Major League Soccer: 2013 Home Openers Announced for Each Club

Major League Soccer announced the home openers for each of the 19 MLS clubs on Tuesday. 

The 2013 season will start on the weekend of March 2-3, with nine clubs each hosting their first game. On Saturday, March 2, there will be six matches on the schedule. 

The Philadelphia Union will host defending Eastern Conference champions, Sporting Kansas City, at PPL Park in a clash between two clubs who finished at opposite ends of the Eastern conference table last season. 

A rematch of the Eastern Conference final is also slated for March 2, as the Houston Dynamo welcome DC United to BBVA Compass Stadium. 

Two of the three Canadian clubs in MLS will square off at BC Place when the Vancouver Whitecaps host Toronto FC, who were the worst club in MLS last season. 

The worst team in the Western Conference last season, Chivas USA, will host the Columbus Crew at the Home Depot Center. 

Just one day later, the Los Angeles Galaxy will take to the same pitch and open their first season without David Beckham since 2006, against the Chicago Fire. 

The marquee match of the opening weekend in MLS, though, will take place on March 3 at Buck Shaw Stadium, between the San Jose Earthquakes and Real Salt Lake. 

Other matches that weekend include the Seattle Sounders hosting the Montreal Impact, FC Dallas hosting the Colorado Rapids and the New York Red Bulls making a cross-country trip to visit the Portland Timbers. 

Toronto, Chicago, DC and Colorado will each play their first home matches in the second week of the season while five other clubs will wait until Week 3 to play in front of their home crowd for the first time. Sporting Kansas City and Real Salt Lake are among that group of clubs, which also includes the New York Red Bulls, Real Salt Lake and Montreal Impact.

As for the fans of the New England Revolution, they will have to wait until March 23 for their first home match at Gillette Stadium, which will take place against FC Dallas. 

The rest of the MLS schedule will be announced at a further date. 

What do you think about this season's MLS home openers?

Comment below or leave a comment for me on Twitter, @JTansey90.