Soccer club aims for 5,000

The Chattanooga Football Club is hoping to close out the home schedule of its inaugural season tonight at Finley Stadium with a Fourth of July bang. There won't be any postgame fireworks at the stadium, but a ticket stub and $1 will get you on a shuttle to and from the riverfront for the show there.

All week long Chattanooga FC (2-3-1) and its area fans have been spreading the word -- in person and online -- about the 7 p.m. game against Birmingham-based Pumas FC (2-3). The message: Bring in a crowd of more than 5,000.

There's even a Facebook page for it.

"I've heard a lot about it and I know there's going to be some pregame tailgating and festivities going on," Finley Stadium Corp. president Merrill Eckstein said. "Who knows? The crowds have gotten bigger every game, so maybe they can do it."

The men's soccer team has been a hit from the beginning with more than 1,000 fans at each game, including more than 2,000 at the June 20 game against Rocket City United from Huntsville.

"This was something that was driven as much by the fans as anything," team co-founder Tim Kelly said of the push for 5,000. "There are a lot of people excited about the team and what's going on here, and I think we can get there.

"If it happens we'll be stamping people's hands, because we only have about 3,500 actual tickets."

Tickets cost $5 for adults, $3 for children.

As the team's management committee members discussed ideas for the finale, their thoughts naturally turned to the fact that it's Independence Day. Kelly said doing their own fireworks show was considered -- briefly.

"We talked about it and then we thought, synthetic field and sparks equal a whole lot of black smoke," he said with a laugh.

Instead, they decided to put together a shuttle service for after the game, from 8:30 to midnight.

Chattanooga FC lost 3-0 at Pumas FC last Saturday -- its first loss since May 30 -- and will close out its season next Saturday against Saturn FC in Marietta, Ga.