In its first season, LAFC emerged as one of the most innovative, creative and forward-thinking clubs in professional sports. The Club has quickly entrenched itself in the crowded Los Angeles sports landscape, making matches at Banc of California Stadium one of the most unique game day experiences in America. LAFC had a record-breaking inaugural season, enjoying success on the field and in the community while establishing itself as an industry leader in merchandise sales, premium sales, season ticket memberships and unprecedented partnership deals.
After a historic first season, LAFC and Banc of California Stadium have been recognized nationally, receiving a number of awards for their inaugural campaign. From marketing to ticket sales, business analytics to corporate partnerships, LAFC has proven their prominence in the global sports landscape.
The Club received four Major League Soccer (MLS) 2018 Club and Executive Awards, the second most out of any Club after 2018 Audi MLS Cup winners, Atlanta United:
- Corporate Partnerships Team of the Year: LAFC's Corporate Partnerships department was recognized for their achievements in the area of corporate partnerships and the overall impact on the Club's business including renewal percentage and development of new partnership platforms. To date, LAFC has a total of 36 partners 'in' with the Black & Gold.
- LAFC’s EVP of Brand & Community, Rich Orosco, won Marketing Executive of the Year. Orosco was recognized for his leadership in the area of marketing and the overall impact on the Club’s business in building LAFC’s and MLS’s brand in the local L.A. market.
- Business Analytics Team of the Year: The Club’s business analytics team was recognized for outstanding business objective, strategy, analytic approach and methodology.
- LAFC received the Expansion Club Recognition Award.
- The Club was a finalist for four awards: Content Experience (Banc of California Stadium Opening), Digital Team of the Year, Marketing Team of the Year and Platform Activation of the Year. LAFC was also recognized as a finalist by the National Sports Forum (NSF) 2018 SAMMY Sales Advertising Marketing Management Idea of the Year.
Additionally, the Club was also recognized for honors in the MLS 2018 Individual Sales and Service Awards, with LAFC employees occupying eight of the top ten highest new FSE sales spots in MLS (Vincent Villarreall, Casey Sosa, Sebastian Rivas, Brendan Trelease, Nick Lane, Alan Vega, Lily Navas, Payton Wheeler). Of those acknowledged as the league’s top 18 “all rookie” new FSE salespeople, LAFC had 13 (Vincent Villarreal, Casey Sosa, Sebastian Rivas, Brendan Trelease, Nick Lane, Alan Vega, Lily Navas, Payton Wheeler, Geoff Huber, Rebecca Schneider, Brian Bracci, Robby Gomez, Max Katkaphan).
LAFC’s President & Co-Owner, Tom Penn, was named 2018 Sports Executive of the Year by the Los Angeles Sports Council. Under Penn, LAFC and Banc of California Stadium became a true destination in L.A. for fans, families and casual bystanders, as nearly 453,000 fans attended LAFC matches in the first season.
Architect’s Newspaper:
Best of Design Awards
Honorable Mention
December 2018
Engineering News-Record:
Regional Best Projects
Best Project, Southern CA. – Sports / Entertainment
October 2018
Los Angeles Business Journal:
Commercial Real Estate Awards
Mixed-Use Project – Silver
March 2018
Southern California Development Forum (SCDF)
2018 Design and Philanthropy Awards:
2018 Development Team of The Year
2018 Education Award
