Express Tries New Home in Valley : L.A. Leaves Coliseum to Play Arizona at Pierce College

The downtrodden Los Angeles Express, seeking shelter and a better way of life, will pack up all its worldly belongings today and head north to the San Fernando Valley for its final home game of the 1985 season.

Financially and physically beaten for too long now, the Express, in kind of a modern-day version of “The Grapes of Wrath,” has left the dust bowl it called the Coliseum in search of a land that hopefully will provide better times.

Rather than face another embarrassing turnout at the Coliseum (a total of 12,629 for its last three home games), the Express will play the Arizona Outlaws at 5 p.m. today at Pierce College in Woodland Hills.

The Express is hoping that the Valley will become its home when the USFL moves to a fall schedule in 1986.

Pierce College has a capacity of only 5,000, but 10,000 seats have been added--at a cost of $5 per seat--for today’s game. The Express drew 5,000 at Pierce College for an exhibition game earlier this season, prompting the idea to move the team’s final home game.

“The players are excited from the standpoint that it could mean something for them in the future,” Express Coach John Hadl said. “It’s more of a hope thing than anything else. It could be a chance for the Express to get its own following and its own territory.”

About 1,000 advance tickets have been sold for today’s game, but officials at Pierce College are expecting a large walk-up gate and are hoping for a crowd of between 10,000 and 15,000.

The Express, still without an owner, is hoping a larger crowd will pique the interest of several prospective buyers who supposedly will be in attendance.

But right now, this isn’t much of a team. The 3-13 Express, crippled by injury and lethargy this season, will probably suit up only 37 players.

Los Angeles has lost six straight games and barely has enough healthy players to field a team. Arizona (7-9), coached by Frank Kush, is still fighting for a USFL playoff spot.