Full name | Philadelphia Union |
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Nickname(s) | The U |
Founded | February 28, 2008 |
Stadium |
Talen Energy Stadium Chester, Pennsylvania |
Capacity | 18,500 |
Owner | Keystone Sports and Entertainment LLC |
Chairman | Jay Sugarman |
Head coach | Jim Curtin |
League | Major League Soccer |
2016 | Eastern Conference: 6th Overall: 13th Playoffs: Conf. Knockout Round |
Website | www |
Active teams of the Philadelphia Union | |||
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MLS | USL | PDL |
The Philadelphia Union is an American professional soccer team based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The club began play in 2010 as an expansion team of the league. The club plays their home matches at Talen Energy Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium located in Chester, Pennsylvania, on the banks of the Delaware River. Jim Curtin is the Union's head coach.
The Union finished as runners-up in the 2014 and 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournaments. In the 2014 edition, they lost to the Seattle Sounders FC 3–1 in extra time and to Sporting Kansas City 6–7 on penalties in after a 1–1 draw in the 2015 edition.
Despite being one of the ten largest metropolitan areas in the country and a top-five media market, the Philadelphia area was not represented when Major League Soccer kicked off in 1996. The first effort to bring soccer to the Delaware Valley commenced in 2001, when a group of investors attempted to bring an MLS franchise to Trenton, New Jersey. The centerpiece of their efforts was a $31 million soccer-specific stadium to be built across the street from the Sun National Bank Center and with access to the under-construction NJ Transit River Line. "Union FC" was the intended name for the Trenton MLS team if it came into fruition. However, MetroStars (now New York Red Bulls) held the right to block a franchise in Trenton, as it would infringe on their 75-mile competition-free zone.