Columbus Crew SC today announced that it will host Mexican First Division side Club Deportivo Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz in an international friendly at MAPFRE Stadium on Wednesday, May 11. Kickoff time is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. The friendly clash against the Liga MX opponent is classified as Special Match A for Crew SC Season Ticket Members and is included in their membership.
Single-match tickets for the contest start at $24 and are set to go on-sale on Friday, April 15 at 10:00 a.m. at the MAPFRE Stadium Box Office, all Central Ohio Ticketmaster retail locations, over the phone at 614-447-2739 and online via www.ColumbusCrewSC.com. Full Season Ticket Members have the opportunity to purchase additional tickets in advance, beginning on Thursday, April 14 with a special presale.
Set to be the 20th all-time international friendly in Black & Gold history, Veracruz becomes the third Mexican side to visit MAPFRE Stadium, following Tigres UANL (2002) and Tecos UAG (2007). This will also be the sixth consecutive summer that an international opponent has visited MAPFRE Stadium.
Founded in 1943, Veracruz has won two Mexican Primera Division titles in his history (1945-46, 1949-50). It also won the Mexican Cup in 1947-48. Currently, the club sits in 16th place in Liga MX's 2015-16 Torneo Clausura. In the 2015-16 Torneo Apertura, the side finished in eighth place, qualifying for the playoffs, where it was eliminated via seed tiebreaker against Pumas after a 1-1 finish on aggregate over two legs. By virtue of a 3-1 Semifinal victory on Tuesday, April 5 against Atletico San Luis, Veracruz is set to play in the Clausura 2016 Copa MX Final later this year.
Crew SC is 10-6-3 all-time in international exhibitions, last facing Valencia CF from Spain in 2015 at MAPFRE Stadium in a clash that the visitors won by a 1-0 final.
