Soccer team’s first home game won’t be in new home

The Philadelphia Union will play at least its first home game at Lincoln Financial Field. But after the April 10th home opener, the logistics get murkier.

Less than four months before the start of Philadelphia’s first season of professional soccer, officials are still unsure of when the team’s 18,000 seat stadium in Chester will open.

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The Philadelphia Union will play at least its first home game at Lincoln Financial Field. But after the April 10th home opener, the logistics get murkier.

Team President Tom Veit says this fall’s mild weather has favored the construction schedule.

Veit: We’re still working through, and our goal has been to get in our stadium as early as possible. We think possibly it could be one or two games in the Linc, and we’re very optimistic about being in the stadium after that.

Meanwhile, Veit says, the team has sold about 8,000 of a possible 12,000 season tickets. He says the team will make about 1,000 single game tickets available closer to the start of the season.

The stadium will cost an estimated $115 million dollars, and about a quarter of that will come from Pennsylvania taxpayers.