Angel City FC starts assembling the pieces

Angel City FC made two announcements in quick succession this week: first, they’ve found their home turf in Banc of California Stadium, and second, they’ve found their first big sponsor in Heineken.

These announcements certainly continue to line up with the vibe that Angel City has been presenting since their announcement - that they’re a big, shiny team in a big, shiny market and that they’re going to put together a big, shiny product. If they can deliver, that’s very good for NWSL, a league that has needed some help in past years climbing over the hurdles to looking like a professional tier one sports league.

In Angel City’s press release, they noted that part of their sponsorship model is collaborating with partners to give 10% of “the value of their sponsorship via product, asset, or monetary donation” to local causes. For the Heineken deal, ACFC will give 10% of sponsorship funds to the Los Angeles LGBTQ community. Aside from just being a good thing to do, it’s a smart move that can help tie a new brand into the local community from the jump.

Banc of California Stadium is also an interesting signal from the team about their intentions to really be local, as it’s situated right in the city. There was some early speculation that Angel City might head to Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, given it’s already hosted the US women’s national team for both training and international games. Picking Banc of California is perhaps a sign about who they want as their core demographic, and how they might be relying less on the suburban contingent driving to Carson (with the caveat, of course, that LA is more of a driving city than other big urban centers like New York). There’s also probably financial considerations at play, from the cost to become a tenant at Banc of California to things like how much they can get for selling signage to more sponsors.

How do you feel about the move? Let us know in the comments!