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Major League Soccer announced on Wednesday the home openers for each team for the league’s 22nd season. Columbus Crew SC will start the year at MAPFRE Stadium on Saturday March 4 at 2:00 p.m. ET against Eastern Conference rivals Chicago Fire.
This contest not only marks the 22nd season for Black & Gold soccer in Columbus, but also the 19th year of play in MAPFRE Stadium, which opened as the first professional soccer specific stadium in 1999.
This game marks the second-earliest Crew SC has begun a regular season. The first was a March 2 road tilt with Chivas USA in 2013 — a 3-0 win. It will be the earliest home opener on record, the fifth time the Black & Gold has opened the season against Chicago – last time in 2006 – and the third time overall that the rivals begin the season in a clash at MAPFRE Stadium.
According to the press release from Crew SC...
Tickets for the March 4 match are set to be available at a limited-time, special price, beginning at $17 starting today at 1:00 p.m. ET. Tickets to Opening Match on March 4 can also be acquired by purchasing 2017 Season Ticket Memberships or a 10-Match Plan or a Holiday Scarf Package. The Holiday Scarf Package includes two tickets to the March 4 Opening Match against the Fire at MAPFRE Stadium along with two tickets to a future match of their choice and two limited edition Crew SC scarves, all starting at $88. Ticket information on all avenues to seats for Opening Match is available by calling 614-447-2739 and online via ColumbusCrewSC.com.
After a record-setting attendance year in 2016, it will likely be a cold but welcomed start to a new season. Crew SC finished ninth in the Eastern Conference with 36 points and head coach Gregg Berhalter has promised a new look for the team in 2017.