The venerable Rose Bowl will once again host international soccer when Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) hosts Manchester United this July.
“We are excited to take on Manchester United at the Rose Bowl Stadium this summer,” LA Galaxy President Chris Klein said in a statement. “We look forward to playing a storied club at a storied venue. As the top club in North America it is important for us to play big games and bring big events to the city of Los Angeles.”
The Rose Bowl was once home to the Galaxy, and plenty of international matches have been played there over the years. But in many ways this is a new Rose Bowl, and Rose Bowl soccer today means playing in a renovated facility that’s seen $13 million of improvements second phase of renovations to the stadium, for a total of $155 million in renovations since 2010. With $300,000 in revenue expected from this round of Rose Bowl soccer, the event is a big one. From the Pasadena Star-News:
Rose Bowl General Manager and CEO Darryl Dunn said although the stadium has hosted international soccer teams in the past, and was the home stadium for the LA Galaxy for a number of years, July’s game will be monumental.
“It’s huge. ManU is sort of like having the Yankees, because everybody knows Manchester United, it’s a household name and they have a very enthusiastic following,” Dunn said. “We expect it to be a really neat event. International soccer is such a big part of the Rose Bowl’s history … and ManU has been something we’ve wanted for a long time.”
