May 4, 2019 is set to be one of the biggest days in the history of soccer in Calgary.

The league announced Friday Cavalry FC will play its inaugural match at home on Saturday, May 4 when they host York9 FC at Spruce Meadows, marking an occasion that soccer fans in the city have anticipated for quite some time.

An historic showjumping ground will make for a one-of-a-kind atmosphere.

“It will feel like Central Park or Disneyland,” Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon told CanPL.ca about the feeling he expects supporters to get on matchday. “It’s a very special place for a very special day.

“Come May 4th, we’ll be marching onto that field very proudly.”

Cavalry FC got a taste of Canada’s “Central Park” last summer in a prospects match against FC Edmonton.

“We had nearly 2,000 supporters there,” he recalled. “We did some events there in the summer, too. Seeing people there excited me ahead of this first game.”

Cavalry FC will get something of an advantage for its home opener, having watched York9 play in the league’s inaugural game against Forge FC a week earlier.

“We get to start at home, we’ll be on grass and it will give us an extra week to prepare … But at the end of the day, I couldn’t be happier to get things going,” Wheeldon Jr. offered.

With the historic first home match looming, Wheeldon has one message for supporters: Tell your friends.

“Bring your plus ones,” he said. “It all starts with telling people what is happening: Tell the story of why CPL is being harvested, why it’s important to Canadian soccer and Calgary.

“There is a great movement here. As soon as they have the story they will be ignited by that.”

Cavalry FC season ticket memberships are available now.