By Mike Browning
When the FIFA World Cup comes to Los Angeles this summer, the city will come alive with big screens, music, food, and thousands of fans gathering at official “Fan Zones” across the county. These spaces are meant to make the tournament accessible, giving people a shared experience without the high cost of stadium tickets.
But for millions of residents in the San Fernando Valley, that promise feels incomplete.
Yes, there are Fan Zones spread across Los Angeles, from Venice Beach to Downtown to Pomona. And yes, one site, Hansen Dam, technically puts the Valley on the map, and then there is a Burbank site. But for nearly two million people who live here in the Los Angeles Valley communities, that inclusion feels more symbolic than real.
Because Hansen Dam isn’t where the Valley lives.
Hansen Dam is in the far northeast edge of the Valley, so it is technically within the region but functionally isolated from it. It is far from population centers, transit routes, and commercial areas. Getting there without a car means taking several buses, spending a lot of time traveling, and walking a long distance. For many residents, it just isn’t practical.
The San Fernando Valley is not a secondary market. It is one of the largest and most densely populated areas in Los Angeles. From North Hollywood and Panorama City to Van Nuys, Reseda, Canoga Park, and Chatsworth, the Valley is a network of communities where people live, work, and gather every day.
Yet none of these central neighborhoods, where most Valley residents live, has a Fan Zone.
If the purpose of these events is to “meet people where they are,” this strategy falls short.
Sepulveda Basin, located in the center of the Valley near the 101 and 405 freeways, draws significantly more visitors each year than Hansen Dam. It is easily accessible by transit, surrounded by dense neighborhoods, and already serves as the Valley’s primary recreation hub.
We know where people gather.
This is not simply a logistical oversight; it reinforces long-standing divides in who gets to take part in shared civic moments. These events are about more than sports.
The World Cup, and soon the 2028 Olympics, are global celebrations. They shape how residents experience their city and whether they feel included. When entire regions are left out, the message is clear: some communities are treated as an afterthought.
The World Cup is a preview. The Olympics are the next test.
Los Angeles has promised to build community-based fan zones for the 2028 Games, striving to ensure every resident can participate, no matter their ZIP code. That commitment only matters if it leads to better fan zone planning.
The solution is not complicated. Future fan zones should be placed where people already live and gather, such as Van Nuys, the Basin, North Hollywood, and Woodland Hills, the places connected by transit and integral to daily life.
It’s about choosing the right ones.
Los Angeles still has time to get this right.
Because inclusion is not about putting a dot on the map.
It is about making sure people can actually get there and feel like they belong when they arrive.
For the 2028 Olympics, the Valley doesn’t need a token location.
It needs a seat at the center of the celebration.
Mike Browning is the president and CEO of the Insight Center for Community Economic Development.