The Brief

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

For single Angelenos, dating in L.A. can feel a little like going to a Dodgers game by yourself. Despite being surrounded by people in every direction, somehow, you’re still completely alone.

Enter Drafted, a three-year-old singles event series built around a simple truth: plenty of Angelenos who love sports are also looking for love. Drafted brings them together for a low-stakes, enjoyable experience where you can have a few drinks among fellow singles, take in a Dodgers game and potentially meet your soulmate — all in the span of a few hours.

While each Drafted event looks slightly different — including yacht and Halloween parties, as well as events around LAFC and Galaxy games — they all involve the same basic principles: single men and women (as close to a 50/50 ratio as possible) buy tickets to share space while enjoying a sporting event, with icebreaker games and drinks flowing. 

For Dodgers home games, Drafted events include three connected parts: a pregame party at a bar, the Dodgers game itself, and Drafted After Dark, a postgame party at a bar or club open to anyone, regardless of attendance at earlier events. 

The name Drafted is a play on professional sports drafts, in which teams select newcomers for their rosters, and its tongue-in-cheek marketing features sports-inspired copy. Its website urges Angelenos that “it’s time to get drafted,” and encourages them to “stop being a free agent” by getting off the apps “and into the singles section.” For those tired of striking out online, it offers a fun way to potentially meet the love of their life.

Part one: Meet-cute

Singles from a Drafted Dodgers event, pose for a selfie at Dodger Stadium.

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Nick Ducassi

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The LA Local

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Any fan of baseball movies is familiar with the sport’s ability to generate life metaphors, and they can easily be adapted to the pursuit of romance: You can’t meet somebody if you don’t step up to the plate; you gotta see a lot of bad pitches to know which to swing at; and sometimes you’re going to strike out no matter how hard you swing. To paraphrase A League of Their Own, while there’s no crying in baseball, there is sometimes crying in dating.

Drafted’s creation in 2024 was personal for founder Jillian Pfeiffer, an avid Dodgers fan who had spent more than a decade unsuccessfully searching for a partner via dating apps. Pfeiffer told The LA Local that apps make dating, “feel very superficial, very shallow” because hopefuls are “judging based off of a few pictures and a few key facts.” 

Then she had an epiphany while attending a game: she was surrounded by thousands of men, but she had no way of knowing which ones were actually single. What if she could fix that?

Pfeiffer leveraged her experience as a business consultant and created Drafted in April 2024.

“[Drafted clients] are looking for real relationships,” Pfeiffer explained. “This isn’t just casual dating.”

Pfeiffer herself is living proof that it works. She met her fiancé, Alex Martinez at one of the first Drafted events. 

“One night changed everything for me,” Martinez told The LA Local. He is Pfeiffer’s right-hand man in more ways than one. In addition to being her fiancé, he helps with the events, playing affable host, introducing nervous singles to one another and keeping the good times moving. 

Pfeiffer rattled off other Drafted successes with ease: “We have a couple who had a baby. They’re the sweetest family. We have another engaged couple, and several couples who have moved in together, live together and are planning a future together.” 

Pfeiffer said they have a waitlist of more than 200 women for every stadium game. She also joked that since she started Drafted two baseball seasons ago, the Dodgers have won the World Series twice.

To get an inside look at a Drafted event, The LA Local went to Opening Day weekend at Dodger Stadium, for a matchup between the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks — and a bit of matchmaking for 100 L.A. singles. 

Part two: The prospects

Fans in the unofficial singles section during a Drafted Dodgers event at Dodger Stadium.

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Nick Ducassi

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The LA Local

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The event began with a three-hour pregame party at Audio Graph Beer Co. in downtown Los Angeles.

By the time the DJ was blasting reggaeton and hip-hop and the icebreaker games were underway, the room had the unique energy of a place where everyone wants something — and nobody quite wants to admit it.

Everyone’s headshot is mounted on a board for participants to check out their prospects. There is bass thumping from speakers and there’s a scavenger hunt energy underway. 

Several attendees walked around wielding Drafted bingo cards, which nudged singles to start conversations with prompts and dares, such as finding someone wearing a specific Dodgers jersey or offering fries to a stranger.

As Drafted founder Pfeiffer explained, the games exist “just to force people to make conversation with one another so it doesn’t feel like a sixth-grade dance where men are on one side and women on the other.”

Between the $30 pre-party, the $100-plus Dodgers ticket, parking and other drinks and meals, attendees spent around $200 for the whole experience.

Many at the March event told The LA Local it was the first singles event they had ever attended, and all expressed similar dismay with the state of dating in 2026. 

For 26-year-old Javier Muñoz, one of the younger attendees who had been single for over two years, the appeal was simple: He would “love to be cuffed up.” 

A couple of hours into the pregame festivities, he believed he’d made the right call. “So far, I give it a 10 out of 10,” he said. “The host, everyone’s been pretty nice, pretty cool. It’s outdoors, they got food, got drinks, got games. Overall, I recommend it.”

Katie, 35, another Drafted first-timer, decided to come out because “the apps are boring and kind of outdated. I miss meeting people at bars.” 

“It’s rough in these streets,” she joked. 

Katie must have been especially motivated considering she’s a lifelong Phillies fan — not that she’d let someone’s love of the Dodgers get in the way of a genuine connection. “I mean, I love a little conflict,” she explained. “We can duke it out (in) the playoffs.”

Itzel, 30, said she was seeking “a genuine connection” above all. She added that the vibe of the night really stood out to her. “The community here, the people are just, like, so inviting.”

She described online dating as “a big negative” and said most people on the apps seemed to be there “to kill time.”

Raquel, who describes herself as “30-ish” and looking for a long-term commitment — including a husband — blamed the apps for creating too many options and too little seriousness. 

“Nobody really wants to commit,” she said.

Katie, Itzel and Raquel declined to give a full name for privacy reasons. 

Raquel said she’s tried to meet men through hobbies like walking clubs, running clubs and ceramics classes but hadn’t had much luck. What was she hoping to find at the Drafted event? “Shared values, honesty, loyalty and humor — the old-fashioned stuff.”

Once everyone’s courage was suitably liquefied, the group of 100-plus headed to Dodger Stadium. 

Part Three: Game time

Singles from a Drafted Dodgers event, pose for a selfie at Dodger Stadium.

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Nick Ducassi

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The LA Local

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The singles gathered in the Pavilion section in the outfield — what Drafted calls “The Singles Section” — several rows of bleachers that make it easy to swap seats and sidle up to someone you’ve got your eye on. 

As the game wore on and the drinks kept flowing, most attendees seemed to give into the laid-back atmosphere. After all, even the shyest in the group would be hard-pressed to have a bad time watching back-to-back world champions under the night sky.

While none of the people we chatted with appeared to be making specific progress with any fellow prospects, flirtatious vibes and light conversation filled the singles section. Luckily for the romantic hopefuls, the night still had plenty of hours left to come.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Dodgers were down 2-1 when catcher Will Smith — who hit a decisive 11th-inning home run in the 2025 World Series — stepped to the plate. 

Over 400 feet away in the outfield section, more than 100 single Angelenos in their 30s and 40s watched with bated breath. Smith rewarded their hope by rocketing a two-run home run to center field, delivering a Dodgers win and a metaphor as clear as the Echo Park night sky: As long as they stepped up to the plate, they were never out of the game.

It was just the shot of confidence the Drafted hopefuls needed as they prepared for the event’s final chapter, Drafted After Dark, set to go down at Los Globos dance club in Echo Park. As they shuffled to the exits, the excitement was palpable. In life, as in baseball, who doesn’t love extra innings? 

At the after-hours party, we did spot some people making connections, by which we mean, of course, making out. We won’t name names — mostly because it was hard to see in the dim lights of the Los Globos dance floor — out of respect for people’s privacy. 

But let’s just say that at Drafted After Dark, anything can happen — including meeting the love of your life in real life, no swiping required.

Singles from a Drafted Dodgers event, dance at an after party in Echo Park.

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Nick Ducassi

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The LA Local

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Southern California was built on radio.

"I can still hear the jingle KFWB News 98,” wrote  Taline in Los Feliz, during a recent conversation on LAist's daily news show, AirTalk, which airs on 89.3 FM. “I grew up hearing that in my dad's minivan on the way to and from school. It has a special place in my heart.”

Back in April, broadcast company Audacy announced KNX News — one of the last-remaining all-news FM stations — was leaving the FM dial where it had simulcast on 97.1 FM since 2021. The station, which is also one of the oldest in L.A., is not budging from 1070 AM where it has been on the air for more than 100 years. The move away from FM officially happened in May to make way for a new sports talk station, which Audacy officials called an area of growth for advertisers in today’s media landscape.

The move is one in a long line of changes for radio and a reminder that before podcasts, playlists and algorithms, many Southern Californians built their days around radio broadcasts.

Radio, a daily ritual

The construction of KNX

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Herman J. Schultheis

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Los Angeles Public Library

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Michael Jackson, a well-known KNX, personality

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Los Angeles Public Library

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Larry Mantle, now in his 41st year hosting AirTalk, remembers being a kid and dreaming of what it might be like to be behind the mic at one of these radio stations.

“ I grew up with KNX," he said. “My dream job as a kid was to be an anchor on KNX or KFWB, the two local all-news radio stations, 'cause there was nothing like hosting AirTalk that even existed at that point.”

Mantle opened up the phone lines on a recent show to hear from his fellow SoCal radio lovers about the shows they miss and the memories they have. Here's what they had to say:

A love for radio, then and now  

A pilot of KMPC's traffic alert helicopter pictured with his daughter and grandson.

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Los Angeles Public Library

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A 1963 picture of Valley State College (now Los Angeles Valley College) preparing to launch KVCM

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Larry Leach

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Los Angeles Public Library

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“When you'd walk down Hollywood Boulevard where the station was, you could hear it playing as you went down the street,” said  Olivia in Glendale about KLAC 570 with Al Jarvis.

 Larry in Yorba Linda shouted out KBCA Jazz for its 24-hour jazz, saying “When I first moved out here in '68 from Phoenix, which had like an hour a week, it was a real wonder.”

 Mark in Glassell Park emailed that he loves KCRW’s Henry Rollins, writing, “I used to bristle at his unique DJ persona, but over time, I came to love him and his crazy eclectic playlists. I find his knowledge in history and punk rock fascinating. He's a gem and a legend."

"I'd like to give a shout-out to all the DJs working at KXLU, the college station at Loyola Marymount University, said  Jeremy in Culver City in an email. “That station's been on the air for nearly 60 years. I believe it's one of the best examples of what's possible with radio."

"KFWB and KRLA back in the day when they were rock music stations —  Dr. Demento, one of my favorite on-air personalities, also had eclectic music taste," said  Carrie in Desert Edge.

“ Dr. Demento was must listening when I was a kid in junior high school at Le Conte Junior High in Hollywood,” Mantle added. “Every Sunday night on KMET, we would make sure we were listening to Dr. Demento and his funny records.”

The question remains…

An 11-year-old winning a car in a KMPC contest in 1963.

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Los Angeles Public Library

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Listener support is vital to any radio station, and it’s clear KNX has many lifelong fans. AirTalk listeners highlighted their support for household KNX names over the decades like Bill Keene, Melinda Lee, Mike Roy and Jackie Olden.

As KNX makes changes, many are watching closely and thinking about the future of radio.

Listeners like Tommy in La Quinta are left wondering if the radio dial will be the same…

“I’m a hardcore listener, but I don't know about casual listeners [and] if they'll tune to AM,” he said.

After months of hand-wringing, Los Angeles and LA28 have come to a tentative agreement on how Olympics organizers will reimburse the city for its expenses for the 2028 Summer Games.

According to the deal, the private Olympic organizing committee will pay upfront for the estimated cost of services that are not eligible for federal reimbursement, like trash pick-up and traffic control. Under another proposal, the city would also be able to tap an LA28 contingency fund if it isn't fully repaid by the federal government for policing costs at Olympic venues.

The agreement is nearly nine months overdue and still needs approval by Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council.

The 2028 Olympics are intended to be privately financed, and an existing city agreement with LA28 states that the Olympics organizers, not L.A., will pay for extra costs for public services in support of the Games. But L.A. is the financial back-stop for the Olympics, meaning if LA28 goes in the red, taxpayers will pick up the bill.

Beyond that, the city services agreement presents another area where L.A. could incur additional unexpected expenses for hosting the Games. L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez warned LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover earlier this year that a bad deal could "bankrupt" the city.

Jacie Prieto Lopez, an LA28 spokesperson, and Paul Krekorian, who leads the city's office of major events, said in statements that the freshly inked agreement would help deliver a fiscally responsible Games.

"Mayor Bass’ priority is that the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games be fiscally responsible, protect taxpayers, and benefit Angelenos for decades to come. This agreement helps deliver that commitment," Krekorian said.

But the contract between the two parties doesn't fully resolve one of the biggest areas of financial risk for the city: the enormous cost of security for an event as extensive and high-profile as the summer Olympics and Paralympics.

Organizers are counting on the federal government to pay for public safety at Olympic venues that are considered part of a "national special security event." That includes costs for LAPD staffing. LA28 has not included security costs in its $7.1 billion budget — a fact that City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto criticized earlier this year.

The federal government has so far allocated $1 billion for security costs for the Olympics. Exactly where those federal funds will go has not yet been determined, and there's no guarantee they will cover all of L.A.'s policing costs.

To address this, city officials have also proposed an amendment to a 2021 agreement between the city and LA28. That amendment would establish that if L.A. is not reimbursed by the federal government for all its eligible expenses, it could dip into LA28's contingency fund of $270 million before the private organizing committee could use those funds for any legacy projects.

But that bucket of money will first be used for any costs that Olympics organizers still owe if they run out of revenue — meaning if the Olympics don't turn a profit, the city's access to that money will depend on how much is left for the taking.

Civil rights attorney Connie Rice, who has been tracking the city's negotiations with LA28, told LAist the agreement was a "PR document" not a deal. She pointed out that if the federal government does not pay up for security spending as expected, L.A. could be in trouble.

" It leaves the taxpayers with a GoFundMe strategy," she said.

The city services agreement lays the groundwork for more negotiations between LA28 and the city. Each venue will require its own agreement, to be negotiated by July 1, 2027. Venues in the city of L.A. include Dodger Stadium, the L.A. Convention Center, L.A. Memorial Coliseum and the Venice Beach Boardwalk.

The City Council's ad-hoc committee on the 2028 Games will meet Tuesday afternoon to vote on the agreement.