Ahead of its much-anticipated July 3 opening, the Columbus Crew's new state-of-the-art stadium could well unveil its naming rights partner, club president and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko told The Columbus Dispatch's Jacob Myers in an interview released on Thursday.
Via Myers, Bezbatchenko revealed that the club should be able to announce the naming rights partner ahead of the opening, although the GM declined to divulge an exact date for when that announcement will take place.
"We're on track to make an announcement," Bezbatchenko said. "We're excited about the possibilities we have with our naming partner — potential new naming partner. We are on track, but obviously we want to get everything finalized and make sure the process is done right."
The under-construction venue in downtown Columbus is slated to have a capacity of 20,000 as the defending MLS Cup champions get set to move into the new facility from their longtime home of Old Crew Stadium (formerly known as MAPFRE Stadium).
In the same interview with Myers, Bezbatchenko said the new facility is nearing completion and that it should be more or less done by that scheduled July 3 opening.
"By all accounts it'll be fully complete. We receive the permit about two weeks before (July 3), and from that point forward we will be able to occupy all spaces," Bezbatchenko said. "But obviously, by the eye of the fans, I don't think there will be aspects of it that will appear incomplete. ... What it'll look like on July 3 we're very excited about and confident that people will be very impressed."
As clubs around MLS gradually work their way towards higher attendance numbers, the Crew also announced Thursday that the July 3 opener against the New England Revolution (5 pm ET | ESPN) will be at full capacity.
