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Red Bull Arena (formerly known as Red Bull Park) is a soccer stadium under construction that will be the home of the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer (MLS). Located in Harrison, New Jersey, it is slated to open for the 2010 MLS season.[3] A soccer-specific stadium (SSS), it is expected to have a capacity of about 25,000 and feature a full, translucent, European-style roof that will cover all of the seats in the stadium but not the field. The stadium will sit alongside the Passaic River with a view of the Newark, New Jersey skyline to the west, and New York City and Jersey City further off in a distance to the east. The stadium will be accessible via public transportation at the PATH train stop at Harrison. The construction project has been beset with delays. The original plan, announced on July 1, 2004, was to move the MetroStars (as Red Bull New York was known at the time) from their current home at Giants Stadium by the beginning of the 2006 season. Negotiations between MLS and the state of New Jersey dragged on until an agreement was announced on August 5, 2005, for the MetroStars to begin playing there in the 2007 season. Concerns about environmental clean-up at the site forced another delay.[4] Additionally, though the groundbreaking took place September 19, 2006 and construction was set for November 2007, that was delayed by one month when Red Bull bought out the MetroStars club from Anschutz Entertainment Group, changing the club's name in the process. After projections of opening during the 2008, and then the 2009 season, on January 23, 2009, it was announced that the arena opening would be delayed until 2010.[5]
[edit] Red Bull buyout and new designIn addition to purchasing the team, Red Bull bought out AEG's $100 million share of the stadium, an after effect of lasting disagreements between the two corporations regarding their plans for the facility. Their differences prompted a significant delay in the early stages of the stadium's construction. After the naming rights of the soccer team were acquired, leading to the name Red Bull Park, Red Bull instituted a number of changes to the stadium's original design, which sparked tension between the Austrian-based energy drink company and AEG. Red Bull opted out of AEG's plan to construct a stage in the stadium for performances, one that would have increased profit margins for the group.[6][7] Construction of Red Bull Park began in late December 2007 with an undetermined 2009 completion date. The updated design was completed by Rossetti architects from Los Angeles and will be built by New Jersey-based Hunter Roberts Construction Group, LLC. The new design features a roof extending just past the field's touchlines with 60 feet (18 m) of the roof being transparent to allow for natural light. The first row of seating is to be approximately 21 feet (6.4 m) from the touchlines. The design is on par with those of soccer stadiums around the world.[8][9] It will look similar to the Hypo-Arena in Klagenfurt, Austria in appearance.[10] [edit] Construction Construction commenced on Red Bull Park on January 3, 2008, including the first of 3,000 timber piles driven into the ground to support the new stadium. On January 11, 2008, Erik Stover was announced as the new GM of Red Bull Arena during construction and then on after. He has served as GM of Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego since 2005.[11] On February 20, 2008, a CAN$28–$30 million contract was announced with Structal-Heavy Steel Construction to assist in the fabrication and construction of steel components. Fabrication began offsite in the second quarter of 2008, and erection in Fall, 2008.[12] By Summer 2008, many news sources—both online and print—published articles doubting the ability of the project to be finished on schedule. They cited the lack of physical structure on the site. However, Managing Director Erik Stover sent an email to season ticket holders on August 1, 2008 stating that construction is still within the 2009 timetable. The email indicated that all underground work and piles are completed. The first steel girder was put in place on August 19, 2008.[13] The arena was reported by the New York Times to be 55% complete on March 27, 2009.[14] The last major beam for the roof was topped out on April 15, 2009.[15] Enclosure panels started going up on May 27, 2009.[16] The first section of the Red Bull Arena roof was completed in August 2009.[17]The underground drainage and turf-heating system installation began on August 18, 2009.[18] It has been announced that the stadium would be opened on March 27, 2010 as the Red Bulls will begin their season against the Chicago Fire. [edit] Name changeOn August 18, 2008, the club announced that the name of the stadium had been changed from Red Bull Park to Red Bull Arena.[19] [edit] References
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