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Owners For L.A.'s MLS Expansion Club Talk Team Name, New Stadium, Fan Connections

LAFC Principal Owner Henry Nguyen said there is a "reasonably good chance" the MLS club's current name will end up becoming permanent, according to Grant Wahl of SI.com. Principal Owner Tom Penn added, "It's timeless, right? This is something that could really evolve when you have this vision of a global brand." Nguyen said that private funding for building a stadium is "already in place, and they want it to be ready in time" for the team's first game in '17. Wahl noted the stadium will be "rather intimate at first," and will have a "natural grass field." Nguyen said, "Around 22,000 to 25,000 (seats), that's where we're going to start." As for where the stadium will be located, Nguyen said possibilities include "everything from the top of the Valley all the way down to the tip of Orange County." Penn said of the team's fan base, "We're going to build a bond slowly with our fans and supporter groups. We've had a tremendous early response. It's more of an art than a science. We're sending a clear message that we're stewards of your team, whatever we're going to make, so we're calling them co-founders on this. The word is originals. Henry came up with the term. We're looking for LAFC Originals to originate this with us." Wahl noted having "seen firsthand the atmosphere in Portland for the Timbers, Penn is hoping for something similar with LAFC's supporters groups." Penn: "It's different here, but (we want) to replicate the organic birth and then growth of this thing with our fan in every way. It's a real chance to connect and be interconnected unlike other franchises." Wahl noted Nguyen also spoke of "creating a stadium with top-flight amenities, from food to common viewing areas to putting real-time analytics on the phones of fans" (SI.com, 11/7).

DRAFT DAY: In L.A., Kevin Baxter reported MLS has "chosen Nov. 19 as the date for its dispersal draft of players who belonged to Chivas USA when the team was disbanded after its final regular-season game last month." The draft "will be conducted via a teleconference call." The draft order "will be determined through a weighted draw on Nov. 14." The dispersal draft "has to be conducted before Dec. 1, the date for any contract options to be exercised." Also "looming is the Dec. 10 expansion draft for the two new teams" (L.A. TIMES, 11/8).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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