Columbus Crew Stadium
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| Former names | Columbus Crew Stadium (1999–2015) |
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| Address | 1 Black and Gold Boulevard |
| Location | Columbus, Ohio |
| Coordinates | 40°0′34″N 82°59′28″W / 40.00944°N 82.99111°WCoordinates: 40°0′34″N 82°59′28″W / 40.00944°N 82.99111°W |
| Owner | Precourt Sports Ventures LLC |
| Operator | Precourt Sports Ventures LLC |
| Capacity | 22,555 (1999–2008) 20,145 (2008–15) 19,968 (2015–present) 25,000–30,000 (concerts) |
| Field size | 115 × 75 yards |
| Surface | Kentucky bluegrass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | August 14, 1998 |
| Opened | May 15, 1999 |
| Construction cost | US$28.5 million ($41 million in 2017 dollars) |
| Architect | NBBJ |
| Structural engineer | Korda/Nemeth Engineering Inc. |
| General contractor | Corna/Kokosing Construction Co. |
| Tenants | |
| Columbus Crew SC (MLS) (1999–present) | |
Mapfre Stadium (/ˈmɑːfreɪ/ MAH-fray; styled as "MAPFRE Stadium"), previously known as Columbus Crew Stadium, is a soccer-specific stadium in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It primarily serves as the home stadium of the Columbus Crew SC of Major League Soccer. Mapfre 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.
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 is named for Madrid-based Mapfre Insurance after the company signed a sponsorship agreement announced on March 3, 2015. The listed seating capacity is 19,968. In 2015, MAPFRE Stadium and Director of Grounds, Weston Appelfeller, CSFM, were honored with the prestigious Field of the Year award by the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) for the professional soccer division.
Columbus Crew SC played their first three seasons at Ohio Stadium on the campus of the Ohio State University. During games, large sections of the stadium were blocked off to reduce capacity from approximately 90,000 to 25,243. Although the Crew enjoyed success at Ohio Stadium during their tenure there, the large seating capacity and limitations to the field size made the stadium ill-suited for soccer. Additionally, Ohio Stadium lacked permanent field lights. These problems, along with planned renovations to Ohio Stadium, which began in 1999, were all factors in the development of Mapfre Stadium. The construction cost of US$28.5 million was covered entirely with private funds from Crew owner and oil billionaire Lamar Hunt and his Hunt Sports group. It is located on the grounds of the Ohio Expo Center and State Fairgrounds.
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