LAFC Stadium project revitalizes area around Exposition Park

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During Clayton Pearce’s senior year at Manual Arts High School, the grounds of the nearby Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena felt like an abandoned lot.

By the time the now 26-year-old Pearce graduated from Fresno State in 2017 with a sports entertainment and facility management degree, the parcel of land, which abuts Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. and Figueroa St., had morphed into a robust construction site where for the first time since 1962 an open-air stadium would be erected in the city.

Combine street and freeway construction with an increased police presence and fewer bulk trash items on the street, and the area around Exposition Park just feels different — better — said Pearce, whose family has lived in the city since his grandmother moved here from Alabama many years ago.

“When I was in high school you didn’t see police walking around on the streets near the stadiums,” Pearce said. “You didn’t see none of that. Today you see it now.”

With the establishment of the $350 million Banc of California Stadium, home to the Los Angeles Football Club, residents of South Los Angeles are finding new opportunities in the Figueroa corridor.

“For far too long, private developers ignored South LA, all the while investments poured into neighboring regions,” said Councilman Curren Price, whose ninth district includes Banc of California Stadium. “The LAFC stadium is a critical piece of the local economy and a representation of the promising future of our South LA community.”

Before LAFC secured its first home victory on opening day, April 29, 2018, Price spoke at the stadium’s ribbon cutting and highlighted several local residents, including Pearce, who were hired as part of an initiative that required at least 40 percent of the Banc of California Stadium workforce live within 10 miles of the facility or in low-income neighborhoods in the greater Los Angeles area.

Exceeding its hiring commitment, a minimum of 60 percent of the jobs across soccer games, concerts, conferences, events, the team store and its 35,000 sq. ft. food hall, The Fields LA, have been locally filled, said the club.

“Apart from the fact that it created job opportunities, I feel it just created a safe place to come and enjoy,” said Berenice Silva, 23, a Long Beach State graduate who attended King/Drew Magnet High School in Compton and works for the LAFC communication’s staff in the press box on match days. “I’ve seen a lot of change recently. The more popular things that come into the community the better the community feels.”

LAFC president and co-owner Tom Penn called this one of the most gratifying elements of the project: “There’s nothing more heart warming than when a member of the community looks you in the eye and emotionally says ‘thank you’ because they have a place to work and that they appreciate the improvement to the neighborhood.”

“Not only were stadium representatives cognizant of the incredible need to hire local workers, but they ensured that minority- and women-owned businesses were also included,” Price said as the one-year anniversary of the stadium approached. “Furthermore, the Banc of California Stadium triggered major investments in and around Expo Park, including the $1 billion Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, as well as the $300 million makeover of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This isn’t just a stadium, but rather an investment that will be here for generations to come.”

Prior to injuring his knee while playing football as a junior at Manual Arts, Pearce often joined his teammates at a Carl’s Jr. across from the school after practice because there weren’t too many places they could go.

“I think I’d be up at the stadium if they had The Fields of LA,” he said of the food and entertainment options that have emerged as new capital flows into the community.

The former nose tackle is among the 1,400 part-time and full-time workers who have put in over 600,000 hours since operations at the stadium began last year.

Last Sunday, when LAFC secured a record fifth straight home win with a 4-1 result over the Seattle Sounders FC, Pearce’s large frame occupied the guest services center at section 129 of the building’s main concourse, a location he hopes will serve as a launching pad to move up the ranks ahead of someday working as a stadium events manager.

“Seeing all the different people ingress into the stadium, it is people I haven’t seen around this community as often,” Pearce said. “When they come to Banc of California all the outside things that impact the community stay outside. People come together and just celebrate and enjoy the product that LAFC brings when they’re playing on the field. They’re coming together to root for LAFC, which is becoming a big symbol in the community.”

Success at home on one of the best grass surfaces in Major League Soccer has given LAFC supporters plenty to cheer and chant about during the club’s 28 MLS, U.S. Open Cup and exhibition matches.

“We know that in Los Angeles there are so many people that love football, and we now have become a club that they’re excited to be part of,” LAFC head coach Bob Bradley said. “You can feel it when they come into the stadium. You can feel it when they travel to away games. The connection that we have with our supporters and with the city is very special, and it’s our responsibility to keep trying to build that.”

Entering its 10th league match on Sunday, LAFC (7-1-1, 22 points) visits Seattle leading the MLS in points.

The club’s attacking style of play, built with the flare and dynamism of L.A.’s entertainment industry while honoring the city’s workmanlike side, has made LAFC an easy sports entity to get behind for a growing number of Los Angelenos regardless of their background.

Ten percent of LAFC crowds in its first year included metro riders, according to the L.A. Department of Transportation, which intends to activate a second cross-promotion campaign with the club that’s aimed at fostering train ridership during the season.

LAFC is projected to generate $3.5 million in revenue annually for the city and county based an increasing number of events at Banc of California Stadium.

“We really envision this being a busy and vibrant building every day of the year,” Penn said. “We’re certainly on the map and there’s a great buzz around our soccer team and our product and our stadium. There’s just a huge buzz in the community about it and rightly so. It’s a one of a kind building.”

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