BMO Stadium: Angel City vs. Houston Dash

For Mother's Day, we took a quick ~12hr trip to LA and back in a single day to take in a match at a place we've always wanted to visit, BMO Stadium (formerly Banc of California stadium aka The Banc) in Los Angeles. It sits next to the iconic LA Memorial Coliseum and was built in 2018.

It's a beautiful place, the large awnings do indeed look like sailcloth and are breathtaking in person. The feel of the stadium is modern and European, and the food options were pretty good.

But! I made a classic rookie mistake by booking our tickets online in the Ticketmaster app—which offers no hints as to what side of the stadium is which for a first-timer—directly in the intense sun, on the side of the stadium that has zero shade. As a result, we fought sunburn and heat and I didn't love my time watching this game.

This kind of experience is a big part of why I wanted to write a book in the first place, because no matter how much I tried to Google stadiums in the past before games, I've never been able to find good hints or tips on which sections offer the best views and coverage from sun and rain, or even any indication that "this is where the TV cameras are placed" so I could judge seating locations based on what I've seen watching matches live on TV.

If I get a choice, I never want to sit in direct sun with the sun in my eyes and burning my skin while 75% of the rest of the stadium sits in more comfortable shade. If I'm paying $50 for a seat and hundreds on a flight and hotels, I want to have as good of a time as possible. In the drafted chapters I've already noted this, but I'll be sure to include actual section numbers of shade versus sun in every stadium review in the book so you'll never make the same mistake I did today.