AV Alta Football Club, commonly referred to as AV Alta FC or Alta, is a planned American professional soccer team based in Lancaster, California. First announced in 2023, the team plans to play in USL League One beginning in 2025. Their home field is Lancaster Municipal Stadium, also known as "The Hangar".
 | |
| Full name | AV Alta Football Club |
|---|---|
| Founded | October 4, 2023 |
| Stadium | Lancaster Municipal Stadium |
| Capacity | 6,000 |
| Owner | John Smelzer J. David Harden Bob Roback |
| President | John Smelzer |
| Head coach | Brian Kleiban |
| League | USL League One |
| 2025 | Inaugural season |
| Website | https://www.avaltafc.com/ |
History
editOn October 4, 2023, the United Soccer League announced that the city of Lancaster, California, had been awarded a USL League One expansion team which would start play in the 2025 season. John Smelzer, an entrepreneur who worked with the United States Soccer Federation for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, was announced as founder and president.[1]
On May 16, 2024, Brian Kleiban was announced as the team's inaugural head coach. Kleiban had held coaching roles with FC Barcelona, Los Angeles FC and Chivas USA.[2]
The club's name — AV Alta FC — and logo were unveiled on May 17, 2024.[3]
References
edit- ^ "USL Antelope Valley announces plans to bring professional soccer to Lancaster, Calif". USL League One. 2023-10-04. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
- ^ "USL Antelope Valley Announces Brian Kleiban as the Club's First Head Coach". AV Alta FC. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
- ^ Caiuch, Eduard (2024-05-18). "AV Alta FC, equipo de tercera división en USL, busca llenar un vacío en Antelope Valley". Los Angeles Times en Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-05-20.