The Los Angeles Aztecs need a home.
Not a rental.
Not fifteen nights a year in somebody else’s stadium.
A home.
For the past year, I have been looking across the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Existing stadiums. City land. Redevelopment sites. Places where professional soccer could thrive and where a club could become part of the community around it.
One thing has become clear.
The future of the Aztecs cannot depend on being a tenant.
Football clubs that rent stadiums rarely control their own future. The ticket revenue belongs to somebody else. The food and drink belong to somebody else. The sponsorship, hospitality and events belong to somebody else.
That is not the model I am looking for.
The Aztecs need control.
Control of matchdays. Control of commercial income. Control of the experience supporters have when they walk through the gates.
That could mean taking long-term control of an existing stadium and investing in it.
It could mean building a new one.
The model that interests me most is a public-private partnership.
A city brings land, infrastructure, an existing asset or development support.
We bring professional soccer, private capital and a long-term plan.
A stadium should not stand empty for most of the year.
It should have restaurants, shops and community spaces. It should host youth football, events and local businesses. It should create jobs and bring people into an area that might otherwise be quiet.
Most of all, it should earn its keep.
Site & Partnership Criteria
We are interested in serious opportunities across the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
Ideally, that means 8 to 20+ acres for a new stadium-led development, or an existing stadium where a long-term commercial agreement can be structured.
The first phase would likely be a 7,500 to 12,000-seat stadium, with the ability to expand toward 15,000 seats and beyond as the club grows.
Location matters.
We are looking for strong population density, good road access, public transport where possible and communities that can support professional soccer year-round.
The structure matters even more.
We are open to long-term ground leases, operating agreements, joint ventures and genuine public-private partnerships.
That could include city-owned land, infrastructure support, redevelopment incentives, tax-increment or district-based financing, or participation from private developers and investors.
The aim is not simply to build a football stadium.
The stadium should become an anchor for commercial activity around it.
Food and beverage.
Retail.
Hospitality.
Community facilities.
Events.
Youth soccer.
Potential mixed-use development.
Football brings people through the gates.
The wider development makes the project work every day.
I am now looking for people who understand how projects like this get built.
Developers.
Architects.
Urban planners.
Investors.
Stadium operators.
Real-estate professionals.
Municipal leaders.
People who understand infrastructure finance and public-private partnerships.
You do not need to come from football.
You simply need to know how to turn ambitious ideas into real places.
The Aztecs already have the history.
George Best played for this club.
Johan Cruyff played for this club.
The name means something.
Now it needs a home worthy of that history.
We are already exploring opportunities across the Los Angeles metro area, from existing stadiums to major development sites.
If you own land, work with a city, develop real estate, structure public-private partnerships or simply know an opportunity we should be looking at, I would like to hear from you.
scott@footballisforthefans.com
We are not looking for somewhere to play.
We are looking for somewhere to belong.
If we could get this off the ground mate, it would work, it would build and grow organically, a base, a stadium, creates an anchor, it creates and / or adds to a community, start small, grow bigger over time.