In February 1998, Columbus’ new MLS expansion franchise watched a second referendum for a new soccer stadium go down in smoke. Ohio State University had notified the Crew that their home field – Ohio Stadium – would be undergoing a major three-year renovation, soon rendering it unusable.
Suddenly, principal team owner Lamar Hunt, was in a pickle.
He, the majority owner of two Major League Soccer teams, was sold on the potential of Columbus just a few years earlier. Lamar had also invested in Kansas City, getting 51% control there as well. Because of his credibility, the MLS gave him the OK to invest in a second team. His son Clark played college soccer. He lobbied for Columbus. “We made our tour. We went to Tampa, we went to Columbus, we went to San Jose. We did a survey – how many kids are playing, those kind of things – and Columbus stood out like a gem,” Hunt said.
Now, the clock was ticking. How committed was billionaire Lamar Hunt to Columbus? In a word, very. This wasn’t his first rodeo. Hunt was deeply committed to getting soccer a foothold in the United States. He had owned the Dallas Tornados of the now-defunct NASL from 1967 until the league folded in 1984.
The difference between the 1990s success and the 1960s failure according to Hunt, “the obvious one is there have been thirty years of kids playing soccer, number two, the impact of ethnic populations, number three cable TV – that just wasn’t around before. Plus, the impact of the World Cup.”
Hunt was left to decide between going big or going home.
In the end, he decided to etch his name in American soccer history, spend his own money, and build the country’s first soccer-specific stadium (from the ground up). An unprecedented move.
The Hunt Sports Group broke ground at the Ohio Expo Center on Aug 14, 1998. After multiple different sites just didn’t pan out, the final location was completely logical and very visible off I-71 on the north end of the state fairgrounds. The Hunt family financed the entire $28.5 million price tag for the historic 22,500-seat Columbus Crew Stadium.
“It has made all the difference,” says Michael MacCambridge, author of the biography, Lamar Hunt: A life in sports on teams building soccer specific stadiums. “I’m not even sure Major League soccer survives if Lamar doesn’t build that stadium in 1999.”
“Going back to his founding of the AFL and his longtime involvement with American pro soccer, Lamar loved being an underdog,” writes Columbuscrew.com. “He chose Columbus because Columbus spoke to who he was. It was an unassuming city for an unassuming man. There was not a single molecule of elitist pretense to the man.”
Lamar has been called friendly, approachable, candid, polite, modest, likeable, unassuming, endlessly humble, a billionaire who flies coach, hyperactive calm (by his wife), and one of the giants in the sports world.
After the Crew played its first seven games on the road to start the 1999 season, Columbus Crew Stadium opened on May 15, 1999, with a lot of well-deserved pomp and circumstance. An overflow crowd of 24,471 watched the Crew beat the New England Revolution 2-0. Columbus was temporarily saved and the Hunts showed the league a bold path forward.
The Columbus Dispatch called it one of the most important events in U.S. soccer history. “There were ribbon cuttings, bands, commendations, congratulations and enough politicians for a convention,” wrote Craig Merz. “Michael ‘Let’s get ready to rumble’ Buffer even made an appearance.”
Unfortunately, a month after ground-breaking, Lamar Hunt was diagnosed with prostate cancer at the age of sixty-six. It wouldn’t be announced publicly until January 1999. Hunt underwent various treatments, including chemotherapy and surgery and continued to work.
On September 14, 1999, the U.S. Open Cup final was played in Columbus Crew Stadium. Prior to the game, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced they were adding Lamar Hunt’s name to the tournament. The underdog Rochester Raging Rhinos defeated the Colorado Rapids of the MLS 2-0; to this day, the only lower-division team to win the US Open Cup since the founding of the MLS.
Meanwhile, the Crew continued to play great soccer. By 2002, the team – led by stars Brian McBride and Robert Warzycha – had made the MLS Cup semi-finals four times in the league’s first seven years. No championships, however, and a lot of frustration.
Then, in a thriller on August 24, 2002, the Crew pulled out a 1-0 victory over the LA Galaxy to win their first championship as a franchise, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Crew midfielder Robert Warzycha cleared a block from goalie Jon Busch in stoppage time, saving the win. Columbus had played a man down since the 83rd minute holding on to beat the newly crowned MLS Cup champions, winners less than a week earlier.
“They won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in the soccer-specific stadium built by Lamar Hunt and got to celebrate on the podium with none other than Crew owner Lamar Hunt,” writes Columbuscrew.com.
Today, twenty-two of the thirty MLS stadiums are soccer specific. Several of these stadiums have been majority funded by clubs and their owners. All, a testament to the boldness and belief of the legendary Lamar Hunt.
On December 13, 2006, Mr. Hunt passed away. He was 74.
The Crew go for their second Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title on Wednesday, October 21 at Scotts Miracle-Gro Field in Columbus against St Louis City SC (of the MLS), who have won or tied their last eighteen games in a row. The Crew are underdogs.
Our founder wouldn’t have it any other way.
Sources: City nets pro soccer franchise by Dorris Blackford and Connie A. Higgins, Thurs, June 16, 1994, Columbus Dispatch; Long title search ends for Crew with riveting win by Craig Merz, Oct 25, 2002, Columbus Dispatch; Lamar Hunt: Crew founder and namesake of the U.S. Open Cup by Steve Sirk, April 26, 2023, www.columbuscrew.com; Lamar Hunt Sr, www.chiefs.com; Lamar Hunt, Society for American Soccer history, www.ussoccerhistory.org; Who is Lamar Hunt? by Ryan Kelly Aug 23, 2023, www.goal.com; Lamar Hunt, 1982 inductee, www.nationalsoccerhof.com; Legacy of Lamar Hunt, www.fcdallas.com; The other football: When Lamar Hunt helped U.S. Soccer go pro by Suzanne Hogan, Nov 19, 2025, www.kcur.org; Are you ready for some soccer? by Jeff Long, February 1996, Columbus Monthly; Spectator Sports by Jeff McCallister, Columbus Monthly City Guide 2003; The go-to guy by Jeff Long, Feb 1997, Columbus Monthly; Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, www.thecup.us; 2026 U.S. Open Cup bracket, www.mlssoccer.com; 1976-2023: Times were changing, www.u.osu.edu; For openers this was an event by Bob Hunter, May 16, 1999, Columbus Dispatch; Crew feels right at home by Craig Merz, May 16, 1999, Columbus Dispatch; 1999 Columbus Crew Scores, www.fbref.com; Field of Dreams by Chris Booker, Jan 1999, Columbus CEO; Featured picture is Lamar Hunt in Columbus Crew offices. Courtesy of Columbus Monthly, February, 1997.