Due to inclement weather and thunderstorms projected for Saturday in Southern California, MLS has announced that the LA Galaxy vs. LAFC match at the Rose Bowl will be postponed. The region is dealing with unprecedented rainy weather and for the first time ever, mountains near the city have blizzard warnings.
With over 70,000 tickets sold according to multiple reports, this affects those fans who prepared for this opening game of the season from the local area and fans who traveled to witness this game. In a press release, the LA Galaxy stated, “Tickets originally purchased for Saturday’s opener will be honored for the rescheduled match date.”
It’s unknown when the game will be rescheduled but with multiple games and competitions already scheduled for both clubs, MLS will have to find time to squeeze this game between each team's schedule. The Galaxy press release stated that the rescheduled date and time for this game will be announced at a later date — dashing any hopes that it might be pushed to Sunday.
This isn’t the first game to be postponed this weekend for weather concerns. MLS moved the match between the Portland Timbers and Sporting Kansas City to Monday night because of snow in the Pacific Northwest.
With Apple TV placing this game as the marquee match of the week, not being able to broadcast this game dampens what was intended as high-profile rollout for the new MLS Season Pass service. This was marketed as the biggest game of the week in MLS and the biggest event going on in Los Angeles.
As of now, the Galaxy is slated to play their first MLS match of the season on Saturday, March 4 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, against FC Dallas and LAFC will host the Portland Timbers on the same date.
Update: Friday, Feb. 24, 4:22 p.m. PT: The Galaxy announced late Friday afternoon that the match will now be rescheduled for Tuesday, July 4 (streaming at 7:30 p.m. PT on MLS Season Pass). Additionally, the Galaxy’s home match against St. Louis City SC, originally in the July 4 slot, has now bumped to Sunday, Sept. 10 at 5 p.m. PT.