Columbus Crew Stadium

As a charter franchise in the MLS, the Columbus Crew commenced play at Ohio Stadium in MLS’s inaugural season of 1996. As it is principally an American Football stadium, the facility was never popular with the team or its fans. When renovations to the football stadium forced the Crew out, their owner, oil billionaire Lamar Hunt, decided to build the team its own dedicated home. Thus, Crew Stadium was born – purpose-built for the Columbus Crew in the winter of 1998/99. The construction cost of $28.5 million was covered entirely with private funds from Mr. Hunt and his Hunt Sports group.

The stadium seats approximately 22,500 (with room to expand to 30,000 total seats) and is located on the grounds of the Ohio Exposition Center and State Fairgrounds. Crew stadium opened May 15, 1999 with a match between the home side and the New England Revolution. It was the first stadium in the United States designed specifically for Major League Soccer (including a FIFA regulation 115yd x 75yd pitch), and has been credited with inspiring the wave of construction of so called soccer-specific stadia throughout the league (for the 2007 season 7 of the league’s 13 teams own or share a dedicated soccer stadium, with at least three others having progressed significantly with stadium plans of their own).

In addition to hosting the Crew’s home games, the stadium has hosted numerous United States Men’s and Women’s National Team matches, the 2001 MLS Cup championship, the 2000 and 2005 MLS All-Star Games, the 2001 and 2003 NCAA Men’s College Cup national soccer championships, and the 2003 Women`s World Cup. It was the host stadium for the 2002 Major League Lacrosse championship game. Crew stadium has also hosted games for the Ohio High School State Championship tournaments in both football and soccer. The stadium will also be the host of the first annual Rock on the Range festival to be held in May. It also hosts the annual Westerville Football Classic, featuring the Westerville Central, Westerville North, Westerville South, and New Albany football teams.

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