Major League Soccer will take a significant step forward in the development of professional soccer in the United States with the debut of Columbus Crew Stadium, the first major-league stadium built specifically for soccer in the United States, on Saturday, May 15. Walter Zenga and the New England Revolution invade central Ohio for the inaugural game at the new stadium. An overflow crowd of more than 23,000 fans is expected for the historic event. “The opening of Columbus Crew Stadium as the first major league stadium built specifically for soccer in the United States plays a pivotal role in the league’s grand journey of establishing itself on the American sports landscape,” said MLS commissioner Doug Logan said. “We will continue to develop homes for our sport that are of an appropriate scale and provide our fans the opportunity to witness the game the way it should be played.” One of the goals of Major League Soccer’s original business plan was for the league’s teams to play in stadiums with a soccer configuration that seated 22,000 to 40,000 spectators. Columbus Crew Stadium, San Jose’s Spartan Stadium and Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale are the only current MLS venues with a capacity of less than 50,000. Many MLS teams are currently analyzing plans to construct soccer-specific stadiums in their market. In fact, the MetroStars have staff members dedicated full time to their stadium project. “We hope to have more announcements this year regarding stadium plans in additional MLS markets,” Logan added. “The success of Columbus Crew Stadium is going to generate additional excitement among MLS teams.” The Crew’s search for a permanent home had been underway since the club’s inception in 1996 and continued into the 1998 season. After one public vote in Franklin County and one city referendum in Dublin, Ohio to build a stadium both failed, MLS Investor-Operator Lamar Hunt decided to take matters into his own hands and privately finance a major league soccer-specific stadium in Columbus. Stadium construction began August 14, 1998, leaving just 10 months and one day before the new 22,500-seat facility would open its doors to Columbus and America’s soccer community. Due to the May 15 opening date, MLS schedulemakers had Columbus on the road for the first seven games of the 1999 season. After winning just four road games in each of the last two seasons (Columbus was 4-12 on the road in both 1997 and 1998), the Crew has jumped out to a 5-2 record and leads the Eastern Conference with 11 points. “If we didn’t have a new stadium I don’t know if I’d want to go home,” Columbus Head Coach Tom Fitzgerald said. “Our objective heading into the season was to win all seven games, but anything above four wins we would have been satisfied with.” Seven of the next eight Crew games are at home, including a doubleheader with the United States U-17 national team vs. El Salvador on May 22. To date, the Crew organization has sold more than 9,000 season tickets, and the 1,000 single-game tickets for Saturday’s inaugural match recently sold out in just eight minutes. Although the stadium has an official seating capacity of 22,500 spectators, standing room only tickets and temporary seating for the inaugural game will accommodate more than 23,000 fans. “I’m proud to be a part of history,” said Crew defender and team captain Thomas Dooley. “I think it is great that we are the first team to have an opportunity to play in a new stadium built for us. It is now up to us as players, and the fans, to make this venue truly great. As a player, the 12th man is a valuable asset and we expect them to give us a tremendous home-field advantage this season.” “It’s going to be a beautiful game,” New England forward Giovanni Savarese told the Boston Herald. “A soccer party.” Weather forecast for May 15 in Columbus: Partly cloudy and 74 degrees Fahrenheit.