Dodger Stadium to host Galaxy soccer matches

Dodgers officials announced Wednesday that Dodger Stadium plans to host the Los Angeles Galaxy for soccer matches for the first time in August. It'll be the first time Dodger Stadium will host soccer games since it became home to the Dodgers in 1962.

L.A. Galaxy President Chris Klein said it's an honor to be able to bring soccer fans to such an iconic stadium. 

"I've watched many games at Dodger Stadium and I don't know that you get a better setting for a baseball game or a soccer game in our country," he said." I think we're changing soccer culture already. I think that further establishing ourselves and having a game here can only further the things that we've done in the past 15 years in this market and in our country."

Dodgers President Stan Kasten said he can't recall who brought up the idea of playing soccer on the baseball field. But he said the team's owners have been fixing up the stadium over the past year and thought "why not?"

"We don't have to be restricted to just 81 baseball games and post season, we can bring in world class events like concerts, world class events like hockey and certainly world class events like soccer," he said. "That's what we're all about — bringing more events to Los Angeles fans and Dodger fans."

The first match of the Guinness International Champions Cup starts in Spain on July 27. Teams will play games in San Francisco, Indianapolis and Phoenix before heading to L.A. for the fifth match on August 3rd. Dodger Stadium will host a double-header between the L.A. Galaxy, Everton, Juventus and Real Madrid. Winners will travel on to New York after that and the championship will end in Miami.