The Anschutz Corp., which owns the Galaxy, Chicago Fire and Colorado Rapids of MLS, would privately finance the facility. The corporation also owns the NHL's Los Angeles Kings and the new Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. But Los Angeles is the front-runner to build the next stadium. The benefits are obvious. A typical MLS crowd of 16,000 gets lost in the mammoth football stadiums.
Smaller capacities mean tickets become harder to get, forcing fans to buy advance or season tickets.
Soccer-specific stadiums are at the top of the list of priorities,'' MLS commissioner Don Garber said. Columbus set a league record with 9,292 season tickets in 1999 to help the Crew lead MLS with an average of 17,696 fans per game. The lure of the new stadium boosted Crew crowds by 5,000 per game. We set the standard for soccer stadiums in the United States,'' former Crew president and general manager Jamey Rootes said. It wants to build its stadium in conjunction with a training facility for the U.S. Soccer Federation.