Baltimore has changed venues for the rest of the season. I got this email on Friday.

Dear Season Ticket Holder,


First and foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support of our club. Our season ticket holders have, and continue to be the backbone of our organization.



As many of you already know, our relationship with UMBC has ended and we will no longer be playing our home fixtures on their campus. We had hoped that our relationship with the university would continue for this season and indeed for the next, but many factors dictated our need to move into a new home.


With this in mind, we are pleased to announce that we have a new home for the remainder of the 2010 season. We will be playing our home fixtures at the Paul Angelo Russo Stadium on the Calvert Hall campus. Moving into Towson is great for the organization and the convenient location of a fairly new stadium will make the viewing experience for our fans that much better.

Unfortunately, as the turf has to be replaced before we can move into our new digs, we will be playing our next four games at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown. It is an incredible soccer-specific facility that plays host to the WPS Washington Freedom and DC United’s US Open Cup games. If we are to have a temporary home, we might as well make it a comfortable one.

We look forward to having you aboard with us at Crystal Palace Baltimore as we move forward in this new chapter in our history.

Yours,

Pete Medd
President, Crystal Palace Baltimore



Then there was the public press release on Satruday: http://www.palacebaltimore.com/home/446521.html



July 10, 2010 -- Baltimore, Md.

Crystal Palace Baltimore, Baltimore's professional outdoor soccer team, is pleased to announce their next four home fixtures will be played at the Maryland SoccerPlex. These games will be:

• Wednesday, July 14 vs Rochester Rhinos (7 p.m. kick off)
• Saturday, July 24 vs AC St Louis (3 p.m. kick off)
• Saturday, July 31 vs Montreal Impact (7 p.m. kick off)
• Tuesday, August 4 vs Miami FC (7 p.m. kick off)

The Germantown location began as a response to local soccer clubs advocating for a high-quality, multi-field soccer facility. Twelve years later, with the help of a public-private partnership, and the sweat and capital of nine local soccer organizations, the SoccerPlex opened in October of 2000. It is currently home to the Washington Freedom of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) and DC United's US Open Cup games.

The complex boasts nineteen, 115x75 yard fields and hosts 600,000 visitors a year. The SoccerPlex's crown jewel, the Championship Stadium, seats 5,200 fans and has hosted, amongst other events, a CONCACAF Champions League game and a US Olympic qualifier.

"It's a phenomenal opportunity," said Palace Baltimore President, Pete Medd. "We are really excited about the prospect of playing in this top-notch facility. We will be able to play our brand of soccer for some amazing soccer-crazy fans. It's a fantastic option and it'll be great for the players and the fans."
The Maryland SoccerPlex is located at 18031 Central Park Circle, Boyds, MD 20841

I hope that they will be able to get their WWWcast equipment up and running at the new location.

Yeah. I thought about that when I saw the venue change.

I hope that I am able to get up and running at the new location.
I live closer to the new one than most of the other Palace fans.

The change is really inconvienent for me so it must be superinconvienent for most of the other fans.

If it helps them finish out the season than I understand that they have to do what they gotta do.

I'm really glad that my season ticket plan is a "flex" one. I don't see me making anymore than two of the next four games and it will probably be closer to one of the four until they move from Germantown to Towson...

Man, that's a tough decision...Soccerplex is a sweet complex...for DC teams...what's the word on the street in Balto.? Are the fans making the long trek, Yanki?

Hard to believe there wasn't something more workable in Balto...I know the Pgh 'hounds at D2 level (99-03) still played at a hi school venue (albeit a really nice one) that seated about 5,700, it was a hi school venue, but at least the game wasn't in Johnstown.

Honestly, i have absolutely no clue. I am so far out of the loop when it comes to Palace fans this year (as opposed to previous seasons) that I could even begin to comment other than to say than the move will be an enormous "challenge" in attendance terms.

Palace played a couple of games there before about two or three seasons ago(if I recall correctly). I distincly remember a game with Richmond and a game with Bermuda. The Richmond game is memorable because the former equipment manager asked me how I could possibly be friends with an @ss like MikeyRatt.

This is temporary for the next four games. Then the team will play at Calvert Hall (parochial school)in Towson (where they played the match against the Stars a few weeks ago).

Is the match of the 14th the one they always intended to go back to Calvert Hall, or are they going early?

Futbal49, you are thinking of Bethel Park, where the 'Hounds played until their move to Moon H.S. in 2004.

I'm sorry that the UMBC location did not work out, Yanki. But I hope things improve at the new site. I guess time will tell if others can make it.

Apparently they had always intended to play just the four games at the SoccerPlex and then go back to Calvert Hall August 14. Today just made it official.

ah its good to be remembered.. even by an equipment manager.. what's Alan O'Hara doing these days anyway??

I tried watching the Crystal Palace match on the WWW this past week. The stream was terrible. It looked hot!!!

a) It was hot.

b) Glad that the stream worked.

Yankiboy, this one is for you!



I checked my travel schedule and it does not look like I will get to check a match. I do wish your team the best of luck for the remainder of the season!

Thanks.

White Castle might be insulted, though. They will probably be in business this time next year.