Union soccer team's first home game shifted to Linc

Delays in building a stadium in Chester will force the Philadelphia Union soccer team to play its first home game at Lincoln Financial Field, officials said yesterday.

The move has the benefit of allowing more fans to see the historic first game, set for 3 p.m. April 10 against D.C. United, a team sure to become a Union rival in Major League Soccer. Tickets will be sold for the lower bowl and club sections, about 37,500 seats.

The Linc holds 67,594 for Eagles football, while the waterfront Chester stadium will sit 18,500.

"The stadium in Chester will not be done to the level that we believe is necessary for our fans to enjoy the game," Nick Sakiewicz, Union chief executive officer and operating partner, said yesterday. "Rather than rolling the dice and hoping the stadium will be ready, we just said, 'Let's play at the Linc.' "

It's unclear whether the team will play more than one game at the Linc. The bulk of Union games, however, will be played in Chester, Sakiewicz said.

The Union, the league's 16th team, will play their first-ever game on the road, against the Seattle Sounders at Qwest Field on March 25. That game will start the MLS season.

The Union also announced a partnership with the Eagles to bring major international soccer matches to Lincoln Financial Field. Those games will be in addition to MLS and international games played in Chester.

"By targeting the very best soccer clubs in Europe and South America, we are able to put Philadelphia and the region on the international stage for sports and hospitality," Eagles president Joe Banner said.

The Chester stadium, just south of the Commodore Barry Bridge, is to be the centerpiece of a $500 million development that backers say will help revive the impoverished city. Plans call for the arena to be surrounded by entertainment, retail, and residential development.

In a message to fans yesterday, Union president Tom Veit said that construction was "moving along at a very strong pace," but that the stadium "won't be ready by the date the league needed us to play our home opener."

"Our partnership with the Eagles," he said, "has made Lincoln Financial Field available and will enable us to make our first home game ever a massive celebratory event."