Fans Pack PPL Park for Opener
by KYW's Mike Dougherty
Fans in Philadelphia have soccer fever and they're showing their colors at the grand opening of the Philadelphia Union's new stadium in Chester, Pa.
"We're huge soccer fans, but the opening of this stadium is going to bring in more soccer fans, I think."
That's Tim Babcock, who was tailgating with his family before the opener at the $122-million PPL Park in Chester.
He and other fans like Ryan are believe this is the beginning of something special:
"Philadelphia is definitely a soccer town, and I think it's taken this team to bring it out a little bit. But I definitely think the excitement is here, the fan base is certainly here and I think the philosophy of the team to stadium only be 18,500 seats is a good one because it creates demand for tickets and it creates excitement."
Despite that max capacity, there's plenty of crowd noise. And fans we spoke with say they hope the stadium helps rehabilitate the community in Chester, which has suffered a rash of shootings recently.
