MLS "will unveil the single most important addition to
the league" since the '96 inaugural season with the opening
of the Crew's new 22,485-seat, $28.5M stadium on Saturday,
according to Steven Goff of the WASHINGTON POST. While Goff
writes that stadiums "have been one of MLS's biggest
problems," Crew Investor-Operator Lamar Hunt said, "This
stadium will be extremely important in the development of
MLS and the development of soccer in this country"
(WASHINGTON POST, 5/14). On ESPN.com, Jamie Trecker writes,
"It is the clearest symbol yet that soccer may well have a
professional future on these shores" (ESPN.com, 5/14). MLS
Dir of Communications Dan Courtemanche: "With this, it looks
like Americans are taking the game more seriously" (AP,
5/14). CBS SportsLine's Michael Lewis wrote that for "a
number of reasons, MLS teams need stadiums to call their
own" (CBS SportsLine, 5/13). USA TODAY's Peter Brewington
reported that the privately financed facility on state land
is "not fancy," according to Crew fans who toured the
facility. Crew fan Matt Bernhardt: "It's amazing how much
isn't here. It's very spartan" (USA TODAY, 5/13). A
capacity crowd is expected on Saturday (AP, 5/14).
GIVING BACK: MLS Commissioner Doug Logan said that the
MetroStars could have their own facility "in two or three
years" in northern NJ, and the United also has plans for a
new facility. MLS "has a rebate program that can give back
as much as five percent of the stadium construction costs
out of incremental revenues generated each year for 10
years." Logan: "Conceivably, 50 percent of the costs of the
stadium could be rebated back to an investor who chooses to
take the risk" (CBS SportsLine, 5/13).
