When Los Angeles Football Club was founded in 2014 as a blank-slate expansion franchise, few could have imagined the speed of its ascent. Less than a decade later, the Black & Gold stand as Major League Soccer’s most valuable club, a $1.28 billion enterprise backed by some of the most recognisable names in sport, entertainment, and global finance.
The latest chapter in that story came earlier this month, when retired Mexican star Carlos Vela — LAFC’s all-time leading scorer and the face of its formative years — returned to the club in a new capacity: as an owner. A deal agreed upon in 2025 and closed earlier this year saw a group of three incoming limited partners purchase a combined 6% stake in the club at a $1.25 billion valuation, ranking among the highest prices ever paid in an MLS stake sale. Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai and Fanatics Collectibles CEO Mike Mahan departed the group as part of the transaction.
The investment reflects the rapid growth of LAFC as a business. Founded in 2014 and debuting in MLS four years later, the club has quickly become one of the league’s most valuable franchises. For context, the club was valued at just $700 million in early 2020 during an ownership buyout. The climb to $1.28 billion — a Sportico estimate from early 2025 — has been steep and deliberate.
LAFC increased revenues to $158 million in 2025, fuelled in no small part by the arrival of South Korean superstar Son Heung-min, who joined from Tottenham Hotspur in August 2025 on an MLS-record transfer fee of approximately $26.5 million. The signing sent ripples far beyond Los Angeles, opening doors to new commercial partnerships and an expanding global fanbase.
At the heart of LAFC’s commercial model sits BMO Stadium, the purpose-built, soccer-specific venue in Exposition Park that has become one of the city’s most sought-after live event destinations. Opened on April 18, 2018, it was the first open-air stadium built in Los Angeles since Dodger Stadium in 1962, constructed on the site of the former Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. The 22,000-seat ground — notable for its steep 34-degree seating rake that puts every fan close to the action — was designed by Gensler and built at a cost underwritten by LAFC’s ambitious ownership consortium.
The venue has grown into far more than a football ground. More than one million fans passed through its gates again in 2025, filling the stadium for world-class concerts and unforgettable live experiences. The roster of artists who performed there last year included j-hope of BTS and SEVENTEEN, underlining the stadium’s ability to tap into diverse cultural audiences across Los Angeles. BMO Stadium landed in Pollstar’s Year-End Rankings as the 11th top stadium in the United States by ticket sales, and was named Billboard’s 9th top domestic stadium.
On the pitch, BMO Stadium hosted an increasingly prestigious slate of football. It staged the first-ever FIFA Club World Cup Play-In Match in 2025, with LAFC defeating Mexico’s Club América 2-1 to secure a berth in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup arriving on American soil this summer — and several LAFC players, including Son, expected to feature — the club is positioning itself at the centre of a pivotal moment for the sport in the United States. LAFC has several new Korean-based brand partners coming onboard this season as it seeks to capitalise on Son’s global profile.
For Vela, now watching from the ownership box rather than the pitch, the transformation of a club he helped build from scratch is perhaps the clearest sign of just how far LAFC has come — and how high its ambitions now reach.
