Los Angeles FC have announced that, starting next season, their home ground will have a dedicated safe standing section with tickets capped at just $20.
They will become the third MLS club to introduce a safe standing section after San Jose Earthquakes‘ Avaya Stadium and Orlando City‘s new stadium, where the North Stand contains a 3,811 capacity all-standing section nicknamed ‘The Wall’.
Los Angeles FC will thus be the first club on the west coast to have an all-standing section, and will be the first club in North America to use rail seats in this section.
According to the club, installing rail seating in the Supporters Section will “provide an opportunity for supporters to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, creating an electric and unified stadium atmosphere on matchdays.”
This style of seating is used at other clubs’ grounds, including Celtic Park, and is designed to be both comfortable and safe – seats can be folded and locked into an upright position, allowing supporters to stand in between the safety barriers.
“Our supporters have been at the helm and we remain committed to making sure they have the best matchday experience in Major League Soccer,” said the club’s lead managing owner Larry Berg.
The club have also committed to capping tickets for the Supporters Section at $20 per game. “Making the beautiful game accessible to our supporters has been our focus from the beginning,” Berg explains.
The Supporters Section, based in the North End of the club’s Banc of California Stadium, will be able to hold 3,252 fans. These will primarily be from Los Angeles FC’s six supporters’ groups, who have come together to form a new independent supporters union called The 3252.
“The vision of the 3252 is to unite all LAFC supporters, to create a dynamic and diverse in-stadium active support environment,” the group announced in a statement made at the same time as the club introduced the safe standing section.
“The 3252 will create an unrivalled sporting culture for Los Angeles Football Club. We will do this by inspiring an increased level of passionate support for LAFC, providing a collaborative environment amongst the LAFC faithful and with the organisation, enabling participation in activities for LAFC Supporters by organising coordinating and directing active support for Los Angeles Football Club.”
