The Orange County Soccer Club fears it’s about to be kicked out of the stadium where the team has played since 2017.
The team could be replaced by another connected to the LA Galaxy just one option the city of Irvine will discuss at its meeting Tuesday.
The people who run the Orange County Soccer Club say this is their future.
They are developing players for professional sports, hosting soccer academics and building what they call their home.
Their professional team plays here and has used this field for the last five years.
“It’s an extraordinary time,” said Dan Rutstein, the team president. “You wouldn’t expect a club like ours to go through this.”
Rutstein says the club’s future is in jeopardy because the city of Irvine, which owns the Great Park Facility, is considering giving the LA Galaxy’s second tier team exclusive rights to the stadium in 2023.
“LA Galaxy are a team that is well-known for their exploits at the top of MLS, but this is about their reserve team,” Rutstein said.
The two teams just competed in front of a sold out crowd Saturday night. Some fans make it clear they want the Orange County Soccer Club to stay and are not fans of the letters “L” and “A.”
City officials say there had been complaints over the years from community groups wanting to use the field. That use is limited based on the maintenance required to keep up the natural turf.
The Orange County Soccer Club is currently the United Soccer League champion and plays 17 games a season at the stadium. Club officials are asking ‘why now.’
“Our fans have come here, made memories, the community even lifted a trophy that means a lot to our fans,” Rutstein said.
If the city doesn’t renew the soccer club lease at the end of November, they say they’ll have about five months to find some new place in order to play next season.
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