LAFC will enter MLS with the lessons from Chivas USA, but not the baggage.
For the past 10 years, there've been two MLS teams in Los Angeles. But, thanks to the folding of Chivas USA, there will be just one team in LA for the next two years, until LAFC launches in 2017. But the league could have allowed LAFC to buy the Goats, then continue operating them next season. Why didn't they?
Chivas USA were that bad. And that embarrassing. And come with that much baggage.
"We really needed a distinct break," MLS commissioner Don Garber said. "We needed to accept that what we did in '05 didn't work and the new team shouldn't be saddled and burdened with that legacy, the league should."
Come 2017, LAFC will not be looked at as a club trying to turn Chivas around. They won't be looked at as a club that used to be Chivas. They won't be looked at in comparison to Chivas in any way except for one -- can they do what Chivas couldn't?
The new club is charged with engaging the LA market in such a way that they can create a true equal for the LA Galaxy, both on the field and off of it, so the rivalry that the league has desperately wanted can finally come to fruition.
It is hardly an impossible task. The club's mere unveiling was proof of their potential.
The amount of money and experience in the ownership group is staggering. From the managing partner, Henry Nguyen, to Peter Guber, all the way down through Magic Johnson, Tony Robbins and the rest, it's obvious that the club has an incredible amount of capital. They also have expertise in Hollywood, from Manadalay Entertainment CEO Guber; sports management, in former NBA executive Tom Penn and Golden State Warriors GM Rick Welts; on the field, in Mia Hamm; and even in technology, in YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley. That is just a fraction of the group, but they made it clear that they are as excited about the LA market as they are the league in general.
There have been questions about why MLS would stick with LA as a two-team market, especially when Sacramento, right up the road, is dying for a team, but that type of ownership group isn't looking to get into Sacramento. L.A. is unique, with a metro population of 13 million, strong soccer support, huge corporate base and status as a massive media market. MLS certainly wasn't ready to give up the dream of two teams, especially with the ownership group dropping a reported $100 million for the club, with at least $150 million more to come in the stadium.
But LAFC won't necessarily be an immediate success. Chivas did fail in this market, after all. But that's part of the reason the new club won't kick off until 2017. Not only do they want to distance themselves from Chivas, they also want to make sure they're flying from Day 1.
"It's about being able to plot a course from the beginning and not worry about trying to revise some past," Nguyen said. "We need some runway to do this right. If we said, okay March 2015 we'll be kicking off, we're not going to be putting a product on the field that anybody is going to be proud of. It takes time."
The first item of business is getting a stadium built. Chivas's experience made it abundantly clear that renting the StubHub Center from the Galaxy isn't sustainable, meaning LAFC will only succeed if they have their own building. They intend to finish it by 2017, so they'll be in their new home right from the start.
With 2017 as the goal, Los Angeles Sports Arena figures to be their preferred site, although they'd raze it and start anew. An Environmental Impact Report has already been approved, cutting out years of red tape and allowing them to get the stadium built in time for their first year. It's an ideal location, central and with good access to public transportation.
With the money, the leadership and the experience in the ownership group, LAFC appears to be the anti-Chivas. They want to strike a chord within the community, something Chivas didn't just fail to do, they seemed unwilling to do at times.
And so it really does come back to Chivas. As much as the ownership said they looked at Portland and Seattle for how to run things, it is obvious that they also looked to Chivas for how not to run things. They believe in the LA market, just like MLS does and Chivas did a decade ago, but they know it has to be different this time around.
"We thought it was a good idea," Garber said about Chivas. "It was a bad idea, and I'm not sure anyone could have executed it well."
LAFC is a very different idea from Chivas. It is a very different ownership group. It is a very different approach. And now, it's even a very different MLS. The only thing that is the same is the LA market, and they are as excited about that as ever.
Quotes from owners and commissioner
"This was an important part of our participation. From the moment we signed on the dotted line we had a seat at the table." - Managing partner Henry Nguyen on LAFC being a full fledged owner with an equal vote starting now, not 2017.
"We're going to go through a full branding process. We're asking our LA originals, our fans, to join us in this pursuit. We're going to go through a formal naming, formal colors, kit, logo, the whole deal. We want to be very fan focused, and open, and get feedback and input. That's what's cool about a startup. We don't have anything yet." - President Tom Penn
"We're fully funded. We've got all the money we need to build it. We're targeting something in the mid 20,000s in capacity. And then we're going to spend at least $150 million." - President Tom Penn
"We're absolutely going to have a top notch development academy. This is a goldmine of talent and we will engage aggressively early in that space." "We are not operating the Chivas academy. The MLS will continue to do so. And then we will establish ours in the most expeditious way possible. We don't want to lose ground there. We're not going to go away as a club in the talent development business." - President Tom Penn
"We're encouraging them to figure out what they can do with the current Chivas academy. It will operate under the league's auspices until the spring and then I'm hoping these guys will step in because that is a great program." - MLS commissioner Don Garber
"It is not fun to sit with the supporters who are here from Chivas and tell them that their team is going away -- to accept and apologize to a fan that has his kids grow up being Chivas USA fans and going to every game." - MLS commissioner Don Garber
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