A dead-end street in down-town Los Angeles in the shade of the 110 Freeway overpass is the heartbeat of the most exciting new project in Major League Soccer.

An electric gate whirrs open to reveal a hub of activity where over-sized vehicles try to negotiate an intricate parking area and visitors file in and out with purpose from the urban cool headquarters of Los Angeles FC.

Bob Bradley, cleansed of his Swansea gloom, says hello and LAFC's new head coach looks every bit as and fit and well as he insists he is as he embraces another challenge.

A dead-end street in down-town Los Angeles in the shade of the 110 Freeway overpass

General manager John Thorrington, a former Manchester United trainee who played for Huddersfield and Grimsby at the start of the century, breezes by.

This pair is assembling the squad at LAFC as the 23rd franchise in the MLS prepares to launch next year.

They have already recruited Carlos Vela, once of Arsenal and West Bromwich Albion, who will join from Real Sociedad in January and be the face of a club which is expected to command huge Mexican support.

'We were thrilled to get him,' said co-owner Tom Penn. 'A player in his prime at 28, an attacking, dynamic threat who represents the way we want to play. He really appeals to our Latino audience and he is sprinkled with stardust.

A new stadium is being built and will have a capacity of 22,000

'He came here for a 30-hour visit we had a thousand people show up like a rock star was here. He is comfortable in the star role. And he really wanted to come because he was being pursued by big clubs in Europe.

'He really liked the idea of coming to LA and being the signature player to start us off. Finding him was like finding unicorn.'

Penn is an NBA analyst with ESPN, one of several famous faces who are backing LAFC.

Others include actor Will Ferrell, former USA international Mia Hamm and NBA legend Magic Johnson. Cardiff owner Vincent Tan also has a stake in the new MLS club.

Inside a cabin at the site of the Banc of California Stadium, a 22,000-capacity venue which is rising from a plot beside the Los Angeles Coliseum sits Chad Hurley, co-founder of YouTube and also a stakeholder in the club.

Another, Tony Robbins, author, entrepreneur and motivational speaker, has just left, according to Penn.

Former Swansea manager is assembling a squad that he wants in MLS next year

In typical LA-style, this project has a star status and is firing the imagination as they attempt to support the A-list ownership tier with an 'in- the-grit' core of fans and a steep, safe-standing section behind the goal.

The new £260m stadium is on the site of the LA Sports Arena, once home to the Lakers, the Clippers, the Kings and the Aztecs, among others, and Olympic boxing in 1984.

Martin Luther King spoke here before 25,000 people in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. Bruce Springsteen played the venue often and dubbed it 'the dump that jumps'.

Penn expects the new place to jump but they'll be leaving behind the lovable dump image. Designs include a members' bar with a sun deck, view of the city's sky-line water feature.

When the Olympic Games return to LA in 2028 the stadium could be hosting the football.

'I really believe this building is worthy of any player in the world,' said Penn. 'At what point in his career, we'll see. But really any player would be proud to call it home.

'It's in the heart of Los Angeles with this unique design, 22,000 right on top of the action. We have a powerful supporter group growing fast. I hope and expect it to be something special with an atmosphere that's worthy of the global game. Should be cool.'

Plans are on budget and on time. The opening few games of the MLS season may have to be played away from home but talks are open with English players and clubs to appear here, possibly as soon as next year.

'We've been in conversations with both the notion of the right English player at the right time and with many of the super-clubs in England to do collaboration and cooperation,' said Penn.

'We will anticipate having a touring English club in our stadium as early as 2018 or 2019.

'We've had introductory conversations with some. The big boys tend to go to the 80,000-90,000-seat venues but clubs can definitely come and play. It would be the perfect place for it.'

Manchester United and Manchester City were in the city in pre-season with United playing against Los Angeles Galaxy.

'A number of the Premier League clubs come here to train in the summer,' Penn added. 'Everybody is aggressively growing their brand here and everybody is keenly interested in Los Angeles because it's such a unique market.

'We would anticipate hosting and even festivalising that activity in the summer because our stadium is directly adjacent to the Coliseum which can house 80,000.

'We can do double-headers and make it a festival event around football. But that will have to wait because the Coliseum is undergoing US$300m renovation as well.'