Los Angeles, May 8 (IANS): The Los Angeles city council has announced the approval of a project to build a football stadium for the new Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise, the Los Angeles Football Club.

The approval allows the new LAFC stadium to be built next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with a capacity for 22,000 fans. It should be completed in time for the 2018 season, reports Efe.

Construction will begin once the Sports Arena, currently occupying that location, was demolished, something that will perhaps be done as early as this summer.

Before the historic Los Angeles Sports Arena is demolished, it could host a football event to ring down the curtain on a place where the legendary boxer Mohammed Ali fought.

The stadium is expected to be finished for the LAFC's debut as the new MLS team in the first months of 2018.

Private investment for this project will be over $250 million and will include, besides a stadium with cutting-edge technology, spaces for restaurants, offices, a conference centre, a football museum and more.

"L.A. is the center of the sports world - and the LA Football Club is set to become the crown jewel of Los Angeles' rich soccer heritage," Mayor Eric Garcetti said on Saturday. "I applaud the City Council for approving this world-class stadium."