MLS Cup Final Features Star-Studded Ownership Groups

On Saturday, Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant will be pitted against his team’s owner, Joseph Tsai, in the Major League Soccer Cup final.

The Philadelphia Union, part-owned by Durant, will take on Los Angeles FC, whose star-studded ownership group includes Tsai.

• Durant bought 5% of the team with an option to double his stake at a valuation above $325 million, according to team majority owner Jay Sugarman.
• LAFC’s managing owners are Riot Games co-founder Brandon Beck, Apollo Global Management senior partner Larry Berg, and Ares Management co-founder Bennett Rosenthal.
• The team’s stakeholders also include Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Mia Hamm Garciaparra, Nomar Garciaparra, Will Ferrell, and many others with ties to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Golden State Warriors, and private equity firms.

The game will take place at LAFC’s $350 million Banc of California Stadium, which opened in 2018. The facility will soon need a new name: Banc of California reportedly paid $20 million to shorten its $100 million, 15-year naming rights deal signed in 2016.

Parking Prohibited

LAFC fans attending the game will face a unique situation: Parking at the stadium is prohibited because the lot is reserved for the Cal-USC football game at the neighboring Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

The team will run shuttles from Dodgers Stadium to the 22,000-capacity Banc of California Stadium.