With delays preventing the facility from being completed this spring, Loudoun United FC is preparing to open its upcoming stadium later this summer.
Debuting as an expansion club in Division II USL Championship this year, Loudoun United FC will eventually play home matches at a 5,000-seat stadium that is being constructed as part of a larger D.C. United training complex in suburban Loudoun County, VA. The complex at Philip A. Bolen Memorial Park that will include four fields (two reserved for the team, two open to public use), offices, and a training facility.
Plans for United’s 2019 launch were announced last July, but it was not until September that Loudoun County supervisors approved construction for the project. Construction of the new Loudoun United stadium will not be completed by the start of the 2019 USL Championship season in March, as was recently reported by WTOP.
The implication for United is that the club is expected to play all but six of its games as the away team until August, when the new stadium is currently scheduled to open. United would then play 11 home games between the stadium’s opening and the end of the USL Championship season in October, as was reported this week by the Loudoun Times-Mirror. “We are beyond excited for the stadium to open in August,” Loudoun United FC Chief Operating Officer Adam Behnke told the Times-Mirror in an email. “We’ve been fortunate to enjoy great support from many in the community regardless of [the] timeline. We hope the stadium becomes a community staple for years to come.”
United, which will play its debut match on March 9 at Nashville, is one of seven expansion clubs that will begin USL Championship play in the upcoming season. Joining United in that mix are Austin Bold FC, Hartford Athletic, New Mexico United (to play at Albuquerque’s Isotopes Park in 2019), Birmingham Legion FC, El Paso Locomotive FC, and Memphis 901 FC.
RELATED STORIES: Audi Field Might Serve as Temporary Loudoun United FC Home; Loudoun Supervisors Approve New D.C. United Training Facility; New for 2019: Loudoun United FC; D.C. Untied Loudoun County Proposal Raises Worries About Traffic; Loudoun County D.C. United, USL Facility Prompts Traffic Concerns; Loudoun County D.C. United, USL Facility Approved; Loudoun County Advances D.C. United USL Pitch; New Loudoun County USL Stadium Pitched by D.C. United