Soccer only stadiums in the US?

[Lillywhite]

Can anyone tell me if there are any profeesionel soccer stadiums in the States, dedicated only to soccer? Every match I have seen, admittedly not a huge number, in the US is played on quite a narrow pitch. The dimensions don't seem correct for soccer. Is this a problem at every ground?

[MasterShake29]

Home Depot Center - Carson, CA - Los Angeles Galaxy & CD Chivas USA

Columbus Crew Stadium - Columbus, OH - Columbus Crew

Frisco Sports & Entertainment Complex (or something like that) - Frisco, TX - FC Dallas

Blackbaud Stadium - Charleston, SC - Charleston Battery (USL-1)

PAC-TEC Park - Rochester, NY - Rochester Raging Rhinos (USL-1)

There may be a couple others, and a stadium in Chicago will open next year.

This is from memory so apologies for any errors.

[Crew14]

Right now we have two soccer specific stadiums in MLS with another in USL Div. 1 (our version of the CC Championship). Another two are under construction, and a handful of others are in the works.

[sidefootsitter]

Can anyone tell me if there are any profeesionel soccer stadiums in the States, dedicated only to soccer? Every match I have seen, admittedly not a huge number, in the US is played on quite a narrow pitch. The dimensions don't seem correct for soccer. Is this a problem at every ground? At most, though not all, stadiums built for college or pro football (the US type). But I don't think they're any worse than Anfield or Highbury.

[rabble-rabble]

A few years ago, the Utah Blitzz played a playoff match in Wilmington NC where they had a nice soccer specific facility.

[Lillywhite]

Thanks everyone for the info everyone.

True about Anfield and the Arse's (very appropriate name) ground. Then again I hate going to either ground for different reasons. hehe.

[Elninho]

Can anyone tell me if there are any profeesionel soccer stadiums in the States, dedicated only to soccer? Every match I have seen, admittedly not a huge number, in the US is played on quite a narrow pitch. The dimensions don't seem correct for soccer. Is this a problem at every ground?

Columbus Crew Stadium (opened 1998) and the Home Depot Center (2003) are the only two soccer-specific stadiums in MLS at the moment, though Frisco Sports & Entertainment Complex will open in the middle of the 2005 MLS season and the Chicago Fire's new stadium in Bridgeview will open in 2006.

At one point I looked into current pitch dimensions for every professional team in the United States. Here's what I found listed (in yards). Soccer-specific stadiums are separated out at the beginning of each division.


MLS

Home Depot Center - LA Galaxy, Chivas USA - 120x75
Columbus Crew Stadium - Columbus Crew - 115x75
Frisco Sports Complex (under construction) - FC Dallas - 116x71

Soldier Field - Chicago Fire - 116x70 (USA vs. England was played here)
Invesco Field - Colorado Rapids - 116x74
Cotton Bowl - FC Dallas - 120x76 (largest pitch in MLS)
RFK Stadium - DC United - 110x74
Arrowhead Stadium - Kansas City Wizards - 110x69
Giants Stadium - Metrostars - 106x72
Gillette Stadium - New England Revolution - 115x73
Rice-Eccles Stadium - Real Salt Lake - 120x70
Spartan Stadium - SJ Earthquakes - 110x70


USL1

Blackbaud Stadium - Charleston Battery - 120x75
Virginia Beach Sportsplex - Virginia Beach Mariners - 120x75
Swangard Stadium - Vancouver Whitecaps (Canada) - 115x74
PaeTec Park (under construction) - Rochester Rhinos - 120x78

DeKalb Memorial Stadium - Atlanta Silverbacks - 110x68
James Griffin Stadium - Minnesota Thunder - 120x65
PGE Park - Portland Timbers - 112x70
Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel - Puerto Rico Islanders - 115x75
University of Richmond Stadium - Richmond Kickers - 117x76
Frontier Field - Rochester Rhinos - 110x68
Seahawks Stadium - Seattle Sounders - 114x70
Claude Robillard Sports Complex - Montreal Impact (Canada) - 105x70
Centennial Stadium - Toronto Lynx (Canada) - 110x65


USL2

Xavier University Soccer Complex - Cincinnati Kings - no dimensions listed
Skyline Sports Complex - Harrisburg City Islanders - 110x72
George Larkin Field - New Hampshire Phantoms - 120x76
Lusitano Stadium - Western Mass. Pioneers - 110x75

E.E. Waddell High School Stadium - Charlotte Eagles - 120x64
Mitchel Athletic Complex - Long Island Rough Riders - 120x70
Forest Park High School Stadium - Northern Virginia Royals - no dimensions listed
Falconi Field - Pittsburgh Riverhounds - 108x70
Legion Stadium - Wilmington Hammerheads - 115x70

[DoctorD]

Why do we all worry about the "postage-stamp" that is spartan stadium when Arrowhead's soccer field is smaller?

[Elninho]

Why do we all worry about the "postage-stamp" that is spartan stadium when Arrowhead's soccer field is smaller?

Mostly a trick of our collective memory, I think. When MLS started up, Spartan was the narrowest field in the league at 64 yards, but at some point (in 1998, IIRC) the field was widened, making it slightly larger than the Arrowhead field. Still, because the Spartan Stadium field had already been known to be small, we probably just kept thinking of it as such.

[okiebear]

The PR people at the clubs, in the last month, told me that Home Depot is 120x80 and Chicago will be 116x72. Dimensions are important, I think, because, as an example, that extra 8 yards at Home Depot can reward a quick team and stretch a slow team. I look for how faster teams use a wider pitch; some are too dumb to know the advantage available. But I won't, of course, mention Liverpool as example...darn, did it again.

[Elninho]

Home Depot can accomodate a 120x80 field, but the actual dimensions can change depending on how the home team wants to play. Sigi Schmid used to routinely ask the grounds crew to mark out a 120x71 field (at the time the outside mids were Herzog and Jones, both of whom tended to play a bit more centrally and both of whom were starting to slow down with age), and the current HDC field is usually 120x75 for Galaxy home games. This season, you may even see differently-sized fields depending on whether it's the Galaxy or Chivas playing there.

[okiebear]

thanks elninho. Betis or Celta Vigo in Spain, I forget which...mebee both...change width depending on whether they think they are faster than the next opponent. Old lines from the last match are usually visible. :eek:

[PYordan]

thanks elninho. Betis or Celta Vigo in Spain, I forget which...mebee both...change width depending on whether they think they are faster than the next opponent. Old lines from the last match are usually visible. :eek:

That sounds like something Betis would do.

[American40]

It would be interesting to see what the EPL stadium field sizes (er, sorry, 'pitch' sizes) are...

Anyone want to go looking? I don't... ;)

[GOOOOOLZ]

Why can't we build stadiums exactly the same as in England, i think those are perfect models of best soccer stadium, don't you think ?

[MasterShake29]

Because none of us here can afford to build one. Get a whole bunch of money together, buy a piece of land, and you can build a stadium however you want to.I didn't realize all soccer stadiums in England were exactly the same.

[ejo1956]

http://www.musco.com/projshow/images/lockhartstadium.jpg

everyone seems to forget about Lockhart Stadium in Miami. Back when the Miami Fuision was around I thought that Lockhart was one of the best soccer-specific stadiums in the country. It had a nice size and had great atmosphere. Does anyone ever play there anymore?

[ThreeApples]

Mostly a trick of our collective memory, I think. When MLS started up, Spartan was the narrowest field in the league at 64 yards, but at some point (in 1998, IIRC) the field was widened, making it slightly larger than the Arrowhead field. Still, because the Spartan Stadium field had already been known to be small, we probably just kept thinking of it as such.The real dimensions of Spartan Stadium are 68.5x108. 70x110 was a fiction created for the 1999 WWC.

[Lillywhite]

In a couple of posts I sense a little hostility. Maybe it's just me misreading them. I don't know. Either way. I haven't seen many matches played in the states. So at the England game I did notice the pitch seemed narrow.

Maybe I should have also stated that this, in my mind, does not mean that every ground in the States is narrow and bad or that all English pitches are perfect and that God himself should kneel down before them. The problem with most English stadiums is that the have no frigging toilets.

Also the dimensions of the pitch across the world don't vary that greatly either. It doesn't, however, need more than 4 or 5 yards difference in width to considerably change the way a particular game is played.

The original question only entered my mind anyway because of what some USMNT fans were discussing. They were saying how congested the midfield was.

[okiebear]

It would be interesting to see what the EPL stadium field sizes (er, sorry, 'pitch' sizes) are...

Anyone want to go looking? I don't... ;)


You might see if the site stadiums.com is still operating; then pick your nation, and team.