Having absorbed first-year bumps and bruises, Crystal Palace Baltimore returns for a second season in April to a new locale.

Baltimore's only professional outdoor soccer team is moving its games from the Naval Academy to UMBC, a shift that will be announced at a news conference today on the Catonsville campus.

"We didn't have time to properly market last year," said Pete Medd, the president of Crystal Palace USA and co-manager of the team with Jim Cherneski.

"We've taken the offseason and done free clinics in grass-roots marketing. ... The response has been overwhelming."

So much so, says Medd, the team expects to sell out its April 25 home opener against Pittsburgh at 4,000-seat UMBC Stadium.

Medd's organization is a feeder club for the century-old English pro soccer team Crystal Palace. The Baltimore version is supported with money from the English team and from a local investment group led by Medd's father, Randall, the chairman.

Crystal Palace Baltimore will play in the 10-team United Soccer Leagues 2, which added Real Maryland in Montgomery County.

Baltimore went 9-6-5 last season, narrowly missing the playoffs.

Medd's long-term vision is to build a mid-sized stadium in the Baltimore metropolitan area and eventually move into the USL1, with teams such as Montreal, Atlanta and Seattle.

Tickets will be $16 at the gate and free for children under 6.

Medd said he received a one-year contract with UMBC and a five-year extension from Crystal Palace in London.

"It's a great place, a great location," he said. "It's important for us to be in Baltimore and also important to be accessible to our Anne Arundel fan base."

ken.murray@baltsun.com