The Orange County Soccer Club (OCSC) will be able to continue using the Great Park Championship Stadium in Irvine, Calif., until November 2023, after their contract with the city was extended.
The original contract was set to expire or be reinstated for another two years in November. However, the city council began exploring two other options—terminating the contract and agreeing to a new one with LA Galaxy or converting the natural grass to artificial turf for more community use.
After discussion, the city council voted 5-0 to extend the contract at a Sept. 13 meeting. However, the city will continue to deliberate on how the stadium will be used by November 2023.
Despite OCSC using the stadium since 2019, the city has not had the smoothest relationship with the club, which is why officials were exploring other options, according to the city.
City spokesperson Kristina Perrigoue told The Epoch Times the Orange County Soccer Club has been late on 94 percent of their payments to the city since 2019, and the club’s actions have been “to the detriment of other Irvine-based community groups.”
Perrigoue said the city will attempt to provide more community access to the soccer stadium in the future while also accommodating the OCSC schedule.
City staff will also return by the end of the year with a timeline and plan for possibly converting the current natural grass in the stadium to artificial turf for city council consideration.
Changing the turf from natural to artificial would significantly limit professional teams’ use of the stadium due to their turf requirements—opening the stadium up to community-based groups throughout the entire year.
These community groups are currently allowed to use the stadium 80 days out of the year, according to the city.
According to councilmembers, city officials and staff received countless emails during the decision-making process from fans of the OCSC accusing them of being corrupt or biased. They denied these allegations, saying they wanted to make choices that focused on community benefits, rather than the needs of professional sports teams.
“I do not know enough about soccer to be corrupt,” Councilmember Tammy Kim said during the meeting.
The Great Park Stadium was built and is owned and maintained by the City of Irvine and taxpayers, and its purpose is to support the community’s needs, according to the city.