LAFC’s stadium coming together just fine

First-year team to play its home opener at new Exposition Park facility on April 29.

The expansion Los Angeles Football Club will play its home opener at Banc of California Stadium on April 29 against the Western Conference champion Seattle Sounders.

Team President Tom Penn said Monday the team’s $350-million home will be completed a couple of weeks ahead of schedule and is expected to stay on budget.

That’s a break from recent history in MLS, which in the last 14 years had the opening of 10 soccer-specific stadiums delayed until at least a quarter of the league schedule had been played.

LAFC will open its inaugural season in March in Seattle and will play at least five games on the road before its home opener. But with the stadium completion pushed up from late May, the team will be able to play all 17 of its regular-season home games at Banc of California.

By way of comparison D.C. United, which has been working on a stadium deal for years, won’t play its first game at Audi Field until late June, leaving it in need of a temporary home for at least two MLS games next spring.

“We’re super excited to see the finish line on the building,” Penn said of the 22,000-seat Exposition Park stadium, the most expensive soccer-specific facility in MLS history. “We’ve got some certainty that we’re going to have this thing done.”

The full MLS 2018 schedule has not be released but LAFC will play home-andhome against the Galaxy, and home games with the rest of the Western Conference’s 10 teams.

LAFC has beefed up its roster, signing Uruguayan teenager Diego Rossi to a designated-player contract, trading for defenders Laurent Ciman and Walker Zimmerman, and acquiring Costa Rican international Marco Urena, goalkeeper Tyler Miller and Ghanaian forward Latif Blessing in MLS’ expansion draft.

The team had earlier signed Mexican national team forward Carlos Vela and Egyptian winger Omar Gaber on loan from Swiss club FC Basel.