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Chester Stadium

Chester Stadium is a proposed soccer-specific stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania, which is the planned home of Major League Soccer Philadelphia 2010. The project has received a commitment of $30 million from Delaware County and $47 million from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The stadium site is located on the city of Chester's waterfront along the Delaware River, just southwest of the Commodore Barry Bridge. Chester Stadium is poised to be a catalyst for economic development on the waterfront, with additional plans calling for a riverwalk amidst other entertainment, retail, and residential projects. The stadium will be built by Philadelphia-area firm T.N. Ward Co.

The Philadelphia MLS team's ownership group, Keystone Sports & Entertainment LLC, designed a specific entrance of Chester Stadium for the Sons of Ben fan club in recognition of their loyalty The entrance will lead into the SoB's 2,000-seat section.

History

Major League Soccer (MLS) has been interested in entering the Philadelphia market for several years, with many promises of a team by Commissioner Don Garber, as evidenced by his quote from The Philadelphia Inquirer saying, "It's not a matter of if, but when Philadelphia gets a team.

Initially, MLS was interested in a site in the borough of Bristol, Pennsylvania, about north of Philadelphia. Those plans never came to fruition. Later, Rowan University provided details for a soccer stadium near its campus in Glassboro, New Jersey. However, funding from the state of New Jersey fell through in 2006.

In late 2006, a group of investors led by Rob Buccini, co-founder of the Buccini/Pollin Group; Jay Sugarman, chief executive of iStar Financial; and James Nevels, a former chairman of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission, initiated the planning for a soccer-specific stadium in the city of Chester after the funding for the Rowan project failed to pass the New Jersey legislature. After many months of negotiations, Delaware County politicians announced their approval of funding for the stadium in October 2007.

Delaware County will own the land and the stadium itself, while the proposed team will own the naming rights based on their approval of a 30-year lease. The newly formed Delaware County Sports Authority will pay the county's share of $30 million through taxes from the Harrah's casino in Chester. An additional $80 million will be donated by private investors.

On January 31, 2008, Governor Ed Rendell and Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, unveiled a combined soccer stadium and economic revitalization package for the city of Chester. $25 million will go to the building of Chester Stadium, with an additional $7 million towards a two-phase project composing of 186 townhouses, 25 apartments, of office space, a convention center, more than of retail space, and a parking structure to house 1,350 cars. In phase two, another 200 apartments will be built, along with of office space and of retail space.

Women's Professional Soccer

In June 2008, Women's Professional Soccer formally announced an expansion franchise for Philadelphia that will begin in the 2010 season at Chester Stadium. The newly-formed team succeeds the former Philadelphia Charge of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association.