New Philadelphia-area MLS Stadium almost ready

The stadium, located 15 miles from the center of Philly in Chester, Pennsylvania, is getting close to being completed.

You know what they say about waterfront property.

Even better news according to the MLS Insider blog and the Philadelphia Business Journal, the Philadelphia Union - who will make the new facility, dubbed PPL Park, their home - have sold out their limited allotment of 12,000 season ticket plans for the 2010 season.  I'm certain that a large number of those season tickets have been sold to the fan support group, the Sons of Ben (as in, Franklin), which already boasts over 5,000 members.

The stadium will apparently have a special entrance for the Sons of Ben.

 
The team decided to cap the number of season tickets in the 18,500-seat stadium so that single-game and walk-up tickets could be sold for home matches.  The stadium is slated to debut on Sunday, June 27th, when the Union take on the Seattle Sounders at 5 pm on ESPN2.

And both MLS and the team expect the new building to be filled to capacity throughout the remainder of the home schedule.  Why?  Because the Union - in their two home matches in Lincoln Financial Field - have drawn 34,870 (for the franchise debut) and 25,038 (for a game against FC Dallas last week) fans.

The team has already had good support at cavernous

Lincoln Financial Field.

Seems like a good start for MLS in Philadelphia, but it remains to be seen whether the new stadium will be the locus of job creation and neighborhood revitalization that both the league and team promised.