'Spring Training Of Soccer': How The LA Galaxy Turned Coachella Music Grounds Into A Pro Soccer Lab
LA Galaxy COO Tom Braun explains how a quiet desert preseason has become the club’s springboard into soccer’s biggest global moment.
For three weekends a year, the Empire Polo Club in Indio is the undisputed center of the music world. In the quiet stretch of February, before the stages for Coachella and Stagecoach go up, the grass belongs to a different kind of headliner.
The Coachella Valley Invitational (CVI) has turned 1,000 acres of desert into an open-access laboratory for North American soccer.
It’s a place where fans can stand five feet away from a superstar signing autographs and where MLS and NWSL coaches can fine-tune their tactics in the California sun.
2024 Season: LA Galaxy pre-season training at the Coachella Valley Invitational. Photo by Robert Mora/LA Galaxy. --- www.LAGalaxy.com (Credit: @LAGALAXY)
For the LA Galaxy, this investment in fan intimacy is a critical springboard for the 2026 World Cup.
By cultivating a soccer-first culture now, the club is positioning Los Angeles as the global epicenter of the sport before the world arrives.
OutKick spoke with LA Galaxy COO Tom Braun about how a logistics "gap" became the sport’s favorite road trip, the upcoming 2026 season, and how the club is pushing the boundaries of fan engagement.
LA Galaxy COO Tom Braun has elevated experiences for fans, thanks to a deep business and analytics pedigree. (Credit: AEG)
The Desert Blueprint: An Interview With LA Galaxy COO Tom Braun
The following conversation has been edited for brevity.
Q: When the Coachella Valley Invitational was first implemented as a preseason event, was it born out of a need to fill a specific gap in the calendar, or was it simply an opportunity to drum up fan excitement?
Tom Braun: It was both. There was an opportunity, but there was also a gap. We’re so fortunate to be in Southern California where the weather is like this every day. During the preseason, other teams would regularly call us asking to come to L.A. to play because it’s often cold where they are. We eventually hit capacity on how many training fields and stadium games we could provide.
It just so happens that, not too far from here, AEG operates about a thousand acres of grassland for the music festivals. The original idea actually came from our CEO, Dan Beckerman. We had this unmet need for a central MLS preseason location and this incredible footprint in a beautiful place in February. It came together serendipitously.
LA Galaxy pre-season training at the Coachella Valley Invitational welcomes record-high teams this year. (Credit: @LAGALAXY)
Q: How does this differ from something like MLB Spring Training?
Tom Braun: I think our product is different because of the concentration. In Major League Baseball, you have teams spread across different venues.
Here, we have 13 MLS teams in one central location. They are training in the same footprint and playing games back-to-back. You can watch the Galaxy play, then walk over and catch another match an hour later.
Q: Moving into 2026, you mentioned this event is the "starting point" for everything coming this summer. How does the desert tournament set the stage for the World Cup?
Tom Braun: This is the springboard.
2026 is the starting point of soccer being back in a massive way, and that all starts at the Coachella Valley Invitational. Because we have so many teams there, it allows us to kick the season off with a level of momentum that leads directly into the World Cup.
People are going to feel a specific kind of excitement come June and July when the biggest sporting event in the world is in our backyard. Our responsibility is to capitalize on that energy.
Q: Even though L.A. isn’t hosting the matches themselves, the Galaxy is acting as a major hub for the international teams. What does that footprint look like?
Tom Braun: We are a venue that will host training for World Cup teams.
We’re proud to be a training site facility, hosting the biggest clubs and national teams in the world. But for us as a club, we also have a detailed plan to partner with local communities to make sure our brand is tied back to the World Cup notoriety.
2024 Season: LA Galaxy pre-season training at the Coachella Valley Invitational. Photo by Robert Mora/LA Galaxy. --- www.LAGalaxy.com --- @LAGALAXY | @LAGALAXYPHOTOS
Q: You’ve been with the club for over a decade. How has your approach to the Galaxy fan base evolved in that time?
Tom Braun: I spend the majority of my time listening. I listen to fan podcasts; we have a fan council. I’ve learned the importance of hearing from them because when you’ve been in an organization a long time, you tend to think you "know," but you don’t. You have to build a strategy around what the people want.
For 2026, we’ve invested in a new video board because fans personally told me they wanted to see more stats during the game. We’re also finally introducing stadium-wide Wi-Fi. We aren’t always going to be perfect. But we are always going to try to be better.
The road to the 2026 MLS season officially begins in Indio as the Coachella Valley Invitational returns to the Empire Polo Club from February 7 to 21.
The Galaxy is set to kick off its desert campaign against the Chicago Fire on February 8, followed by a high-stakes meeting with St. Louis CITY SC on February 11, offering a final look at the squad before they return home to hunt for another MLS Cup.
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela