I'm going to my first ever Galaxy match this weekend at HDC, and I can't wait. I know it will be awesome. Can anyone please provide any general tips for a first-time visitor to Victoria St.? What's the best way to get there? How early can you show up to the stadium? Are there restaurants there that you can eat at before the game starts? Any general tips regarding parking, directions, or the stadium itself would not only help me out, but also help out other first timers to HDC. Thanks a lot.
There is another thread on this board which discusses driving directions at length. Here's the main point: IF you can do so, get there real early - like 90 minutes, 2 hours, or more before kick off. The surface street traffic pattern is not great and it took many people a lot of time (45 minutes or more) from the time they got off the Fwy to the time they entered the parking lot. Hopefully, this is a learning process for local police and traffic control, so it should get better. Lots of food choices in the stadium. Pretty slim pickings outside. Saw a KFC across the street from the main entrance, and a burger place up the road on Avalon, but not much more than that. Particularly if this is the first time you have been to Victoria Street, you will want to walk around and look at it from different angles and see what the views are like from different sections. Where are your seats? Glad to see a first timer coming to the game. Hope you have a great time. Be prepared to be awestruck. Its only the most beautiful thing in Los Angeles.
Depending on how far away from the stadium you want to go there are quite a few places to eat actually. I used to work about half a mile from HDC so I'm pretty familiar with the eating around the area. I will say that there is nothing spectacular within a half mile of the place though. Carl's Jr, Del Taco and KFC are your choices if you want to be right there. There is a mall about a mile or so up Avalon where there are some places to eat. About 5 miles east in paramount, there are quite a few places to eat on Alondra Blvd. There is Alpine Village about 10 miles south in Torrance. If you get on the 91 and go west till the freeway ends (about 4 miles) there are a lot of places to eat there. I would highly recommend El Pollo Inca as a great place to eat if you happen to go that direction. Hope this helps some.
Bring plenty of beer money... and don't sit next to the Koreans if nursing a hangover Be prepared to be misty eyed, and awestruck, and don't forget to say a prayer for Saint Phil...
I don't know which end of the stadium it is in terms of east-west, but the side of the Stadium Club, behind it, is a concourse, which has a lot of booths, a team store, tables to sit and eat, etc. Anyway, there's a food joint there which I think is a little different than the ones on the main concouurses behind each of the sideline stands. Actually, I don't know if it's different, but it had a different name than the others. Anyway, you can get a "big burger" and fries there for $7 and quite frankly, it was a great burger, the best burger I've ever had at a sporting facility. The fries were great as well, seemingly made from real potatoes a la In-and-Out. Unfortunately, we were 4th in line when we got there and it took about 25 minutes at least to finish the entire purchase (food isn't pre-cooked), so get there early and leave yourself time to get the food. One last hint: don't get in the far right side where we were: due to the way the system is set up, the lines in the center move quicker (at least they did the first week). Anyway, just one idea for you. Then you can go sit at one of the tables to enjoy your meal; you can also take a look at the tennis stadium right next door, what looks like a sapectactular venue. Have a great time!
I think the place Flashman is referring to is the "Goalie Grill" located on the south end of the stadium.
I am going to the game Wednesday the 18th. Are there any decent pubs / bars between LB airport and Carson ? I'll be arriving around 3PM and have a couple of hours to kill. Thanks
Off the top of my head, I can't think of any between those two points as they are very close together, although I'm sure one exists. The area between is mostly residential or industrial. Depending on how much time you have, I'd hit Pier Avenue in Hermosa. Its on the beach, about 15-20 minutes from the facility. There are good places in Long Beach, but kinda in the opposite direction.
There are some longshoreman and/or biker bars along PCH in Long Beach / Wilmington. Or you could stop at the world's largest pawn shop....
I can't fit into my chaps anymore and pawn shops usually make me spend all my hard earned cash. Maybe I'll just head into a local taqueria and have a couple of 6ers of Corona.
For an out of towner and LA virgin, what would be the best major airport for attending a match? I'd be flying in from the east coast.
Depends where you're coming from. All flights seem to go into LAX, however if you get a chance to fly into Long Beach then take it (but only if it's cheaper) because getting in and out of that airport is a cinch.
JetBlue special ends 6/29 for booking Between Washington DC/Dulles and Long Beach, CA 7-day advance purchase is required. Tickets must be purchased on jetblue.com by June 26, 2003 and travel completed by December 17, 2003. Other restrictions apply.* This rate is $119 each way. They have an Atlanta to LB for $99 but time is running out. The link is via travelzoo.com or go directly to the jetblue site.http://www.jetblue.com/specialoffers/superfly.asp#s13 They have flights to SD if you have relatives there including from Ft. Lauderdale, etc. Lots of bargains. And Vegas is about a 6hr drive or take one of those $29 flights. Make a week of spending your $$$ on the West Coast.
SCBozeman, I'd suggest the JetBlue flight to Long Beach. Not only is it only cheaper, but you can watch DirecTV too. Getting out of the airport is simple & the 405 freeway is right next to it, one of the routes you can take to HDC.