The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a memorial to Los Angeles veterans of World War I. Completed in 1923, it will become the first stadium to have hosted the Summer Olympics three times when it hosts the 2028 Summer Olympics, previously hosting in 1932 and 1984. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on July 27, 1984, a day before the opening ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics.
The 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the third edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF).
Pechanga Arena is an indoor arena in San Diego, California. Opened in 1966, the arena has been home to numerous athletic teams in various sports. It is the home of the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the San Diego Seals of the National Lacrosse League (NLL).
The Anaheim Convention Center is a major convention center in Anaheim, California, and is the largest exhibition facility on the West Coast of the United States. It is located across from the Disneyland Resort on Katella Avenue. The original components, designed by Adrian Wilson & Associates and built by Del E. Webb Corporation, opened in July 1967—including a basketball arena followed shortly by the convention hall. It holds many events, like Star Wars Celebration, VidCon, BlizzCon, Anime Expo, D23 Expo, WonderCon, NAMM Show, competitions, and more. In addition to hosting various types of conventions, the Anaheim Convention Center was used to host the wrestling during the 1984 Summer Olympics.
An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also hope that the expansion of their competition will grow the popularity of the sport generally. The term is most commonly used in reference to the North American major professional sports leagues but is applied to sports leagues in other countries with a closed franchise system of league membership. The term refers to the expansion of the sport into new areas. The addition of an expansion team sometimes results in the payment of an expansion fee to the league by the new team and an expansion draft to populate the new roster.
The National Football League (NFL) has had a long and complicated history in Los Angeles, the second-largest media market in the United States. Los Angeles became the first city on the West Coast to host an NFL team when the Cleveland Rams relocated to Los Angeles in 1946; they played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum from 1946 until 1979. In 1960, a charter American Football League franchise, the Los Angeles Chargers, began playing in the Coliseum. The Chargers moved to San Diego after their inaugural season, where they eventually joined the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger. The Rams moved to suburban Anaheim, California, in 1980. A surprising move in 1982 brought the Oakland Raiders to the Coliseum to become the Los Angeles Raiders.
California has 21 major professional sports franchises, far more than any other US state. The San Francisco Bay Area has six major league teams spread amongst three cities: San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. The Greater Los Angeles Area has ten major league teams. San Diego and Sacramento each have one major league team.
The Greater Los Angeles area is home to many professional and collegiate sports teams and has hosted many national and international sporting events. The metropolitan area has twelve major league professional teams: the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Rams, the Los Angeles Angels, the Los Angeles Chargers, the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles FC, the LA Galaxy, the Los Angeles Kings, the Anaheim Ducks, the Los Angeles Sparks, and Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League. The Los Angeles metropolitan area is home to nine universities whose teams compete in various NCAA Division I level sports, most notably the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans. Between them, these Los Angeles area sports teams have won a combined 105 championship titles. Los Angeles area colleges have produced upwards of 200 national championship teams.
The San Francisco Bay Area, which includes the major cities of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, hosts five major league sports franchises, with a major women's sports franchise soon to start play, as well as several other professional and college sports teams, and hosts other sports events.
This article is a list of teams that play in the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada: Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL), the National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Soccer (MLS), and the Canadian Football League (CFL).
John Jules Ramsey was a public address announcer best known as the original PA voice for the California Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Raiders. He was also the PA voice for the Los Angeles Rams and USC Trojans football and basketball teams. He also announced four Super Bowls in Southern California and one in Palo Alto, California, as well as serving as the basketball PA voice during the 1984 Summer Olympics. His voice was also heard through seven World Series, the 1959, 1967 and 1980 Major League Baseball All-Star Games, ten NBA Finals, the 1963 and 1972 NBA All-Star Games.
For the 1984 Summer Olympics, a total of thirty-one venues were used. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Rose Bowl, two venues previously used for the 1932 Summer Olympics, were used for the 1984 Games. Between the 1932 and the 1984 Summer Olympics, the expansion of professional sports teams assisted in the growth of the facilities that would be used for the 1984 events. Only two new permanent venues were constructed, both using corporate sponsorship, though neither were mentioned in the official Olympic report. Many other venues had temporary adjustments and returned to their normal usage once the 1984 Olympics were completed. Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto and the Rose Bowl later served as venues for the Super Bowl, the FIFA World Cup, and the FIFA Women's World Cup.
Sports in San Diego and its surrounding metropolitan area includes major professional league teams, other highest-level professional league teams, minor league teams, and college athletics. San Diego hosts two major professional league teams, the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB) and San Diego FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). The area is home to several universities whose teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), most notably the San Diego State Aztecs. The Farmers Insurance Open, a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, is played annually at Torrey Pines Golf Course.
Professional sports have existed in the United States since the late 19th century. The NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL have millions of fans across the nation and are an important part of American culture. Professional sports did not enter into the American West until the mid-twentieth century. However, the expansion of professional sports into the West has helped to increase the popularity of each of the professional leagues and has changed the landscape of professional sports in America.
The Los Angeles Kiss were a professional arena football team based in Anaheim, California, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Kiss joined the AFL as an expansion team after Los Angeles' previous franchise did not return as a part of Arena Football 1. The team's ownership was a group of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, members of rock band Kiss, as well as their manager Doc McGhee. The team played its home games at the Honda Center in nearby Anaheim, which they shared with the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. The team was featured in the AMC series 4th and Loud.
Sports in Orange County, California includes a number of sports teams and sports competitions. Within Orange County, the city of Anaheim currently hosts two major league sports teams — MLB's Los Angeles Angels and the NHL's Anaheim Ducks — and used to host two others.
The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team based in San Diego, California, that competes in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Pechanga Arena. The Gulls began play in the 2015–16 season. The team is an affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Anaheim Ducks.
The National Basketball Association has undergone several rounds of expansion in the league's history, since it began play in 1946, to reach 30 teams. The most recent examples are the additions of the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat in 1988; the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic in 1989; the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies in 1995 ; and the Charlotte Bobcats in 2004. In September 2024, Commissioner Adam Silver stated that the NBA would have discussions about a potential expansion of the league sometime during the 2024–25 season though not during the league's 2024 fall meetings, with an ESPN article stating that a number of factors including the potential sale of the Boston Celtics has led the league to go slower with the expansion process. In addition, the article stated that the potential expansion teams may begin play in the 2027–28 season should one occur.
Soccer has enjoyed longstanding popularity in Los Angeles. As of 2023, Los Angeles County has three top-level professional teams. The LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC play in Major League Soccer, and Angel City FC plays in the National Women's Soccer League. The Greater Los Angeles area is also home to one 2nd division professional team, Orange County SC, of the USL Championship, and four 3rd division professional teams, LAFC2 and LA Galaxy II, of MLS Next Pro, and Los Angeles Force and California United Strikers FC of the National Independent Soccer Association. There are also many semi-professional clubs and leagues including the United Premier Soccer League, SoCal Premier League and National Premier Soccer League, among others. In 2019, two more professional teams, Cal FC and California United Strikers FC joined a new, unsanctioned, professional league called the NPSL Founders Cup They both later left, with Cal FC joining the United Premier Soccer League.
