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The USL announced the home openers for its 36-team Championship earlier today, and Loudoun United (D.C. United’s USL satellite club) learned where it will play the first-ever competitive game. Loudoun will make its debut March 9 in Tennessee, facing Nashville SC. The team’s home opener will be May 3 against the Bethlehem Steel FC, the Philadelphia Union’s USL side.
The next question would appear to be where Loudoun will play that opener. Ground has only recently been cleared at Leesburg’s Philip Bolen Memorial Park, the site of a forthcoming USL stadium and and accompanying training complex for both United teams. Loudoun’s new home will be a modular (or prefabricated) stadium, and work from initial laying of material to finished product takes about three months, so the site work in Leesburg is largely clearing and preparation.
As a result, that opener against Bethlehem is possibly going to christen the new building, but don’t be surprised if a few dates are played at Audi Field as Steven Goff mentioned at the end of September. Along with a stadium, Loudoun are in need of a coach and roster to go with it, so needless to say the coming weeks should be eventful.