After a long (according to US standards) and historic run, the Columbus Crew Stadium, now known as MAPFRE Stadium, may be set to enter phase 2.0. The MLS reported this week that the club are beginning initial research into either expanding or rebuilding the Crew’s home.
Opened in 1999, Columbus state that it is the first soccer specific stadium in the United States. While that may be debatable, it is definitely the first for the MLS and the most well known. Costing only $28 million back in the late 90s, the Crew will have to invest a much large amount in order to catch up today’s MLS standards.
The San Jose Earthquakes are the most recent team to open a new ground, Avaya Stadium, at a cost of around $100 million. With the addition of corporate sponsor MAPFRE, the Crew are more likely to acquire the funds to renovate or rebuild their home.
Holding just under 20,000, the stadium has been host to 11 US Men's National Team matches (with another scheduled for November), six Women’s FIFA World Cup games and two MLS Finals. With such a long history and clear favorite spot of US Soccer, why would the club want to divert funds to starting over when some clubs still haven’t built their first soccer specific stadium?
Four reasons why the Crew will ultimately need to move on to Crew Stadium 2.0:
1 - Location
MAPFRE is only four miles north of downtown Columbus, but that is just enough to make it another world from the center of the action. You either go to downtown or the stadium, you aren’t doing both in the same trip. Thus the feel around the stadium before and after the game is limited. Placing a new stadium within walking distance of downtown, similar to Seattle, is the idea the Crew ownership group are after.
2 - Capacity
At nearly 20,000 seats, Columbus isn’t the smallest in the MLS, but only by about two thousand. In order to keep up with the other growing teams and grounds, the Crew need to push that number up to 30,000. Building a new home stadium is tandem with the idea of a great atmosphere. To achieve this you need design, but also a crowd. With a better location there will be more demand and you need a stadium that can accommodate it rather than limit intake.
3 - Revenue
Yes, building at all will be a negative return for the Crew at first. But over time, increased capacity and a better location will see larger crowds, a bigger fan base, and thus more revenue. As the league expands and attracts more talent from around the world, the Crew need to resources to convince top players that Columbus is a home for them.
4 - Destination Stadium
As noted above, Columbus have a history as a favorite for US matches. But that will only last so long as other teams build new and better stadiums, plus get larger fan bases. While the front office want a better destination spot for the people of Columbus, they have to advance to make sure they do not lose their spot as a primary ground for key matches.
With Atlanta, Minnesota, DC and more rolling out more images of their new grounds, it is only a matter of time before Columbus join the party with a new, shiny home.
