Historic Crew Stadium
Historic Crew Stadium, previously known as Columbus Crew Stadium and Mapfre Stadium, is a soccer-specific stadium in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It primarily served as the home stadium of the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer from 1999 until 2021, when the team moved to Lower.com Field. Historic Crew Stadium is the current home of the Crew's training facility, the OhioHealth Performance Center and MLS Next Pro team Columbus Crew 2. Historic Crew Stadium is also the site of a variety of additional events in amateur and professional soccer, American football, lacrosse, and rugby, and is a regular site for outdoor concerts due to the permanent stage in the north end zone.
Aerial view of the stadium, 2018 | |
| Former names |
|
|---|---|
| Address | 1 Black and Gold Boulevard |
| Location | Columbus, Ohio |
| Coordinates | 40°0′34″N 82°59′28″W |
| Operator | Columbus Crew |
| Capacity | 22,555 (1999–2008) 20,145 (2008–2015) 19,968 (2015–2021) 25,000–30,000 (concerts) |
| Field size | 115 × 75 yards |
| Surface | Kentucky bluegrass (1999–2020) The Motz Group synthetic turf (2021–present) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | August 14, 1998 |
| Opened | May 15, 1999 |
| Construction cost | US$28.5 million ($50.1 million in 2022 dollars) |
| Architect | NBBJ |
| Structural engineer | Korda/Nemeth Engineering Inc. |
| General contractor | Corna/Kokosing Construction Co. |
| Tenants | |
| Columbus Crew 2 (MLS Next Pro) 2022–present Columbus Crew (MLS) 1999–2021 | |
Built in 1999, it was the first soccer-specific stadium built by a Major League Soccer team, starting an important trend in MLS stadium construction. The stadium was named for Madrid-based Mapfre Insurance after the company signed a 5-year sponsorship agreement announced on March 3, 2015. In December 2020, the deal expired and the Crew renamed the stadium. The listed seating capacity is 19,968. In 2015, Mapfre Stadium and Director of Grounds Weston Appelfeller were honored with the prestigious Field of the Year award by the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) for the professional soccer division.