MLS at Finley: Crew-Revolution preseason game March 6

photo New England Revolution defender Kevin Alton cannot get to the ball as he falls over Columbus Crew midfielder Eddie Gaven (12) during the first half of an MLS soccer game in Foxborough, Mass., Saturday night, Sept. 25, 2010. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

More high-level soccer is coming to Chattanooga.

The Columbus Crew and New England Revolution, two of the original 10 Major League Soccer teams, will play a preseason game at Finley Stadium on March 6.

"I think it's really exciting to have these kinds of players that are coming to Chattanooga," said Sheldon Grizzle, one of the co-founders of the Chattanooga Football Club, which is helping finance and run the game. "They will be very, very good."

Atlanta-based soccer promoter Scott Spencer and Chattanooga FC are bringing in the MLS teams, which will be in Atlanta for training camp at the Atlanta Beat's facility.

"[Spencer is] always looking for places to have games, and we're always looking to have games," Grizzle said. "We heard about [the training camp] and said since they're already going to be in Atlanta is there a way we can host a game here in Chattanooga. [Spencer] worked with the teams and was able to work out a deal."

The matchup of MLS teams is the latest exhibition featuring club or international squads at Finley in the past year. Chattanooga FC opened its second season last May by hosting the under-23 team from F.C. Atlas of Guadalajara, Mexico.

A crowd of 6,317 saw Chattanooga FC beat Atlas 2-1, which helped put Chattanooga on the map as an emerging soccer city. The turnout, along with Chattanooga's average home attendance of nearly 4,000, led Spencer to put on a friendly at Finley in late November between the U-20 national teams from Colombia and Mexico.

That game drew a crowd of about 1,700 despite cold temperatures and more than 24 straight hours of rain in the city.

"I really feel good about Chattanooga," Spencer said. "I think it's got a nice following for soccer, and there seems to be a bit of a thirst for it."

Chattanooga FC, an amateur team that plays in the National Premier Soccer League, is sponsored by Volkswagen, which also is a major MLS sponsor. However, Volkswagen is not directly involved in the preseason game.

"They're not helping out on the MLS side of things, but they help us on the credibility side," Grizzle said. "So indirectly they're a big part of being able to host a game like this."

Grizzle said a crowd of "a couple thousand" needs to show up for the game to be successful financially.

This will be the Crew's second visit to Finley. Columbus was one of the four teams to play in Chattanooga in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup in 1998. The attendance for those two games was 3,757.

"The MLS has grown significantly in popularity [since then], and I think that's due to the significant growth in the quality of play," Grizzle said.

The Crew won the 2008 MLS Cup in their only finals appearance, while the Revolution have played for the title four times but are still seeking their first championship.

The preseason game will be played on the same day as the Southern Conference men's and women's basketball tournament semifinals at McKenzie Arena.

Greater Chattanooga Sports and Events Committee president Scott Smith said it's unfortunate that the two events will be going on at the same time, but he doesn't expect one to hurt attendance at the other much.

"I'm not sure it really affects either one of us greatly," Smith said. "The tournament has four games that day, so you could still do both if you wanted to."

Grizzle said the game is expected to begin at 3 p.m., which is during the second SoCon women's semifinal. The men's semifinals begin at 6.

Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the gate. Tickets can be purchased starting today at ChattanoogaFC.com.

Contact John Frierson at jfrierson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6268.


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