MLS 3.0: The Key is the Soccer Stadium

The presence of stadiums has grown in MLS dramatically in the past eight years. Teams have gone from using American Football stadiums to migrating to soccer specific stadiums for their clubs. In the past, that was the only option. When the New York Red Bulls were still called the Metrostars and in their early years as the Red Bulls, they used the Giants’ Stadium for their home games. The stadium was much too large to be used for the attendance that the Red Bulls would attract. While other franchises have been building their own stadiums left and right, there are still a few teams that do not have their own stadium as of yet. The New England Revolution, Seattle Sounders are two active teams that share a stadium with an NFL team. Orlando City and New York City FC are expansion teams but are playing in shared stadiums for the time being. There are many issues when it comes to stadiums: money, space, the public eye etc.

Money Problems

Another logical issue with stadiums is that they are not cheap and cannot just be dished out or built tomorrow. They take time and money, and plenty of it too. CenturyLink field cost $360 million to build, the owner Paul G. Allen putting in $130 million of his own money into the stadium. Orlando City is currently building a stadium with a price tag of $110 million. Not exactly as expensive as CenturyLink but still not a relatively cheap expense at all. They will play in Fifth Third Bank Field (a.k.a the Citrus Bowl) for the next MLS season in 2015. The stadium is used for College Football Bowl games but Orlando City is the regular user of the stadium at the moment. However, the new stadium will be completed for the 2016 MLS season, so the Citrus Bowl will no longer house soccer events anymore once the new stadium is built. The new stadium will house 19,500 people but can expand to 25,000 in the future if necessary. Stadiums are expensive, Orlando is fortunate enough to not have too many problems.

Problems with the New Kids on the Block

One expansion team is in a scuffle over where to call home. NYCFC’s stadium story isn’t exactly as great as Orlando’s. NYCFC is going to be playing the next three seasons at Yankee stadium. Why Yankee Stadium? Because the Yankees are in a joint-venture with Manchester City in the club. Building a stadium in New York City isn’t exactly easy due to the lack of room that New York City has. There isn’t exactly a lot of room for a stadium, along with residents who would welcome it. Noise would be an issue in some areas, mainly lower Manhattan. Pier 40 would look like a nice venue to have a stadium, but there would be even worse traffic than there already is, noise to residents who live near it. Borough presidents aren’t exactly excited about the idea either. The Cosmos play at Hofstra while RBNY plays in New Jersey, both not in New York City. Plans look like they will be constantly shot down and it looks like NYCFC might be sharing a stadium sometime soon with another club. Columbia University’s Robert Kraft field might look like a good option too. The stadium has 17000 seats in it, which could house an average MLS game. It may not be enough due to NYCFC possibly drawing out a lot of fans with two big name signings (Lampard, Villa). Unfortunately it doesn’t look like NYCFC will have their own soccer-specific stadium any time soon, at least not for another three years.

Active Team’s Stadium Troubles, The Public Eye

DC United is a whole other can of worms by itself. The team has been playing at RFK since its existence, and it isn’t exactly the greatest location ever. The stadium is very old, falling apart and is soccer-only now. It once had The Washington Redskins and the Washington Nationals before they moved out into their own stadiums. Now, the stadium could be in its final days. The stadium isn’t the most appealing stadium ever; it looks more like a baseball stadium rather than a soccer stadium. It can house a lot of people, around 45,000 to be exact, but it never hits that mark. DC wants a new stadium, in fact they even have an artist rendering of one on their website. However, even with the meetings, it seems rather unlikely that the stadium will even be approved any time soon. It seems like the public isn’t exactly thrilled with the idea of a new stadium.

Shared Success

The Seattle Sounders currently call CenturyLink Field home, it is shared with Super Bowl champions Seattle Seahawks. The stadium set the highest average attendance in the league last year with 44,038 fans per match. Do they need a new stadium all to themselves? The answer remains no. Almost the entire stadium was bought out last season with an attendance of 66,216 fans packed in for a match. The stadium is packed for matches, and some crowds are just as large as big clubs in Europe.

So why are they so important?

Soccer-specific stadiums are very good for the growth of this sport and league in this country. The stadiums provide a lot of usefulness to the places they get put into. Red Bull Arena was built in Harrison, a city that wasn’t exactly the nicest looking city in New Jersey. However, the stadium has improved the area around it. New, nice looking restaurants have gone in along with new luxury apartments near the stadium. The stadiums being built also shows that the league and the game are wanted here in the United States. The owners are rich enough to put in their own money, but the people believe the stadiums can help them in some way through public funding. The area can improve, be safer etc. The main purpose is so that the the clubs can start their own story, a new chapter in their book. The clubs can say that on this ground, in their own stadium, they won The Supporter’s Shield or the MLS Cup or the US Open Cup. It shows that they’re independent and don’t need an NFL stadium to rent out. The stadiums are giving way to a new era in MLS and will help them secure a nice, bright future. Hopefully stadiums will sell-out on the regular and may need to expand to fit the fans as well. The stadium could be singing the songs just like European stadiums, and not just a few sections of the stadium. The stadium is key to growth here in MLS, and every team should have one of their own for their own growth as a franchise.