Hollywood took the title a decade earlier for a classic baseball movie but the opening of Columbus Crew Stadium on May 15, 1999, was soccer's own "Field of Dreams."
As the Crew celebrate the 10th anniversary of MLS's first soccer-specific stadium when they host the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday, it is easy to forget how much the $28.5 million "House That Lamar (Hunt) Built" meant to the growth of the 4-year-old league.
At the time there was still plenty of skepticism that MLS would survive and teams in many cases, as with the Crew in Ohio Stadium its first three seasons, were secondary tenants.
Revenue sources and a sense of ownership were lacking.
But Crew founder Lamar Hunt and Hunt Sports Group stepped up after two tax issues to build a soccer stadium in central Ohio failed. Ground was broken at the state fairgrounds off Interstate 71 on Aug. 14, 1998, and in just nine months and a day the 22,500-seat facility was ready for the first match against New England.
"It was the pinnacle point of soccer possibly making it in America. Once an owner had a vision of building a soccer-specific stadium that's where it all started," Crew defender Frankie Hejduk said. "(Hunt) was the guy who let players' dreams happen.
"It's everyone's dream to be a professional athlete and without him having built this stadium it might not have happened. Lamar was the guy who had this plan and so far it's continued to grow each and every year. That's why we have eight or nine other stadiums today."
Defender Danny O'Rourke was two weeks shy of his 16th birthday when Crew Stadium was christened. Growing up in Columbus he said the event solidified his thinking that he could play top-flight football without leaving the country.
"Not only having the league come back in '96 but having the stadium here it was like, 'This is something I aspire to be a part of,'" he said.
He got his wish in 2005 when he was drafted by San Jose after winning a state high school championship and an NCAA title for Indiana in Crew Stadium among the many events that have taken place there.
"I'm awfully proud of it," said Crew president/general manager Mark McCullers, who joined the Crew from D.C. United in December 1998 to operate the stadium. "I'm proud because the fans know it's their home. Players know it's their home. That gives you that sense of ownership that is important. It is a special place. I never get tired of being down here on the field pre-game and taking it all in."
There was plenty of talk among early investors in MLS about building stadiums to house their teams but Hunt was the first to step forward. His vision pushed others and in 2003 AEG opened the league's second stadium -- The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., to house the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA.
By next season, 10 of the 16 teams will be playing in soccer stadiums built for them, including Hunt Sports Group's Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas.
"I think all along, and Lamar was certainly a driving factor in saying we've got to have our stadiums, at some point it had to be done. Eventually someone would have if we hadn't," McCullers said. "You have to give Lamar a lot of credit for saying we have to do it now."
While Saturday will be a joyous occasion it will be tinged with sadness because Hunt died in December 2006. His son, Clark, runs the team and will be in attendance as will some former Crew who played in the stadium's inaugural match.
"We're all pumped up," Hejduk said. "Lamar's in our hearts and he'll be in everyone's. He envisioned this whole thing. That will give us a little more motivation. We started this thing in Columbus and there have been a lot of followers."
Because it was built in such a short period -- Ohio Stadium was undergoing renovations and unavailable -- and with limited private funds, Crew Stadium isn't as extravagant as later models. It's concrete and gray girders aren't sexy but inside the structure the fans are afforded seats close to the field and an electric atmosphere when the place gets rocking.
"It's a tribute to Lamar and his vision and input into the stadium," McCullers said. "We put all the money into the fan experience here in the bowl. We don't have a lot of the bells and whistles. We've added some since the stadium opened but that's how it's maintained its integrity and longevity. It's a great place to watch a soccer game."
It might as well have been the Taj Mahal to 13-year-old Columbus native Eric Brunner in May 1999. He and his family had attended Crew games the first three seasons and he was a ballboy for several games in Ohio Stadium.
He followed the Crew Stadium construction every time he went past it.
"I remember being on (Interstate) 71 and thinking, 'I can't wait to get in there.' The time came and it was great," he said.
Brunner was among the 24,741 fans at opening night but the defender couldn't have imagined 10 years later he would be wearing a Crew uniform.
"I walked on the field a couple of times in youth soccer but as far as playing a game in there as a professional at that time I wasn't thinking about it," he said.
The Crew opened the 1999 season with seven road games while the stadium was being completed. It was crunch time for the construction workers as the countdown continued.
"We would come a few times and see it and think, 'Is the stadium going to be ready for opening game?' " said Crew coach Robert Warzycha, a midfielder on the 1999 team.
"The contractors and everybody were inspired to get it done," McCullers said. "Lamar was right there with us. He provided a lot of the motivation. I remember very much a 'can do' attitude. I don't remember anyone thinking we weren't going to get there.
"It was a push to the finish line, for sure. I remember the night before with a few of the other guys from the crew building the stage out in the plaza about 2 o'clock in the morning."
The anxiety vanished when the gates opened for the overflow crowd.
Warzycha said the completion of the facility plus the opening of the suburban training center in August 1997 gave the players a feeling that they were special.
"We were very happy that we would be the first one to go to the stadium for our games, go to our own practice facility," he said. "We didn't have to go all over the place to find a field. We felt like finally we're going to have a home."
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
