Columbus Crew stadium plans finalized
NEW YORK (Tuesday, May 19, 1998) – The Columbus Crew has tentatively set a date for mid-July to break ground for a new soccer-specific stadium on the grounds of the Ohio Expo Center in downtown Columbus.
The new 22,500-seat facility will be the first stadium in Major League Soccer to be built specifically for soccer in the United States, giving MLS three soccer stadiums with seating capacities ranging from 20,000 to 30,000. Ft. Lauderdale's Lockhart Stadium, the recently renovated home of the Miami Fusion, and San Jose's Spartan Stadium, which underwent a field-widening project during the recent offseason, both provide ideal atmospheres for MLS teams and their fans.
Columbus officials announced the stadium's construction timeline and seating priority plan today at a news conference. NBBJ Architects will lead the design work for the stadium and has provided a timeline for the various stages of the project.
"This is a milestone for the Crew, Major League Soccer and soccer in the United States," said Columbus President and General Manager Jamey Rootes. "This stadium will give Crew fans all the color, excitement and pageantry that has made soccer, world-class soccer, the most popular sport on earth. The design will put fans right on top of the action and the concessions will be delivered predominantly within view of the field. This stadium will provide an intimate environment that will meet the demands of soccer and the Crew experience for years to come."
The new stadium, which is expected to cost $15 - $17 million, is expected to be completed by April 1999. The Crew will most likely begin the 1999 MLS season with a road trip to provide ample time for construction.
In addition to the new stadium in Columbus, the $4 million upgrade to Lockhart Stadium and the $1.5 million field-widening project in San Jose, the MetroStars have investigated soccer-specific stadium options. The club plays its games at Giants Stadium, but limitations on corporate sponsorship endeavors and the lack of a year-round grass field have the team considering alternative sites. Elizabeth, Perth Amboy, Bayonne and Newark, New Jersey are all mentioned as possible sites for a new stadium, as is New York City.
"Our relationship with Giants Stadium is a very good one," said MetroStars Vice President and General Manager Charlie Stillitano. "This stadium project is one that would go forward only if we cannot work things out with Giants Stadium. We are looking at sites and keeping an open mind."
"We have made great strides this year with Lockhart Stadium and Spartan Stadium," MLS Commissioner Douglas G. Logan said. "The new Columbus stadium will be the prototype for the future of Major League Soccer. We are working in conjunction with NBBJ Architects to set the standard for professional soccer stadiums in the United States. The new stadium in Columbus will not only be a great host for MLS contests, but also for many international soccer matches."
MLS QUOTES OF THE WEEK
``While some days I feel like jumping off that ledge, most days I'm pumped up about this team because I'm a fighter. I don't lose sleep over what we are doing in the front office because I know I have one of the best front offices in Major League Soccer. I lose sleep over the team, the quality of the product out on the field.'' – Tampa Bay General Manager Nick Sakiewicz on the Mutiny's fighting spirit. (from the Tampa Tribune)
"The crowd was electric. To have 15,000-plus in the stands meant so much, especially considering there were more than 255,000 people at the Byron Nelson Golf Tournament throughout the weekend and a sold-out playoff hockey game at Reunion Arena at the same time as our match. The crowd really drove the atmosphere tonight." - Dallas Burn General Manager Billy Hicks on the club's attendance last Saturday evening.
"We knew he [Podbrozny] needed time in training to become one of us. Atmosphere is very important to him. We saw today how good Jerzy can be for us. It was important for our mentality, and I'm very happy for him." – Chicago midfielder Peter Nowak on teammate Jerzy Podbrozny.
"I came up with some big saves to keep us in the game. That's what goalkeeping is all about." – San Jose goalkeeper Andy Kirk following Saturday's 2-0 win over Miami.
"His confidence is going up and up and up. Games like today with big saves are games you look back to later on. He has all the skills to be a great goalkeeper.'' – San Jose defender John Doyle on Kirk's shutout. (from the San Jose Mercury News)
"We've got to get our situation sorted. This is the way it's going to be for six or eight weeks [without Pope and Agoos]. We've got to figure it out. It's everyone, including myself." – D.C. United Head Coach Bruce Arena after losing 4-3 to the MetroStars on Saturday.
"After years of extensive research I've come to the conclusion it makes absolutely no difference one way or the other. I've had wonderful performances and horrible performances, and everything in between. I'm talking about soccer here." -- MetroStars defender Alexi Lalas, one of eight unmarried players on the U.S. World Cup roster, on how he has not found celibacy to be a performance enhancer. (from USA TODAY)
"He played a perfect game offensively and defensively. I don't remember his losing one ball. His distribution was perfect." – U.S. National team Head Coach Steve Sampson describing Columbus midfielder Brian Maisonneuve's play during the U.S. World Cup team's 0-0 tie against Macedonia last Saturday.
"You start to wonder. What did I do to deserve this?" – Columbus Head Coach Tom Fitzgerald on losing four players to the U.S. World Cup team and two more starters to injury. (from the Los Angeles Times)
HATS OFF IN '98: A recent spate of hat tricks has kick-started MLS offenses and left some coaches (and goalkeepers) pulling their hair out over defensive inadequacy. On Sunday, May 17, the Los Angeles Galaxy's Martin Machon scored three times in the second half to lead the 9-0 Galaxy to a 4-2 win at Ohio Stadium against the Crew. Machon, who ordered his teammates to get him the ball in a halftime tirade, joined Galaxy teammate and U.S. National Team midfielder Cobi Jones, who hit the back of the net three times in the Galaxy's 7-4 win at the Rose Bowl against Colorado on May 6. On Saturday, one day before Machon tallied the fifth hat trick of the 1998 MLS season, Kansas City forward Vitalis "Digital" Takawira scored three goals in nine minutes at Foxboro to lead the Wizards past New England, 3-1. While Takawira notched the first hat trick in the Kansas City organization's history, it was the second hat trick allowed in three games by New England, who were victimized on the same Foxboro pitch just six days earlier when Tampa Bay Mutiny forward Musa Shannon exploded for three goals. Four of the five three-goal performances have occurred during the month of May, while Columbus Crew forward Stern John was the lone player to achieve the feat in April, with a hat trick on April 18 in a 5-1 win against Miami. The five hat tricks during the '98 campaign equal the total number that the league saw in 1997, and trail by four the number of hat tricks (9) during 1996, the inaugural MLS season. The Colorado Rapids and the San Jose Clash are the lone charter members of MLS who have not had a player score three or more goals in a game, while Los Angeles players have tallied an incredible seven hat tricks in three years (Eduardo Hurtado - 3, Cobi Jones - 2, Jose Vasquez and Machon).
WHERE HAVE ALL THE SHOOTOUTS GONE?: After the shootout tiebreaker decided five of the first 11 and 10 of the league's first 36 games during the 1998 season, several articles pointed out that MLS was on pace to severely outdistance the 21% shootout representation during each of the league's first two seasons (33 shootouts in 160 games, during 1997, and 34 shootouts in 160 games, during 1996). However, a shootout has not occurred in the last 21 consecutive MLS matches, reducing the ratio to 18%.
ATTACK FROM THE BACK: Assists and central defenders seem like two things that do not go together, but Tampa Bay Mutiny strongman Chris "The Undertaker" Houser has recently been responsible for generating the Mutiny attack. Houser, with five assists in his last three games, and forward Musa Shannon, who has five goals in the last three Mutiny contests, are combining with Mutiny veterans Steve Ralston and Gilmar to bring some life to a previously stagnant offense. Houser is furthering his cause to join Ralston and defender Mike Duhaney as the Mutiny's third Bandai Rookie of the Year. With his five assists for the season, Houser is only one assist shy of the league high of six assists (for central defenders) that San Jose's John Doyle amassed during the entire 1996 season. Putting Houser's five assists in perspective, here are year-to-date career assist totals for other central defenders:
Games Played Assists
John Doyle, San Jose 65 9
Chris Houser, Tampa Bay 9 5
Marcelo Balboa, Colorado 55 5
Alexi Lalas, MetroStars 63 4
Thomas Dooley, Columbus 21 3
Eddie Pope, D.C. United 54 3
Rhett Harty, MetroStars 62 3
Cle Kooiman, Miami 63 3
Sean Bowers, Kansas City 65 3
Steve Trittschuh, Colorado 71 3
Ricardo Iribarren, Columbus 23 2
Mike Lapper, Columbus 27 2
Matt McKeon, Kansas City 51 2
Dan Calichman, Los Angeles 68 1
Robin Fraser, Los Angeles 59 0