Summary: <br> Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged Learning at <a href="http://WorkInSports.com">WorkInSports.com</a> and this is the Work In Sports podcast…<br> <br> <br> <br> What would you do if someone asked you to build a new pro sports brand from the ground up, AND build a new stadium in LA? Your budget is 350 million -- go!<br> <br> <br> <br> Me? I’d probably roll up in the fetal position and cry myself to sleep. This is a massive undertaking. <br> <br> <br> <br> Wrong steps have enormous ramifications. And I am known for my wrong steps, it’s part of my charm.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> You can’t do over a brand, it is a living breathing thing that gets established then takes on a life of its own through the local community and sports ecosystem.<br> <br> <br> <br> You can’t wing it on a stadium build, there are layers and layers of decisions that will have an impact felt for decades.<br> <br> <br> <br> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/benny-tran-a058224/">Benny Tran, EVP of Corporate Strategy and Operations for LAFC </a>is the mind behind these monumentally important aspects I’ve outlined for you. When you hear Benny explain it, as you are about to, it seems like a calm walk in the park. <br> <br> <br> <br> He is so even-keeled -- methodical, pragmatic -- but also gives off this vibe like he has his arms around everything just fine. Me I feel like I’m constantly sticking my fingers in holes, Benny just has a different air about him.<br> <br> <br> <br> Can you tell I admire this guy?<br> <br> <br> <br> Maybe it’s because in his life prior to sports, he worked on global initiatives like HIV/AIDS treatment in Southeast Asia, national health strategies and climate action. <br> <br> <br> <br> When you have your hands in issues of this magnitude, what’s getting a stadium built? <br> <br> <br> <br> There is a lot in this conversation -- from business intelligence, facility management, brand identity, community involvement, the importance oof daily workers and more. <br> <br> <br> <br> Here’s Benny Tran, buckle up.<br> <br> <br> <br> Watch Benny Tran on the Work In Sports Podcast<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> https://youtu.be/JyYpreggcd4<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Questions for Benny Tran, EVP Corporate Strategy and Operations LAFC<br> <br> <br> <br> 1: Undergrad at Emory majoring in Middle Eastern Studies and Arabic, MPA in public policy from Princeton, over a decade with the Clinton Foundation working on climate initiatives and Clinton Health Access Initiative – anything was in reach for you at any moment, so why sports? Why was being a part of the LAFC story the right move for you? <br> <br> <br> <br> 2: October 30th 2014, MLS awards a new expansion club to Los Angeles after Chivas USA dissolved. You were hired a month later in December 2014 to be the SVP of Corporate Strategy and Development – early on, with so much to do, does it feel like trying to boil the ocean? How do you even start to prioritize and focus? <br> <br> <br> <br> 3: Much of your background, prior to sports, was in international development. <br> <br> <br> <br> As you set forth to build a cutting-edge stadium in Los Angeles that would not only represent the city and the LAFC brand, but also employ thousands of people and open up the community – which proved harder your work in building public health infrastructure to treat people living with HIV/AIDS in SE Asia or getting a stadium built in LA? <br> <br> <br> <br> 4: I was reading through the stats of Banc of California stadium and I found myself saying “that’s cool” or “what a cool idea!” a lot. Every seat is within 135 ft of the pitch, it is an LEED silver certified stadium, over 1,
