On August 23, Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) will officially break ground on a $250-million stadium in Exposition Park.

The 22,000-seat venue, designed by the architecture firm Gensler, will anchor a larger development featuring a conference center, office space, a soccer museum and 10,000 square feet of restaurants. The soccer-specific stadium will be highlighted by a series of glass canopies, that provide weather shielding for spectators and frame views of the Downtown skyline.

The new stadium will rise from the current site of the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, a dilapidated but historic structure that has played host to professional hockey, basketball, Olympic boxing, and even the Democratic National Convention. The 57-year-old arena, closed since March 2016, will be demolished.

Completion of the LAFC Stadium is expected in time for the 2018 MLS season. It may coincide with several other developments planned on the eastern side of Exposition park, including a proposed high-rise complex and the MyFigueroa streetscape improvement project.

The stadium figures prominently in the effort to bring the 2024 Summer Olympics to Los Angeles.