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It was Christmas again for Impact players as they set foot for the first time on the manicured natural grass of Saputo Stadium, their new home at Olympic Park.

"Feels like Santa Claus came and dropped off a nice big stadium for us," veteran midfielder and team captain Mauro Biello said.

"I had goose bumps this morning coming in here. It's fantastic to be able to play in our own stadium. I've been (with the team) since the beginning and to be able to see something we call our own is great. It's great for the city. Great for Canada and soccer as a whole, and it's a great future for kids who are going to be able to dream about playing here."

The Impact has to wait until May 19 - when the club hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps in its United Soccer Leagues First Division home opener - to officially inaugurate the 13,000-seat, soccer-specific stadium. It was built for $15 million with a private donation from the family of Lino Saputo and bank financing splitting the cost.

Yesterday, the team took to the turf, playing an intrasquad game while team officials led a throng of media on a tour of the facilities as construction workers busily added the final touches.

For team president Joey Saputo, for whom the stadium is a dream come true and a long time coming, all that remains is opening day.

"We're so proud of what we achieved so far. It's a great little stadium. It's great for the development of the game in the province. It's great for our players," he said. "I'm still on Cloud Nine. I can't wait for opening day to see this place filled with 13,000 people.

"It's still a dream. I'm still dreaming it," Saputo said. "I haven't woken up yet. It will probably last until the 19th of May."

More than 11,000 tickets, including 4,500 season tickets, have been sold for the home opener. On Monday, the club will release 1,000 tickets, which will be available at the stadium box office (514-328-3668) and online at www.impactmontreal.com.

Impact season tickets are priced as low as $200 for the 15 games and the 4,500 seats already sold represent a 125 per cent increase over the 2,000 sold last year at Claude Robillard Stadium, which had bee home to franchise since its first season in 1993.

The club kicks off activities for the inaugural game with an open house May 18 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., which will be free of charge to the public.

"We are inviting the population to come see their new stadium with their family at our open house," said Richard Legendre, executive vice president in charge of the stadium.

"Impact soccer is by far the most accessible sport in Montreal and to that effect, we're offering this activity free of charge."

Open house visitors will be treated to a celebrity all-star game at 2 p.m. featuring former Olympians sprinter Bruny Surin, speed-skater Nathalie Lambert, and Olympic women's hockey goaltender Kim

St-Pierre, and possibly Canadiens forward Alex Kovalev, who was in attendance yesterday to see Impact striker Charles Gbeke, with whom he's become a good friend in recent months, in action.

On game day, singer Gregory Charles and his band will be centre stage for a pregame show starting at 2 p.m.

The team officials also announced yesterday that Metro Inc. and Maple Lodge Farms have followed the move of the Cage aux Sports two weeks ago by signing major partnerships with the club as "builders of Saputo Stadium."

The stadium is a gem with no poor sight lines anywhere and seating close to the action. While the natural-grass field is the centrepiece, the team's dressing room is spacious to the point of luxurious - a far cry from the cramped, stark quarters players had to make do with for so long at their previous home.

"It's sick. Just sick," Gbeke, using the language of today's youth to describe something unbelievably great, said of the new digs.

"This is a big change for us. With the exception of Charleston's stadium, which is probably two leagues above everything, no other stadium in the league comes close to this."

"It's magnificent," defender Gabriel Gervais said. "The field is impeccable. The whole stadium has great energy around it and now the countdown is on for the home opener."

rphillips@thegazette.canwest.com

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2008