s World Cup final in 1999.

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