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. [edit] List of soccer-specific stadiums [edit] Major League Soccer (MLS) [edit] 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 [edit] 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 | [edit] United Soccer Leagues (USL) [edit] Current USL stadiums | Stadium | Club(s) | Division | City | Capacity | Opened | | Lusitano Stadium | Western Mass Pioneers | Second | Ludlow, MA | 3,000 | 1918 | | Legion Stadium | Wilmington Hammerheads | Second | Wilmington, NC | 5,300 | 1930s? | | Ezell Park | Nashville Metros | PDL | Nashville, TN | 1,317 | 1950s? | | City Park Stadium | Westchester Flames | PDL | New Rochelle, NY | 1,845 | 1970s? | | Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium | Puerto Rico Islanders | First | Bayamon, PR | 15,000 | 1974 | | Busch Field | Virginia Legacy
William & Mary Tribe | PDL
NCAA | Williamsburg, VA | 2,271 | 1984 | | David Maus Soccer Complex | Central Florida Kraze | PDL | Lake Mary, FL | 3,666(?) | 1995(?) | | Virginia Beach Sportsplex | Hampton Roads Piranhas | PDL | Virginia Beach, VA | 10,000 | 1999 | | Blackbaud Stadium | Charleston Battery | First | Charleston, SC | 5,113 | 1999 | | WakeMed Soccer Park | Carolina RailHawks
Cary RailHawks U23's
NC State Wolfpack | First
PDL
NCAA | Cary, NC | 7,000 | 2002 | | Macpherson Stadium | Carolina Dynamo | PDL | Greensboro, NC | 1,600 | 2002 | | Invaders Soccer Complex | Indiana Invaders | PDL | Mishawaka, IN | 4,985 | 2004 | | Patriot Stadium | El Paso Patriots | PDL | El Paso, TX | 3,000 | 2005 | | RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium | Atlanta Silverbacks
Atlanta Beat (from 2010) | First
WPS | Atlanta, GA | 5,000 | 2006 | | Marina Auto Stadium | Rochester Rhinos | First | Rochester, NY | 13,500 | 2006 | | Saputo Stadium | Montréal Impact | First | Montreal, QC | 13,000 | 2008 | | National Sports Center | Minnesota Thunder | First | Blaine, MN | 12,000 | 1990 | [edit] Proposed soccer-specific stadiums [edit] 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 | [edit] Past soccer-specific stadiums [edit] See also [edit] Notes and references [edit] External links |
