ESPN's Taylor Twellman in a Q&A with the ORLANDO SENTINEL's Alicia DelGallo said Orlando City SC is "going to be a measuring block for how you build a soccer-specific stadium." He said the club's home is "going to be a real soccer and soccer-only stadium, and I think that’s going to be extremely unique." Twellman said Orlando City Stadium is "not built for the extracurricular." Twellman: "It’s simply built for the home games. Because as great as that atmosphere’s been the past two years, they’ve struggled at home, and so this is built for a home-field advantage. ... It’s built to keep the heat in. The supporters are going to be extremely imposing on every team coming in" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 3/3).
FOOTBALL MEETS FUTBOL: In L.A., Nick Green noted for the first time since Chivas USA disbanded in '14, the Galaxy are sharing their home turf, this time with the Chargers. The Chargers will "soon be spraying NFL markings" on StubHub Center's "lush sod with lumbering football players tear chunks out of it." Green: "Let’s hope the Chargers spend some of the money from those $3,700 season tickets on looking after the turf." Stadium officials have "reassured soccer fans everything will be hunky dory." Green: "But frankly I’ll believe it when I don’t see it" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 3/2).
THE GREAT WALL: In Toronto, Kurt Larson notes Toronto FC's new Wall of Honour was unveiled on Thursday. Constructed outside Gate 1 at BMO Field, it "pays tribute to individual achievements while also recognizing moments in club history." In a nod to TFC's past, the new Wall of Honour also "tips its hat to Toronto Metros-Croatia," the '76 Soccer Bowl champions and the "last professional soccer team in Toronto to win a league title" (TORONTO SUN, 3/3).