With an idea to bring international soccer to Ohio Stadium, some of the biggest names in Columbus sports put their heads together to make it happen. In July, a lengthy process is set to come to a close.
"We started this journey about 15 months ago, reached out to RelEvent Sports for the concept of hosting an international game here at historic Ohio Stadium," Ohio State Associate Director of Athletics Shaun Richard said. "It'll be the first time that international soccer is played here at this historic stadium."
Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are set to take to a newly constructed grass pitch at Ohio Stadium July 27 for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff as part of the International Champions Cup, the school and Relevent Sports announced Tuesday. As Richard said, it is the first time Ohio Stadium will embrace international soccer.
Here are some other updates from Richard, Ohio State Vice President and Director of Athletics Gene Smith, Columbus Crew President Andy Loughnane and RelEvent Vice President of Marketing Kwame Bryan on the event.
- Games for the ICC are set for broadcast on the ESPN family of networks, as well as ESPN Deportes, Bryan said. He is unsure which channel will broadcast the game in Columbus.
- Tickets go on sale to the general public April 5, with presale starting March 29. The starting cost is $35, but there will be a discounted youth rate, Bryan said: "We do consider it a premium event, that said we want to make it affordable for that family or four to also experience this event."
- Information on how to buy tickets can be found here.
- Smith said Ohio State has been trying "for a number of years" to bring events to not only Central Ohio but Ohio Stadium that fans would enjoy: "We feel very comfortable about that particular day, July 27, that we'll have an opportunity to showcase two of the greatest teams and most valuable teams in the world here in the Shoe."
- Loughnane said it is fitting international soccer is coming to Ohio Stadium, because it helped kick start the Columbus Crew nearly 20 years ago: "The success of our club largely was fueled by everything that began right here."
- The turf will be two yards shorter than the optimal soccer pitch, Bryan said, but that did not deter them from moving forward with the event: "The opportunity was too good to pass up to bring such an iconic game to such an iconic stadium in a city that has capped off things in terms of soccer."
- The fresh sod is set to be brought into the stadium five days before the match. It will then take 3-4 days to remove it, Bryan said.
- Michigan Stadium hosted Real Madrid and Manchester United in August 2014, setting an attendance record of 109,318. Is breaking that mark in Smith's mind? "Is that a question?" he said, joking. "No, we don't look at it that way. We look at it more of a point of view of whoever shows up, and hopefully it's 108,000 in our stadium, that we provide them a good experience. We're not competing with anyone (with that)."
- Smith and Richard are unsure at this time how the revenue from this event will be allocated among the university and athletic department.
- And finally, why bring such a big soccer event to campus? "Soccer is huge in this state, it's huge in this part of the country. We've watched this over the years and we wanted to do was try and have a chance to host it in our stadium. We think the International Cup is perfect for that. It's a great sport, lot of fans and hopefully the weather is good and everybody's thirsty and it'll be good."
