Historic-Crew-Stadium

JOURNALING:
HISTORIC CREW STADIUM
Historic Crew Stadium (aka: Crew Stadium or Estadia Crew; Mapfre Stadium) was built on the Ohio State Fairgrounds by Columbus Crew owner Lamar Hunt and the Hunt Sports Group. When it opened 5/15/1999, it was the first soccer specific stadium in fledgling Major League Soccer. The Crew played their games here after starting play at The Ohio State University Football Stadium (affectionately known as “The Shoe”), in the 1996 to 1998 seasons. I’ve been a season ticket holder since that inaugural season of 1996. June 19, 2021, the Crew played their final home game at the stadium with striker Gyasi Zardes scoring both goals in the 2-0 victory over the Chicago Fire. On 7/3/21, the Crew played their first game in their new home, Lower.com Field, against the New England Revolution. Fittingly, it was Gyasi Zardes who scored the first Crew goal in the 2-2 tie game.

In 2022, MLS began a new “second tier” league, MLSNEXT Pro. Columbus Crew2 was one of the teams in that league and are playing their games at what is now dubbed “Historic Crew Stadium.” I’ve been a season ticket holder from the beginning of this team, “two.” And, Crew2 are the first champions of that new league, beating St. Louis CITY2 4-1 on 10/8/22.
While “Lower dot com” is a beautiful, fancy new place in the ideal location near the baseball field and the hockey stadium, and I was there at the ground-breaking for this stadium, my hear has always belonged to their first real home. I was there 8/14/98 for THAT ground breaking, too.

The Crew2 nickname is the “Capybaras”, a fan-conceived and driven moniker that caught on (obviously) with the organization during the first season.

Halftime of the Capybaras’ first home game of the 2023 season, a 3-0 win over NEII 4/16/23.

The stage was built at the northern end of the stadium in 2008 for concerts after a nearby amphitheater closed.

CREDITS: clipart; PHOTOS: by me; KIT: "Sporty: Soccer" by Kristin Aagard; FONT: OldNewspaperType