Real Madrid, one of the world’s elite soccer teams, plans to train at UCLA in private practices from July 29 through Aug. 5.
Practices are closed to the public.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Spanish squad will hold training sessions on UCLA’s North Athletic Field. The team will practice once or twice daily, at 10 a.m. and/or 5 p.m., excluding match days. Real Madrid will play against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Aug. 1 in Phoenix, and against Everton or Juventus on Aug. 3 in Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium.
Before and after Real Madrid’s practices at UCLA, there will be limited opportunities for autographs on Wilson Plaza when the players travel between their on-campus locker room and the North Athletic Field.
UCLA's pristine fields and top-notch athletic facilities have been a destination for European soccer teams since 2005, when the English club Chelsea trained at UCLA.
"Our facilities are unrivaled in Los Angeles and all of Southern California," said Richard Mylin, associate director of facility and event operations for UCLA Recreation, adding that the field's privacy makes it ideal for these world-class teams to prepare for their upcoming seasons.
Media should contact Benjamin Spencer, director of communications for Relevent Sports, at bspencer@releventsports.com with questions, and by July 24 to request credentials for the matches. Limited portions of select practices at UCLA will be open to media only on July 29, 30 and 31, and Aug. 2, 4 and 5. To cover practices at UCLA, media will be required to present LAPD media passes or other professional media credentials. Information about which training sessions will be open to the media will be posted each day on Real Madrid’s website, realmadrid.com.
At UCLA, media should park in parking structures 4 or 7 ($12 per day or $1 per 20 minutes). News vans taller than the 8-foot, 2-inch clearance can park at the very front of the bus cutout on Charles E. Young Drive North, or along the red curb in the northeast quadrant of the North Westwood Plaza turnaround, near the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Vehicles and news vans will be ticketed if they are parked in other red zones or non-parking areas. (Parking map, campus map)
The team’s news conferences at UCLA will take place in Korn Convocation Hall at the Anderson School of Management.
Tentative schedule – for updates, visit realmadrid.com | ||
Training at UCLA (closed to public) | News conferences at UCLA | |
Monday, July 29 | 5 p.m. (briefly open to press) | 7 p.m. |
Tuesday, July 30 | 10 a.m. (briefly open to press) | 12 p.m. |
5 p.m. (closed to press) | ||
Wednesday, July 31 | 10 a.m. (briefly open to press) | 12:15 p.m. |
Thursday, Aug. 1 Most of team in Az. | 10 a.m. (closed to press) | |
5 p.m. (closed to press) | ||
Friday, Aug. 2 | 5 p.m. (briefly open to press) | 7 p.m. |
Sunday, Aug. 4 | 5 p.m. (briefly open to press) | 7 p.m. |
Monday, Aug. 5 | 10 a.m. (briefly open to press) |