By virtue of Columbus Crew SC's 2-1 aggregate series win in the Eastern Conference Championship following tonight’s Second Leg at Red Bull Arena, the Black & Gold have advanced to the 2015 MLS Cup as Eastern Conference champions and will host Major League Soccer's annual championship match on Sunday, December 6 at MAPFRE Stadium (4:00 p.m. ET / ESPN, UniMas, CD102.5 FM, La Mega 103.1 FM). The 2015 MLS Cup at MAPFRE Stadium (
pronounced “MAH-fray Stadium”)
marks the first time that a major professional team from Columbus has played for a championship on Central Ohio soil. Built in 1999, MAPFRE Stadium is the country's first soccer-specific stadium and is set to host MLS Cup for a second time after serving as a neutral-site host in 2001.
Crew SC is set to play Portland Timbers FC in MLS Cup. Portland advanced as Western Conference champions following a 5-3 aggregate win over FC Dallas. Since Columbus finished ahead of Portland in the final 2015 regular-season standings, the Black & Gold are the designated host team for MLS Cup on December 6.
Limited tickets for the 2015 MLS Cup at MAPFRE Stadium remain, and are on-sale to the general public at
http://bit.ly/MLSCup2015
. Much like the First Leg of the Eastern Conference Championship, Crew SC last week announced that it is set to increase the capacity of MAPFRE Stadium for the match by adding temporary bleachers to the stage on the north side of the venue. In that First Leg against the Red Bulls on November 22, Crew SC set its all-time home postseason attendance record, as well as notched the first-ever home postseason sellout in club history.
This is the second time that Columbus Crew SC has ever advanced to MLS Cup and the first time since 2008, when it defeated the New York Red Bulls at the then-Home Depot Center to win the first major professional sports championship for the city of Columbus. Additionally, MAPFRE Stadium has hosted MLS Cup once before, when it served as a neutral-site venue for the championship clash between San Jose and the LA Galaxy on October 21, 2001.
