AV Alta Football Club, commonly referred to as AV Alta FC or Alta, is an American professional soccer team based in

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. First announced in 2023, the team plays in the

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championsh ...

since 2025. Their home field is Lancaster Municipal Stadium, also known as "The Hangar".

History

On October 4, 2023, the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

announced that the city of

Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 173,516, making Lancaster the 153rd largest city in the Un ...

, had been awarded a

expansion team which would start play in the 2025 season. John Smelzer, an entrepreneur who worked with the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

for the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the countr ...

, was announced as founder and president. On May 16, 2024, Brian Kleiban was announced as the team's inaugural head coach. Kleiban had held coaching roles with

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional Football team, football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish footb ...

Los Angeles FC Los Angeles Football Club, commonly referred to as LAFC, is an American professional Association football team based in Los Angeles. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The club ...

and

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Gua ...

. The club's name — AV Alta FC — and logo were unveiled on May 17, 2024. Former U.S. international and

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

player

Miguel Ibarra Miguel Ángel Ibarra Andrade (born March 15, 1990) is an American professional soccer player who plays for Charlotte Independence in the USL League One. College and amateur Ibarra played college soccer at Taft College from 2008 to 2009, and t ...

, who hails from the area, was announced as the club's first player on December 9, 2024. In their first match in club history, the club lost to the South Georgia Tormenta FC 2–0 away. However, in their inaugural match in both the

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

and at the Lancaster Municipal Stadium, AV Alta won 3–1 over the

Ventura County Fusion Ventura County Fusion is an American soccer team based in Ventura, California, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games in the stadium on the ...

, with

Jerry Desdunes Jerry Desdunes (born 13 April 2001) is a Haitian professional footballer. Career Desdunes played locally with Depoze FC and Exafoot, before moving to the United States in 2018 to join the Kalonji Soccer Academy. In 2021, Desdunes played with US ...

scoring the first goal in club history.

Club identity, crest and colors

The club's official name, crest and colors were unveiled in front of thousands of fans in Lancaster on May 17, 2024. "AV" is a common local nickname for the

Antelope Valley The Antelope Valley is located in northern Los Angeles County, California, and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated between the Tehachapi, Sierra Pelona, and t ...

, while "Alta" is meant to allude to the region's location in the high desert, its ties to the aerospace industry, and to Alta California, the region's name prior to California statehood. The club's official colors are referred to as Joshua Green and Desert Sand, the former in reference to the abundant

Joshua trees ''Yucca brevifolia'' is a plant species belonging to the genus ''Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca. This monocotyledonous tree is native to the ar ...

in the area. The shape of the crest is meant to resemble a

California poppy ''Eschscholzia californica'', the California poppy, golden poppy, California sunlight or cup of gold, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to the United States and Mexico. It is cultivated as an ornamental p ...

, while the angled font of the "AV" at the center of the crest was inspired by angular shape of the B2 stealth bomber.

Stadium

The team play at Lancaster Municipal Stadium, also known as "The Hangar", a former minor league ballpark that was home to the

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League ...

until 2020. The stadium was reconfigured for soccer use by adding seating in the former outfield at a cost of $17 million, and has a total of 5,300 seats, including a

safe standing Safe standing is a measure of design in stadia to ensure that spectators are able to stand safely during events. It is important in the context of association football in the United Kingdom, where a series of fatal incidents led to legislation r ...

supporters' terrace on the north side.

Current roster

References

External links

* {{Lancaster, California Association football clubs established in 2023 2023 establishments in California USL League One teams Lancaster, California Soccer clubs in Los Angeles County, California AV Alta FC