Seven and a half months ago, John Smelzer — a longtime sports and media executive who began his career on the 1994 World Cup organizing committee — announced he was bringing professional soccer to the Antelope Valley.
But that was about all he announced because his team had no name, no logo, no coach and no players. Those blanks are now being filled in with the hiring of former Galaxy youth coach Brian Kleiban as manager and Nehemias Blanco as general manager. Blanco previously served as vice president for Central Valley Fuego FC in USL League One, the third-tier league Antelope Valley will be joining in 2025.
The team’s crest, colors, official name and a season ticket campaign will be announced at a public street party Friday evening, with two blocks of downtown Lancaster closed to traffic between Fern and Date avenues.
After that, the work of building out the team will begin in earnest.
Read more: How a pro soccer team hopes to create a new identity in the Antelope Valley
“It’s exciting. A blank canvas to get to work on and build from scratch,” said Kleiban, 44, who, in two decades as a youth coach in Southern California, helped launch the professional careers of Julián Araujo, Efraín Álvarez , Jalen Neal, Jonathan Pérez and Uly Llanez.
“We have the luxury of building out the way we want. I want to have players that understand the game. Obviously the athleticism is important in professional sports. But the mentality and getting to know these guys and see what makes them tick is going to be key for us.”
USL Antelope Valley will play its home games at Lancaster Municipal Stadium, a 5,300-seat baseball park Smelzer and the city of Lancaster are spending $11 million to renovate for soccer. Antelope Valley is one of seven teams joining the five-year-old League One next season, expanding its reach to 19 cities.
The soccer team will replace minor league baseball’s Lancaster JetHawks, who folded in 2020 after 25 seasons, as the Antelope Valley’s only professional sports franchise. Smelzer, who said he’s been encouraged by the reception his team has received, expects Friday’s crest unveiling to draw a crowd of 2,000, more than half the teams in League One are averaging for their games this season.
“The support we’ve received from the USL, the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale and the entire AV…