L.A. Awarded New MLS Team

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Los Angeles will have two professional soccer teams again in 2017.

Only three days after Chivas USA shut down, Major League Soccer announced that a new team had been awarded to an ownership group led by venture capitalist Henry Nguyen, Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Peter Guber and former NBA executive Tom Penn.

The team, currently known as “Los Angeles Football Club,” will play matches in an as-yet unbuilt soccer-specific stadium somewhere in Los Angeles County.

“Today is day one and time for us to focus on developing a world-class stadium for the club to play in and for fans to enjoy,” said Nguyen, the team’s managing partner, in a statement.

A tweet sent by the club Thursday morning hinted that its generic-sounding moniker could soon change.

“This is your team. You decide its future. Logo, team name, kits – we want to hear from you,” reads the tweet from @LAFC.

More than 20 other investors are part of the ownership group, including Earvin “Magic” Johnson, former U.S. women’s soccer star Mia Hamm and her husband, retired Boston Red Sox and Dodgers player Nomar Garciaparra.

Chivas USA drew a mere 7,000 people on average to its games at the StubHub Center in Carson this season. Meanwhile, the average attendance for rivals L.A. Galaxy, who play in the same venue, totaled more than 21,000.

About 13,000 fans had already registered on LAFC’s website before 1pm on Thursday.

“Los Angeles is a diverse, vibrant market with millions of soccer fans, and we look forward to an intense rivalry between the Galaxy and Los Angeles Football Club,” said Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber in a statement.

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