Los Angeles Blues News Release -- www.bluessoccerclub.com
Friday, November 18, 2011
FULLERTON, Calif. – The Los Angeles Blues are excited to announce they have finalized a deal to play all home games during the 2012 USL PRO season at Titan Stadium on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. After splitting time between three different venues this year, the most recent decision is part of the club’s efforts to centralize all its operations in northern Orange County. It comes on the heels of the Blues’ offseason training being moved from Downtown Los Angeles to Fullerton College.
“Everyone is extremely happy to have a single permanent home for the upcoming season,” Los Angeles General Manager Alyse LaHue said. “We put a lot of consideration into selecting Fullerton as our primary location. In addition to Titan Stadium being a top-notch venue for soccer, we also felt a great sense of community in the area. Playing all of our matches here will allow us to integrate more closely with the multitude of local businesses and organizations as well soccer fans in the region. We plan to work wholeheartedly at being a positive and active presence in the local community.”
In 2011, the Blues played about half of their home games at Fullerton's Titan Stadium. The rest of the team’s fixtures took place on the artificial turf fields at Norco College’s Mustang Stadium and Centennial High School’s Husky Stadium in Corona, both located in Riverside County.
“We understand that some of our fans in the Inland Empire may not make it over to Fullerton for all of our matches during the upcoming season,” Los Angeles Head Coach Charlie Naimo acknowledged. “While that part of the decision was tough for us, there were simply too many upsides to moving full-time to Titan Stadium.”
“First of all, it’s easily one of the best soccer stadiums in all of California, with a beautiful natural grass pitch that will make for a much lower risk of injury than artificial turf. In addition, our training grounds at Fullerton College are less than three miles away, which will really give us that sense of pride of being part of a community that we represent. We couldn’t be more excited.”
Located on the campus of Cal State Fullerton, Titan Stadium holds approximately 10,000 fans, with 2,000 chairback seats and 2,500 bleacher seats on the western side and concrete steps for about 5,000 more people on the opposite side. The pitch features an underground drainage system that allows it to be almost perfectly flat. The main press box seats over 50 people and features ten separate booths that can be used for broadcasting, hospitality and other purposes.
“We’re excited to be hosting all of the LA Blues’ home games in 2012,” said Brian Quinn, Director of Athletics at Cal State Fullerton. “We're proud of our facility and appreciate that the professional soccer community is equally impressed.”
Titan Stadium is surrounded by numerous small and midsized businesses, with which the USL PRO franchise hopes to work closely in order to build many mutually beneficial relationships.
“The Blues’ partnership with local business really makes them our home team,” said Theresa Harvey, Executive Director of the Fullerton Chamber of Commerce. “We are extremely pleased that such a quality professional club will be both practicing and playing all of its home games in our community. The Blues’ willingness to invest in Fullerton and build their fan base here will help build loyalty and foster successful partnerships.”
Ticket details will be announced in the coming week. Visit www.labluesprosoccer.com to be part of the action in 2012!