IRVINE, Calif. – After numerous seasons without a permanent home, Friday will mark an historic moment in the history of Orange County SC as the club celebrates opening its new Champions Soccer Stadium at Orange County Great Park when it plays host to Phoenix Rising FC.

For players like Belgian defender Roy Meeus in particular, who joined the club prior to last season and has seen the club's transformation under the leadership of Owner James Keston and General Manager & Executive Vice President Oliver Wyss, the night promises to be a special one.

“It’s great, the field is very nice, the locker rooms are very nice. It’s great to have a place that we can finally call home,” said Meeus. “Great Park was good, but it’s not a stadium like we have now. We’re all very excited, and happy, that we finally have our home base, which we can use and hopefully get three points.”

Orange County Head Coach Logan Pause, who took the reins at the club this offseason, agrees.

“[Tuesday] was amazing in a sense of opening up, really, a world-class stadium, and venue, environment, and surface, and home," said the former Chicago Fire player. "It’s been a long time coming, and a lot of work has gone in to it, in terms of this vision coming to fruition.”

The new venue had a soft open, hosting its first match on Tuesday when OCSC played Tulsa Roughnecks FC, but the match against Phoenix on Friday will be the grand opening of the stadium, and bring with it new possibilities for the club overall.

The centerpiece of Keston's vision for the organization when he purchased the team just under a year ago, the new venue is the latest step in bringing greater stability to one of the USL's founding members.

“It’s definitely something that really solidifies us, and puts us on the map,” said Pause. "With James Keston coming in last year as the new owner, and obviously Oliver Wyss being part of this for a long time, putting the vision of the organization in place, this is something we can sell our players, sell our community, everything we’re trying to build, which is have a home that is world class.”