Pico Rivera wants to build a soccer stadium

Last week, the city of Pico Rivera signed a negotiated letter of interest (LOI) with the United Soccer League (USL), taking a significant step towards designating the community as a “premier destination for sports and entertainment.”

The LOI will explore the development of a state-of-the-art entertainment district and a new professional stadium to help bring professional men’s and women’s soccer teams to Pico Rivera. 

“This initiative is yet another commitment to further nurture our youth and build an existing legacy of equal events. I look forward to the day when our local youth elevate [in] the ranks, only to play right here in their hometown-professional soccer team,” said Gustavo Camacho, Mayor Pro Tem.

Among the audience in attendance was Lucia Yañez and her mother, who first learned of  this news through Pico Rivera’s newsletter. Both were excited about this LOI and said that it's been long overdue.

Yañez and her mom told CALÓ News that they had been living in Pico Rivera for over 30 years and believes that there is plenty of soccer talent in the city. Just last year, Yañez signed with Club Puebla in the Liga MX and credits her father for getting her into the sport when she was just four years old.

“It’s been my dad; he was a coach and put all my siblings into soccer and I was the fortunate sibling to come out with a little bit more talent than the others.” Yañez continued, “Not only did I make my dreams come true, but I made my parents' dreams come true.”

With this LOI, Yañez told CALÓ News that she hopes this could provide a better experience in soccer for the next generation and improve their confidence in making it into the pro league.

This initial commitment between the city and USL to hold exclusive negotiations, with the shared goal of establishing a men’s and women’s soccer professional stadium, along with a new sports and entertainment district in Pico Rivera.

The LOI strictly establishes parameters for exclusive, good-faith negotiations between the city and USL. The letter does not legally bind both parties to any agreements and/or transactions relating to real estate, development, financing or operations, according to the city’s agenda report.

“We view this as an extension of Pico Rivera 2035 (PR 2035). As a result of COVID-19, the economic impacts that the Whittier Narrows Dam expansion will have, we really look inward and really question, where are we going as a city… we sat down and empowered staff to think about where we are going to be in 15 years from now,” said Councilmember Andrew Lara.

The city designed PR 2035 as a community and economic recovery framework to help stimulate holistic, smart, equitable and sustained community development and economic growth.  

By aligning local policies and resources, the city has successfully secured state and federal grants and could move forward with plans to establish a vibrant area that reflects the rich history, culture and diversity of Pico Rivera.

Through the city’s efforts of supporting a vision that advances public policy and other committed resources, eventually leading to interest from private sector developers, investors and partners, like USL, that could aid in developing future projects featuring the city’s urban landscape.

This strategic approach has allowed the city to leverage and influence transportation, housing, environmental and with the goal is to create a vibrant “mixed-use urban” destination near a multimodal hub that plans to serve different methods of transport, such as a planned light rail on Washington Boulevard, a passenger rail station used by either Metrolink or Amtrak station and a bus rapid transit line on Rosemead/Lakewood Boulevard.

Pico Rivera is centrally located between many large-market cities such as Downtown L.A., Pasadena, Long Beach and Anaheim. 

This provides opportunities for others to check out other well-known locations like Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, the Citadel Outlets and Dodger Stadium.

When USL look at expansion opportunities, they look to prioritize transformational stadium projects, city leadership and city partners that align with their vision and community focus, “I think it's fair to say that Pico Rivera community revitalization program hits both of these objectives,” said Dan Holman, USL’s Chief Operating Officer. 

USL, founded in 1986, became the largest and fastest-growing soccer organization in the United States and provides a youth-to-professional pathway for both men and women. USL handles two professional men’s leagues, the USL Championship and USL League One, and the professional women’s USL Super League. 

This agreement positions Pico Rivera as a key player in professional soccer in the Los Angeles area, Holman continued, “We're excited to be afforded the opportunity to work with city leadership and local stakeholders to develop this plan; to help explore the opportunity of a stadium and entertainment district that's going to provide economic impact, a huge quality of life improvement to the area and inspire young athletes.” 

USL matches are available to watch on CBS Sports, ESPN, or Peacock because of their multi-year national and international media rights with those platforms, allowing USL to be known as one of the widely accessible soccer organizations nationwide.

City staff are also exploring opportunities with other sports and entertainment partners that align with USL and how they could add value to the local and regional economy.