Unusual winter weather prompts cautious approach.
The excitement was building for the start of the 2023 MLS regular season for LAFC, and…that will last another week, as Saturday’s scheduled curtain-raiser, against the LA Galaxy at the Rose Bowl, has been postponed due to projected inclement weather.
There is a chance of thunderstorms rolling through Pasadena on Saturday, which makes it a considerable safety hazard for an open concrete bowl of a stadium with literally no concourses for the majority of fans to take shelter should lightning strike in the vicinity. And that’s to say nothing of the shape of the field, after days of heavy rain, as unprecedented winter weather in Southern California has led to blizzard projections east of the inland mountains and hail/graupel in coastal areas along with heavy rains and winds.
This isn’t even the only weather-related postponement in MLS this weekend, as the Portland Timbers’ game at Providence Park against Sporting Kansas City has also been postponed due to inclement weather, although that game has been rescheduled for Monday night. The same will not be happening in terms of LAFC-Galaxy, because that game is supposed to be a marquee event, the game expected to break the standalone MLS attendance record, so they won’t be stashing it on a random weeknight. They’re going to try to have it on a weekend, but that will depend on if they can rebook the Rose Bowl, schedule openings and myriad other matters. In other words, this game probably won’t be played for a while, but we’ll keep you posted on when it is rescheduled.
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