The club says it will be the first MLS team to have a statue dedicated to a single player, and more are planned.courtesy of la galaxy
With new naming-rights partner Dignity Health in place for this season, the LA Galaxy will refresh multiple areas of its stadium, including a revamped plaza that eventually will house a series of statues dedicated to club legends.
In December, the Galaxy signed a 10-year deal with the hospital operator for naming rights to the stadium and its overarching sports complex now known as the Dignity Health Sports Park. It is also the temporary home of the Los Angeles Chargers, who are expected to move to a new stadium being built in Inglewood that is expected to be ready for the 2020 NFL season. It is the third name for the complex, which opened in 2003 and has had naming-rights deals with Home Depot and StubHub, the latter of which saw its six-year deal expire at the end of 2018. Financial terms of the Dignity Health deal were not disclosed, but industry sources speculated it could be worth more than $6 million annually. Typical naming-rights agreements for MLS stadiums average around $4 million to $4.5 million annually.
Katie Pandolfo, general manager of the stadium, said that as the club and parent company AEG began to prepare for the naming-rights changeover on Jan. 1, “It gave us an opportunity to refresh parts of the stadium.”
The main upgrade will come in the form of that revamped plaza, where the stadium’s box office and team store currently are located, and where a statue of former player David Beckham will be unveiled this season. The club says it will be the first in MLS to have a statue dedicated to a player.
Now, the goal will be to create an atmosphere similar to the Staples Center and its star plaza, where fans come early to take pictures with the statues of legends such as Wayne Gretzky and Magic Johnson.
“It just brings a different energy to the stadium when you have this congregation area outside,” she said.
David Beckham helped the Galaxy win the MLS Cup in 2011 and ‘12.getty images
AEG will be making a multimillion-dollar investment in the plaza upgrade, Pandolfo said. The plaza will be designed by Meis Architects and will be unveiled at the club’s home opener on Saturday.
The Beckham statue will be revealed that day as well. Pandolfo said there are plans to add four or five more statues over the next five years, though nothing has been finalized regarding who will be honored or when.
In addition, the plaza will add open seating and an outdoor LED screen where the club will hold live events and watch parties.
Other upgrades to the stadium will include new signage for high-level club partners, new concession stands and new bar spaces for Tullamore D.E.W. whiskey and El Silencio mezcal, which signed on as Galaxy sponsors during the offseason.
Pandolfo said the experience of having the Chargers at the stadium prompted some changes, including improvements to the tailgating areas and moving some food and beverage locations to shorten lines.
“We learned a lot from the NFL and that different fan experience; what’s exciting for us is that every change will benefit the Galaxy fans,” she said.
