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Columbus, OH Columbus is a deceptive city. To the outsider, it is a sleepy, quaint city in the middle of the American Heartland – sandwiched in between more reputable cities like Cleveland or Pittsburgh. However, to the locals Columbus has a fair amount to offer once you know where to look. It is not, nor does it claim to be, an urban paradise on the level of Chicago or New York – but it is not the backwards hamlet that many envision it to be. To the outsider, depending on which interests you have and what circles you travel in, Columbus can appear to be many things. On a general level, the Ohio State University (yes, the “The” is officially part of the title) is probably the most significant feature of the city, for its sheer size (one of the 3 biggest campuses in the country) and for its athletics (mostly football, but men’s and women’s basketball, hockey, and soccer teams have all made moderate waves in the past 5 years). In the arts world, Columbus is home to the Wexner Center – an institution on the level of the Guggenheim or MoMA. In business circles, Columbus is simultaneously a strong white-collar town (home to the state capital and several banks and insurance companies) and possibly the most “average” city in the country. Many products are tested first in Columbus for this very reason and two national fast-food chains (Wendy’s and White Castle) got their start here. Easton Town Center Brewery District Then, of course, there’s the soccer. Columbus Crew Columbus Crew Stadium Capacity: 22,555 Crew Training Center at Obetz
Honors: 2002 U.S. Open Cup Champions, 1998 U.S. Open Cup Finalists Brief History of Soccer in Columbus & Central Ohio: Columbus has a professional soccer tradition stretching back to 1979, with local college and high school histories somewhat older than that. The city’s first taste of pro soccer came via the Columbus Magic, an ASL franchise in 1979 and 1980. Playing on Astroturf in the city’s baseball-specific Franklin County Stadium (now Cooper Stadium) the team was an on-field success, reaching and hosting the championship match in their first season. Off the field was another story, however – in a story familiar to American soccer, the team was never able to attract crowds sufficient to sustain their payroll and the club folded under unpaid debts after just two years. The 16 years that followed saw a succession of indoor teams appear and then disappear, usually after only one season. The city would not host another outdoor team until 1994, when the Columbus Xoggz started play in the country’s third division. They and their sister club Columbus Ziggx survived in various forms until 1998 before throwing in the towel – a demise helped by the debut in 1996 of Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew. As one of the founding teams in Major League Soccer, the Columbus Crew has been one of the top teams in the league throughout its history. However, they had fallen short in their quest for additions to the trophy case until 2002, when they defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy for the U.S. Open Cup Championship. Before that, they had competed in 4 different league semifinals series and the 1998 Open Cup Final without favorable results. The team's moniker, "America's Hardest Working Team", has been a guiding practice since the beginning, as Columbus fans have long been attracted to the players who put forth extreme effort on the field. The team has seen a steady stream of top quality players come through, including Brian McBride, Brad Friedel, Thomas Dooley, Brian Maisonneuve, Stern John, Doctor Khumalo, John Wilmar Perez, and Jeff Cunningham. It has recently become a home for young talented players such as Kyle Martino, Edson Buddle, Duncan Oughton, and Freddy Garcia. The Black and Gold play in America's first soccer-specific stadium at Crew Stadium, which is conveniently located on the Ohio State Fairgrounds off of Interstate 71. The 22,555-person capacity stadium has been home to two World Cup qualifiers, including the historic U.S.-Mexico World Cup qualifying match of February 2001. It's also seen numerous friendly matches, a qualifying match for the U.S. Under-17 team, which included such players as Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, and Bobby Convey. MLS Cup 2001 and the 2000 MLS All-Star Game as well as two U.S. Open Cup final matches have also been held at Crew Stadium. It is currently the premier venue for American soccer. Crew Stadium was also the home of "Cup Headquarters" for World Cup 2002, where over 30,000 people viewed the various games of the tournament and was a nationwide sensation among the soccer faithful of the United States. Many other teams ended up following Columbus's lead and showed games at their venues as time went on - but the trend started in Columbus! Other than the Crew, the only high-profile soccer played in Columbus is at the collegiate level. In Division 1, the OSU men’s and women’s teams are on the ascendancy, both clubs making their first trips to the NCAA tournament in the new millennium. Central Ohio has long been the home of outstanding Division III soccer. Ohio Wesleyan, just north of Columbus in Delaware, has had outstanding men and women’s teams. The men have made 7 trips to the national semifinals and won the Division III championship in 1998, and their women won the Division III Championship in 2001 and 2002. Otterbein, located in the northeastern suburb of Westerville, lost in the Division III national final just this past year. Capital University (coached by the “Voice of the Crew” Dwight Burgess) and Ohio Dominican also have aspiring programs. Two other elite programs are those of Div III Ohio Wesleyan and Otterbein, who have each made at least the national semifinals in the last 2 years with Otterbein playing for the national title in the fall of 2002. Directions: From the North From the East From the South From the West From Port Columbus Airport Once you get to 17th Avenue: Tickets: Tickets for Crew games are available via any TicketMaster outlet or at Crew Stadium itself. There is no advantage to buying directly at the stadium, as the stadium also uses the TicketMaster system (and is thus subject to all its fees and convenience charges). Ticket booths at the stadium are on the south side of the stadium only. Crew Stadium accepts American Express, MasterCard, Visa, Discover, cash, check, or money order. Patrons may pick up will-call tickets after 10:00 AM on the day of the game at the southeast ticket window. Patrons must have the actual credit card used for purchase, a picture ID and their confirmation number. Adult single game tickets for the 2003 season range in price from $15 (behind the ends) to $31 (in the club seats on the west side of the stadium. Discounts are available for most ticket areas to youths under 18 or students with a valid ID. Children under 2 are free. Tickets are usually available on the day of the game, but as the end of the season approaches there are usually games that sell out – so especially in August or early September, it is a good idea to buy tickets in advance. The Crew will sell SRO (standing room only) tickets when necessary, bringing the stadium’s total capacity to around 25,000. Season tickets are available in several packages, from an 18-game full season (14 league games plus 4 special games) to partial plans of 6 or 9 tickets. Consult the Crew for full details about the various options. Special ticket prices are available for groups of 20 or more people. Tickets for special events (US National Team games, College Cup, MLS Playoffs, etc) are sold under different pricing structures and will vary by event. Check TicketMaster.com or TheCrew.com for details about any specific event you are interested in. Refreshers: Food options close to the stadium are predictably bland – there is a McDonald’s on 17th just south of the stadium complex, and a Bob Evans restaurant just northwest of the stadium. Tailgating is fairly prevalent in the stadium parking lots, and is generally tolerated by the authorities as long as it stays on a fairly disorganized scale. In-stadium concessions are available on the upper concourse at the four corners of the stadium, as well as on the ground level beneath the side stands, and on the main plaza south of the stadium. Available food is, again, typical American fare. Club Merchandise: Though the Crew is working hard to bring fans an online store, right now Crew faithful make due with local vendors to bring them their Crew merchandise. Fan Culture: Columbus Crew Stadium has two locations that are homes for ultra-type culture. The traditional home of the super fans is the North End (section 137), where any fans who want to stand up, sing and chant the entire game, harass the opposing goalkeepers, and many other activities can make their home. This group is generally dominated by the V-Army, a group of younger, more boisterous fans. The North End is designated by Crew Stadium as the place for such fans to be able to stand the whole game, so if you're not a stander/shouter, you might want to try to sit elsewhere. The newer home of super fans is section 107, home of the 107 Hooligans. This loosely organized group is slightly older than the V-Army, and due to their location out of the North End they do not stand the whole game. But they are just as vocal (if a bit cleaner on the whole) and their view of the field is superior (being on the sideline instead of behind the North goal). On the Web: Local online soccer coverage is best found either through the Crew’s official web site (www.thecrew.com) or from the [L=www.dispatch.com]Columbus Dispatch[EL]. The Crew also has some talented writers covering it for national soccer websites (principally among these the staff at www.CyberSoccerNews.com). Unfortunately, the once-flourishing number of quality fan-sites has diminished of late – the last holdout, CrewFan, folded operations into the team’s official site in 2002. Print Coverage: The top source of Crew news in Columbus is the Columbus Dispatch, where Crew beat reporter Craig Merz has been garnering increasingly rave reviews for his coverage of not only the Crew but also professional soccer on all levels in the U.S. The Dispatch is available online (http://www.dispatch.com), but they charge a small fee for non-subscribers to view the site's archives. Around Town Although Columbus is starting to develop the area around Crew Stadium more every day, there is not as of yet a good place near "Hunt Park" to throw down a frosty one following a game. However, Columbus is full of great pubs, bars, and restaurants so your options for post-game fun are many. Some favorites among the soccer crowd include: Bars & Pubs Rose & Thistle Restaurants Mitchell's Steakhouse Columbus Fish Market Cap City Diner Columbus Brewing Company P.F. Chang's Ocean Club Cafe Istanbul Cheesecake Factory Champps Americana Red Robin Steak and Shake The Brewery District is famous for its restaurants as well. Prime among these is Handke's, a VERY high-end restaurant. Also, there are plenty of casual eating options in the area. Handke's Cuisine Buca di Beppo Frog, Bear, and Wild Boar Bd’s Mongolian Barbecue Gordon Biersch
Days Inn The official hotel of the Crew and close to downtown Columbus is the Adam's Mark hotel. This hotel is a bit fancier and pricier than the Days Inn but is located much closer to the Arena District and Brewery District, where food and entertainment options abound. Adam's Mark |