Parks Commission Approves LA Galaxy World Cup Watch Parties

The Hermosa Beach Parks, Recreation and Community Resources Advisory Commission unanimously approved a recommendation Tuesday night to allow LA Galaxy to host FIFA World Cup watch parties on the beach south of the pier this summer, while also advancing new policies to permit vendor sales during beach events.

World Cup Comes to Hermosa

The LA Galaxy proposal would bring watch parties for several World Cup matches to Hermosa Beach in July 2026, with events expected to draw up to 3,000 attendees per day. The matches include semifinal and final games, with the World Cup final being broadcast on July 19th.

"This is one of the biggest events in the world," said Nick Gilbert, LA Galaxy's director of game presentation and events. "The World Cup final is the most viewed event in television with billions of viewers worldwide."

The events would feature a large screen for match broadcasts, a stage, merchandise sales, and sponsor activations. LA Galaxy is also considering adding live music following weekend matches and potentially a VIP section, though the latter raised some concerns among commissioners.

Coordination with Existing Events

The proposed dates overlap with the longstanding AAU Hermosa Beach Championships volleyball tournament. After coordination meetings between city staff, LA Galaxy, and AAU representatives, organizers resolved most logistics issues through sound coordination and clear event boundaries.

One key accommodation: the commission approved a one-time exception to allow temporary AAU volleyball courts to extend slightly south of the commercial zone—just past the 10th Street swing set—to accommodate both events simultaneously.

"AAU is aware that's a possible element and is more than willing to work with LA Galaxy," said Lisa Nichols, the city's community resources director. "They understand the value of us hosting the World Cup watch parties in 2026 and are ready to collaborate."

Commissioner Tom Moroney, initially skeptical about crowd size, changed his perspective when the venue shifted from Pier Plaza to the sand. "The fact that we're putting it on the sand totally alleviates any concern I have about the size of the crowd or how it's going to happen," he said. "I think the community is going to love this event."

The proposal now heads to City Council with the commission's recommendation, though commissioners requested LA Galaxy reconsider plans for a VIP section on the beach, preferring to keep the sand open to all attendees.

New Vendor Sales Policy Advances—Without Alcohol

In a separate but related discussion, the commission recommended allowing food, beverage, and merchandise vendors to operate on the beach during permitted special events, while firmly rejecting any expansion of alcohol sales.

The policy change, requested by City Council for review, came after event producers sought greater flexibility to include additional vendors to improve events' financial viability and enhance attendee offerings.

The Alcohol Question

While City Council's initial request included consideration of alcohol sales on the beach, Police Chief Landon Phillips delivered a detailed presentation outlining significant public safety concerns that ultimately convinced commissioners to maintain the current prohibition.

"There are concerns that if it becomes permitted in the municipal code, that it's going to open a door to one event and perhaps future events," Phillips explained. "If we open that door for one event, then it's going to invite every producer that wants to do something big and fantastic on the beach to do something similar."

Phillips outlined the strict requirements that would be needed if alcohol were permitted: dedicated fencing, security checkpoints at all entry and exit points, dedicated police officers (not just private security), and responsible beverage service training for all vendors—requirements that would strain the department's resources.

"When you have an event of a large magnitude where now I'm going to create the alcohol service area and I need 40 people over the course of a weekend to work it—those are the challenges," he said.

Referencing Manhattan Beach's problems with alcohol-fueled behavior during their 6-Man Volleyball Tournament, Phillips cautioned against the risks of introducing alcohol sales into future beach events :

"We understand that this is being considered now, and there may be one or two events that are on everyone's mind. Volleyball, certainly. But we're also concerned about three years from now, five years from now, 10 years from now. We're just concerned that we're going to look back in 10 years and ask, how did we get here? And I'm not picking on Manhattan Beach, but again, at one point, Six Man had to look back and say, how did we get here? What happened? This is that point in time that we're considering."

The chief also noted that the city would need to staff events entirely with overtime officers, and arrests during events would remove officers from their posts for extended periods.

Commissioner Elka Worner emphasized the family-friendly nature of beach events: "I think the chief has some concerns and there are a lot of kids that attend these events. To have that mix there and that alcohol element there is not I think what we stand for in Hermosa."

Food and Vendor Guidelines

Commissioners extensively debated what types of food sales should be permitted, ultimately recommending limiting sales to prepared or pre-packaged foods that don't require cooking or refrigeration on-site.

"I think you could say just snack food because even if you're doing sandwiches you're directly competing with our businesses downtown," Moroney noted, concerned about impact on local restaurants.

Commissioner Elka Worner raised concerns about oversight: "My concern is which vendors are we going to have? How many? What's the footprint? And who decides which vendor is going to be allowed to be on the beach? I'm concerned about those that might compete directly with our local businesses."

Staff proposed implementing a $115 daily vendor fee but recommended offering a discount to Hermosa Beach-based businesses to incentivize event producers to work with local establishments.

"We can have a discussion on if we want to form a policy," Nichols said. "What I would consider and recommend to the commission for discussion and further consideration is ensuring that the event producers extended the invite for [local businesses] to be invited as part of the event footprint as a vendor and maybe providing a discount to the vendor fee if they select a Hermosa Beach based business."

The commission voted 5-0 to recommend the vendor sales policy to City Council with modifications limiting food to prepared items only, maintaining the alcohol prohibition, and encouraging discounted fees for local businesses.

Swimming Pool Advocates Dive In Again

The commission also heard from representatives of the Hermosa Pool Initiative, a group advocating for a community swimming pool. Staff indicated they haven't yet begun research on pool feasibility due to competing priorities but encouraged the group to continue their own research and outreach.

Both the LA Galaxy World Cup watch party proposal and the vendor sales policy recommendations now move to City Council for final consideration.