LOS ANGELES — At first, it seemed odd.

There were supporters, loosely organized but still loyalists. But there were no players, no coaches, no uniforms or crest or colors to root for. Nothing but a vague idea, a blank canvas on which the vision of a new soccer franchise would be created.

Turns out, it was brilliant.

The Los Angeles Football Club, born as an expansion Major League Soccer franchise just days after Chivas USA was dissolved in October 2014, literally took a fans-first approach. It reached out to members of former Chivas fan groups, wooed millennials, and pitched that vision of a team and a facility in an urban setting with a distinctively L.A. vibe.

And it gave those early adopters input — into the colors, the culture, even some of the design aspects of its new stadium, in its 3-1/2 year run-up to first kickoff.

“It was important to this team, this group, that they (the supporters) knew they had a seat at the table,” said Mia Hamm Garciaparra, the godmother of women’s soccer in this country and one of the team’s 29 owners. “They’re the heartbeat of this club.

“Yes, we have a large ownership group. But we can’t bring the energy like they can. So we’re extremely grateful and appreciative for … everything they’ve brought from Day One. Hopefully they’re proud of this stadium as well.”

The true payoff comes Sunday, the seventh game of LAFC’s inaugural MLS season, when the club officially breaks the seal on Banc of California Stadium, the 22,000-seat, $350 million edifice that rose from the rubble of the Sports Arena in just 20 months.

That earlier building was state of the art for its time when it opened in 1959. This one is, too, with five private clubs and pitch-side seats, a view of downtown L.A. from its southwest corner, and plenty of the other bells and whistles customarily associated with new stadiums.

But the true centerpiece may be a supporters section designed to replicate the traditional European rooting experience. It is steep, a 34-degree angle from the field. It is built with rails to accommodate standing from start to finish; there are seats, but it’s doubtful they’ll be used for soccer matches. And the roof overhead is designed specifically to capture and emphasize the noise those rooters will create.

The best part? Admission to that section, hovering behind the north goal, is $20 a game. Who charges that little for prime seats in a professional sports venue any more?

There are 3,252 spots. The umbrella group for the team’s six supporters clubs is called the 3252. And those four digits add up to 12, as in the 12th player.

None of this is accidental.

“This is only a great city when everybody gets to participate,” said Magic Johnson, one of the team’s 29 co-owners, at last week’s stadium dedication ceremony. “And we’re standing here today because everybody got a chance to participate in building this beautiful stadium.“

Bob Bradley, coach of the team that has won four of its first six matches — all on the road — put it another way.

“When the team walks on the field, there must be passion, there must be heart, there must be perspective,” he said. “Because before kickoff you look around and you take it all in. And you think about who made that happen, all right?

“You see the 3252. You see the people up there, the people who made the work. You think about all the people behind the scenes, and at kickoff you represent all of them.”

A small but loud group of those supporters attended the stadium dedication. A larger group was on hand a few days later for a viewing party and tour of the joint, while LAFC was playing (and winning) at Montreal.

The trash talk began long ago between LAFC supporters and those of the Galaxy, who won the teams’ first meeting 4-3 on March 31 at StubHub Center with Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring the tying and winning goals.

With LAFC second in the Western Conference with 12 points and the Galaxy fourth with 10, the suspicion is that the teams will be warily watching each other all season. Their other head-to-head matchups in the derby fittingly dubbed “El Tráfico” will be July 26 at Banc of California Stadium and Aug. 24 at StubHub, both televised by ESPN.

But this particular fight for L.A. will take many forms. The clubs’ academies will be battling for every talented young player in Southern California. Their marketing staffs will be battling for eyeballs and attention in the crowded SoCal sports landscape.

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Alexander: Dodgers clinch a playoff berth, but hold the champagne And the contrast between old money and new might be particularly intriguing in the teams’ broadcast contracts.

The Galaxy has a deal with Spectrum SportsNet (the one that shows Lakers games and is available in most homes, not the one that shows Dodgers games and has been boycotted by other carriage systems). LAFC went another direction with its deal for exclusive local English-language telecasts on YouTube TV.

It could be an inspired move on two fronts. It bypasses a cable/satellite industry that may be reaching a tipping point in its big-money relationships with pro franchises, and it courts a cord-cutting generation that is comfortable streaming whatever it wants to see.

The other option? The club has limited its reach by going with the $35 a month subscription service, and/or it undersold itself by settling for a deal reported at three years and $18 million.

Once again, the fans will let us know.

jalexander@scng.com

@Jim_Alexander on Twitter