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Hunter is hoping to draw a crowd

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Times Staff Writer

With an introduction done in English and Spanish and with a jersey that had his name translated into Spanish on the back, Shawn “El Cazador” Hunter was introduced Tuesday as Chivas USA’s new chief executive, president and part-owner at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

“El Cazador” means Hunter in Spanish.

Hunter, 44, did not reveal his exact ownership stake, but he did say “it’s a big enough percentage to motivate me and keep me up at night.”

A former AEG executive with more than 20 years experience in sports, Hunter said Chivas USA has the most potential of any team he has worked with because of its links to the Mexican soccer club Chivas de Guadalajara and because of the large Latino community here.

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“My job is to unlock that fan base that we know is out there,” he said.

“I told our players . . . they are doing a great job and they deserve to play in front of 25,000 people every night and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Hunter added that it would take time to get attendance up to that level. AEG owns the Home Depot Center and it controls the Galaxy, which also plays its home games in Carson.

“Good things are happening on the field, good things are going to happen up here now, we just need to have patience,” Chivas USA co-owner Antonio Cue said. For the next couple of years, their goal is to fill up the Home Depot Center.

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But Chivas would like to eventually play in its own stadium, somewhere close to Los Angeles, Cue said. “That’s one of the things that Shawn has done in the past. He is one person that is going to help us get our own place.”

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jaime.cá rdenas@latimes.com

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