 At the time of the league's inauguration in 1996, MLS teams used multi-purpose stadiums, often shared with National Football League (NFL) or college football teams.Because of lower attendance, these stadiums had parts tarped off to artificially reduce capacity.Starting in 1999 with the Columbus Crew's construction of Mapfre Stadium, the league has constructed soccer-specific stadiums which are tailor-made for soccer and which have smaller capacity.