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Soccer-specific stadium (or football-specific stadium) is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada, coined by Lamar Hunt, to refer to a sports stadium whose primary purpose is to host association football (soccer) matches. A SSS may host other events such as other sporting events (mostly lacrosse, gridiron football and rugby football), and concerts, but the design and purpose of an SSS is centered on soccer. These venues tend to be located in the suburbs outside the city limits instead of in the city itself, with a few current exceptions. Some facilities (namely Toyota Park, Pizza Hut Park, and Columbus Crew Stadium) have a permanent stage at one end of the stadium used for the express purpose of staging concerts.
A SSS typically has amenities, dimensions and scale suitable for soccer in North America, including a scoreboard, video screen, luxury suites and possibly even a roof. The field dimensions are within the range found optimal by FIFA — 110-120 yards (100-110m) long by 70-80 yards (64-75m) wide,[1] wider than the regulation American football field width of 53⅓ yards. Lastly, the seating capacity is generally small enough to provide an intimate setting, between 18,000 - 30,000 for a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise, or between 5,000 - 15,000 for a franchise in the United Soccer Leagues (whose attendance is subject to more variation), as opposed to the much larger American football stadiums in which most MLS teams were compelled to play at the league's inception (generally 60,000 - 80,000). The seating capacity for USL Premier Development League fields ranges from 1,000-5,000. The first major SSS in Canada is BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario.
The term "football-specific stadium" is sometimes used in countries where the sport is known as football, although it is not as common in countries where football is the dominant sport and thus football-specific stadia are quite common, or in countries where baseball is dominant (Far East, Central America and the Caribbean). The term tends to have a slightly different meaning in these countries, usually referring to a stadium without an athletics track surrounding the pitch.
Contents |
List of soccer-specific stadiums
Major League Soccer (MLS)
Current MLS stadiums
| Stadium | Club(s) | City | Capacity | Opened | Cost (Millions USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus Crew Stadium | Columbus Crew | Columbus, OH | 22,685 | 1999 | 28.5 |
| Home Depot Center | Los Angeles Galaxy, CD Chivas USA[2] |
Carson, CA | 27,000 | 2003 | 150 |
| Pizza Hut Park | FC Dallas[3] | Frisco, TX | 21,193 | 2005 | 80 |
| Toyota Park | Chicago Fire[4] | Bridgeview, IL | 20,000 | 2006 | 98 |
| Dick's Sporting Goods Park | Colorado Rapids | Commerce City, CO | 19,680 | 2007 | 130 |
| BMO Field | Toronto FC | Toronto, ON | 20,522 | 2007 | 62.5 |
| Rio Tinto Stadium | Real Salt Lake | Sandy, UT | 20,008 | 2008 | 115 |
| Red Bull Arena | New York Red Bulls | Harrison, NJ | 25,189 | 2010 | 220* |
| Union Field at Chester | Philadelphia Union[5] | Chester, PA | ~18,500 | 2010 | 115* |
| Renovated PGE Park | Portland Timbers | Portland, OR | ~22,000-23,000[6] | 2011* | 31* |
| New Houston Dynamo stadium | Houston Dynamo | Houston, TX | ~22,000 | 2011* | 85* |
| New Earthquakes Stadium | San Jose Earthquakes | San Jose, CA | ~15,000 | 2012* | 60* |
* = projected
Proposed soccer-specific stadiums
| Club(s) | Proposed stadium | Proposed stadium capacity | City of proposed stadium | Current Stadium(s) | Capacity of current stadium | Stadium in current city |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proposed MLS Ottawa Expansion Team | Ottawa Soccer Stadium | 20,000-30,000 | Kanata, Ottawa, ON, Canada | Proposed Expansion Team, no stadium yet | N/A | N/A |
| Proposed MLS St. Louis Expansion Team[7] | Collinsville Soccer Complex | 18,500 | Collinsville, IL | Proposed Expansion Team, no stadium yet | N/A | N/A |
| Vancouver MLS Expansion Team | Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium and renovated BC Place Stadium | 15,000-30,000; 22,000-59,000 | Gastown, Downtown Vancouver, BC, Canada | Swangard Stadium - Vancouver Whitecaps (USL) | 6,868 | Burnaby, BC, Canada |
United Soccer Leagues (USL)
Current USL stadiums
Proposed soccer-specific stadiums
| Club(s) | Division | City | Current/Former Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines Menace - Liberty Bank Stadium | PDL | West Des Moines, IA | Valley High School Football-Soccer Stadium | 8,300 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies - Unnamed/Rowdies Stadium | First | Tampa, FL | Expansion Team, no stadium yet | N/A |
| Sevilla FC Puerto Rico - Sevilla FC Stadium | PRSL | Juncos, Puerto Rico | Alfredo "Papo" Alejandro Stadium | N/A |
Other soccer-specific stadiums
| Stadium | Club(s) | Division | City | Capacity | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King George V Park | National Stadium Memorial Sea-Hawks |
CONCACAF CIS |
St. John's, NL | 10,000 | 1925 |
| WRAL Soccer Center | CASL teams | CASL | Raleigh, NC | 3,200 | 1990s |
| Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium | Hawaiʻi Rainbow Wahine Various |
NCAA Local |
Waipiʻo, HI | 4,500 | 2000 |
| Mike Rose Soccer Complex | Memphis Tigers Various |
NCAA Local |
Memphis, TN | 2,500 | 2001 |
| Starfire Sports Complex | Seattle Sounders (alt.) Various |
USL-1 PCSL |
Tukwila, WA | 2,000 | 2002 |
| Morrison Stadium | Creighton Bluejays Various |
NCAA Local |
Omaha, NE | 6,000 | 2003 |
| Uihlein Soccer Park | MSOE Raiders Various |
NCAA Local |
Milwaukee, WI | 7,000 | 1994 |
| Yurcak Field | Rutgers Scarlet Knights Sky Blue FC |
NCAA WPS |
Piscataway, NJ | 5,000 | 1994 |
| Anheuser-Busch Center | Saint Louis Athletica | WPS | Fenton, MO | 6,000 | 1982 |
| Maryland SoccerPlex | Washington Freedom | WPS | Germantown, MD[8] | 5,128 | 2000 |
| Orange Beach Sportsplex | Local teams | Local | Orange Beach, AL | 1,500 | 2001 |
Past soccer-specific stadiums
| Stadium | Club(s) | City | Capacity | Opened | Years Used | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem Steel Athletic Field | Bethlehem Steel S.C. | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania | 1913 | |||
| Mark's Stadium | Fall River Marksmen Fall River F.C. |
North Tiverton, Rhode Island | 15,000 | 1922 |
See also
- List of American soccer stadia by capacity
- List of Canadian soccer stadia by capacity
- List of football (soccer) stadiums by capacity
- List of Major League Soccer stadiums
List of Women's Professional Soccer stadiums
Notes and references
- ^ "Laws of the Game 2006" (PDF). FIFA. July 2006. pp. p. 6. http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/federation/lotg2006_e_1581.pdf. Retrieved 2007-06-22. Although the official Laws of the Game allow for pitches in adult matches to be 100-130 yards (90-120m) long by 50-100 yards (45-90m) wide, the more restrictive range is specified for international matches.
- ^ Also used by the Los Angeles Sol of Women's Professional Soccer.
- ^ Also to be used by the Dallas Sting when they enter WPS, originally scheduled for 2010 but now pushed back to an indeterminate future date.
- ^ Also used by the Chicago Red Stars of WPS.
- ^ Also to be used by Philadelphia Independence, slated to enter WPS in 2010.
- ^ http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2009/08/renovated_pge_park_will_showca.html
- ^ The stadium will also be used by Saint Louis Athletica of WPS.
- ^ The stadium is located in Germantown, but has a Boyds postal address.
External links
- BigSoccer, online community for fans - Stadium discussions
- Footballmatch Stadiumguide
- World Stadiums
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