Fans, coach Landon Donovan return to pitch for USL relaunch

Fans get to watch U.S. pro team sports in person for the first time in four months when Landon Donovan resumes his fledgling coaching career in a United Soccer League match.

Because of social distancing rules, only about a quarter of the 20,000 seats at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, will be available today for the game between Donovan’s expansion San Diego Loyal and the defending USL champion Real Monarchs SLC.

While it’s a step toward normalcy, Donovan is OK that ticket sales will be capped at about 5,300.

“I don’t think it’ll change anything from our standpoint,” said the former U.S. national team and MLS star, who is two games into his coaching career. “If you think about stadiums, the noise and home-field advantage comes from people sitting next to each other making noise. If they’re spread out in a 20,000-seat stadium, it’s not that daunting.”

Donovan’s first coaching win came in an empty stadium when the Loyal won 2-1 at Tacoma on March 11, right before the coronavirus pandemic shut down sports around the world.

“It was strange. Very strange,” Donovan said. “It was an interesting experience. It was weird because usually when you play without fans, it’s a preseason game or one that has no meaning. You walk out of the tunnel and it was bizarre. You just have to adapt.”