Championship Soccer Stadium

Championship Soccer Stadium
The Championship
View of the main grandstand on August 3, 2024 from the Northwest corner of the stadium
Championship Soccer Stadium is located in southern California
Championship Soccer Stadium
Championship Soccer Stadium
Location within southern California
Location8272 Great Park Blvd
Irvine, California, United States
Coordinates33°40′28″N 117°44′22″W / 33.674460°N 117.739335°W / 33.674460; -117.739335
Public transitAmtrak Metrolink (California) Irvine
OwnerCity of Irvine
OperatorOrange County Great Park
TypeSoccer-specific
Seating typeChairs
Bleachers
Capacity5,500[1]
Record attendance5,500
Field shapeRectangle
SurfaceGrass
ScoreboardLED Scoreboard with Video Display
Construction
OpenedMay 6, 2017 (2017-05-06)
ArchitectFivePoint Communities
BuilderFivePoint Development
Tenants
Orange County SC (USLC) (2017–present)
Los Angeles Black Storm (X League) (2022–present)
Los Angeles Force (NISA) (2023)
Orange County FC (NPSL) (2018–2019)
California United Strikers FC (NISA) (2019–2022)
Website
City of Irvine Website

Championship Soccer Stadium is a 5,500 seat soccer-specific stadium at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California. The stadium serves as the permanent home of Orange County SC of the second tier USL Championship league after the club began its existence relocating to various stadiums within the county. Championship Soccer Stadium is publicly owned by the city of Irvine and is operated by the Great Park.

The stadium features locker rooms, concession stands, a specialized fan experience area, and a box office.[1] The facility has been credited with aiding and accelerating Orange County SC's youth development.[2]

History

[edit]

The idea of a new, soccer-specific stadium in Orange County was born after the sale of the then Orange County Blues FC, when the club was sold to businessman James Keston in December 2016.[3] Construction on the site began in early 2017, as part of a major $250 million redevelopment of the area in building a massive sports complex that included basketball, volleyball, and other sports facilities, as well as new homes.[4][5]

After construction on the site was completed, the stadium opened up to the public on August 5, 2017 with a reduced capacity of 2,506, in an opening ceremony that included local soccer legends like Landon Donovan and Amy Rodriguez and a soccer match between Orange County high school all stars.[6]

The Championship's first professional soccer match was on August 15 in a match between Orange County SC and the Tulsa Roughbacks with the continued reduced capacity,[7][8] in a 0-0 draw.[9] However, the first soccer match with the full capacity of 5,000 occurred on August 18 against Phoenix Rising SC.[10] During the match, Phoenix's forward Chris Cortez became the first professional player to score a goal. However, on front of a sell-out crowd, midfielder Sola Abolaji scored the first home goal in the stadium's history in the 89th minute to result in a 1-1 draw.[11]

Between 2018 and 2019, Orange County FC of the National Premier Soccer League, which has no relationship with Orange County SC, played some of their home matches at Championship Stadium.[12]

The newly founded California United Strikers FC of the third tier National Independent Soccer Association moved into the venue in 2019, which made the stadium a shared venue.[13] The Strikers would eventually move out in 2022.

In 2022, MLS Next Pro club LA Galaxy II (a reserve team for the LA Galaxy) entered discussions with the City of Irvine to use the stadium as its home venue beginning in the 2023 season. The leaked proposal included an exclusivity agreement that would have left Orange County SC without a home venue, causing protests from the club and other parties.[14] The situation eventually ended up in favor of Orange County SC, with the club signing a new stadium lease in October 2023 with the city of Irvine to allow for a decade-long deal that runs until 2033.[15][16]

Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, an organization organized by tourism company Visit Anaheim called the OC Sports Commission was tasked with identifying a potential site to host one or multiple national teams in Orange County as a team base camp.[17] After identifying possible venues, the Championship Soccer Stadium and the surrounding park was chosen to be advertised to FIFA, due to the park being one of the few venues in the area that met the requirements of having two FIFA regulation-sized soccer pitches and natural grass.[18] The Championship as well as the park was officially identified in June 2024 as a potential host site.[19]

Transportation

[edit]

The stadium has public transportation access via the Irvine Transportation Center, which is located on the southwest corner of the Orange County Great Park and in walking distance from the stadium. From the station, access to both trains serviced by Amtrak and Metrolink,[20] as well as bus services offered by both the city of Irvine and the county are available.[21][22]

[edit]
  • View of the pitch from the Southwest corner
    View of the pitch from the Southwest corner
  • Image of the South goalpost and main grandstand from the Southeast corner of the pitch
    Image of the South goalpost and main grandstand from the Southeast corner of the pitch
  • View of Orange County SC ultras in the Northwest corner in the bleacher seating
    View of Orange County SC ultras in the Northwest corner in the bleacher seating

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Great Park Sports Complex: Soccer & Athletic Fields". City of Irvine. 5 July 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  2. ^ Murray, Nicholas (July 10, 2020). "TIMELINE – Major Stadium Openings in the Championship's History". USL Championship. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  3. ^ "Blues Purchased by Southern California Businessman Keston". Orange County SC. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  4. ^ Collins, Jeff (2016-10-05). "175-acre sports complex taking shape in Irvine Great Park, due to open next year". Orange County Register. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  5. ^ "Sports complex in OC's Great Park to open early 2017, developers say". LAist. 2016-10-06. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  6. ^ Shimura, Tomoya (2017-08-06). "Game on: Irvine's Great Park opens first part of new sports park, which is twice the size of Disneyland". Orange County Register. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  7. ^ Bruning, Jon (2017-08-15). "Orange County SC is on the Rise". Soccer Stadium Digest. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  8. ^ "Orange County SC Invites You to the Championship Soccer Stadium Opening". Orange County SC. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  9. ^ "Orange County SC and Tulsa Play to Draw". Orange County SC. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  10. ^ Hockman, Chris (2017-08-17). "New Stadium puts Orange County on Map". USL Championship. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  11. ^ "Abolaji Scores Tying Goal Late in Debut in Front of Sell Out Crowd!". Orange County SC. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  12. ^ "Temecula FC Falls to Orange County FC 3-1". National Premier Soccer League. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  13. ^ California United Strikers (Sep 19, 2019). "California United Strikers FC, California's New Professional Soccer Team, Is Making A Difference". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  14. ^ Calhoun, Damian (August 8, 2022). "Irvine City Council's plans to discuss use of Championship Soccer Stadium moved off of agenda". The Orange County Register. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  15. ^ Biesiada, Noah (2023-10-16). "Orange County Soccer Club To Stay at Great Park; Will Irvine Break Even?". Voice of OC. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  16. ^ "TEN MORE YEARS FOR ORANGE COUNTY SOCCER CLUB IN IRVINE". Orange County SC. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  17. ^ Sheets, Tess (2022-04-26). "Why Irvine wants the Great Park to be a 2026 FIFA World Cup training spot". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on 2 Jun 2022. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  18. ^ Kang, Hanna (2023-08-09). "Inside the effort to bring the World Cup to Orange County". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on 9 Aug 2023. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  19. ^ "FIFA shares potential World Cup 26 Team Base Camp locations". FIFA. 11 June 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  20. ^ "Orange County Great Park | Explore | Metrolink". metrolinktrains.com. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  21. ^ "Public Transportation". City of Irvine. 2015-12-14. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  22. ^ "Irvine CONNECT". City of Irvine. 2024-02-13. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
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