COLUMBUS — Jairo Alza walks across Nationwide Boulevard and enters the construction site where the skeletal form of the new Columbus Crew SC stadium takes shape before his eyes and the soundtrack of progress plays in his ears.
There’s a constant beeping of heavy machinery in motion. The roar of boom cranes lifting steel beams. The whir of concrete surface finishers smoothing the West End patio where fans one day will mingle and purchase concessions.
But on a sun-drenched July morning, the most powerful tool in the yard is the imagination of the 33-year-old Peruvian immigrant, who’s helping build the future of Columbus soccer and a monument to his lifelong love of the game.