Stadium

[WestHamUtdFC]

i know the mls isnt drawing huge numbers and 18500 is a capactity for what the average seem to be i guess.....but the ny-galaxy game was 65000.....if this league does in five years or so attract the bigger names these small stadiums could be restricting the growth of the league.....

[sirfallsalot_2000]

I think there is an option to expand this stadium to 45,000+ when the time comes. but that could be a good 10 years off, people won't come to see beckham forever.

[bulldg27]

The stadium is designed to go up I believe. According to another post they can raise the roof up and add another level.

[StevenGerrardisGod]

Yea I was gonna say something about the capacity being pretty low but if I'm glad to hear that it the capacity can be raised if needed. I cannot wait til sept 10 to hear if it goes through this would be a huge boost for soccer fans across the st louis area but the next thing they must do is put a metro stop by the stadium

[bellysk8er2005]

The stadium is designed to go up I believe. According to another post they can raise the roof up and add another level.
most of the SSS of the MLS are built like this incase it would happen

[bulldg27]

That would be unbelievable to be the first team to have to increase the size of the stadium due to attendance. I think that is what everyone should shoot for; to fill the stadium every single game.

[ironhead]

The stadium's size is absolutely spot-on. There is no reason to build it substantially larger than 18,500. First of all, if STL United draws sell-out crowds consistently, we will all be extraordinarily happy and gratified. Secondly, if we draw something similar to the average attendance of MLS (appx. 15k per game), then we'll still have a great atmosphere of 15k people in an 18.5k stadium. Lastly, Cooper indicated that the stadium will be able to be expanded in the future, should it be necessary - which would all be gravy at this point.

Re: Beckham's attendance boost - I certainly hope it continues and raises the attendance bar overall, but I don't think that it's likely. Raising the quality of play in the league overall will raise overall attendances to a new level. Accomplishing that will likely take a generation or so, combined with greater financial success for the league. The bottom line is that we'll fix the "problem" of higher attendances in smaller SSS's if/when the time comes.

[Nerazzuri]

The stadium's size is absolutely spot-on. There is no reason to build it substantially larger than 18,500. First of all, if STL United draws sell-out crowds consistently, we will all be extraordinarily happy and gratified. Secondly, if we draw something similar to the average attendance of MLS (appx. 15k per game), then we'll still have a great atmosphere of 15k people in an 18.5k stadium. Lastly, Cooper indicated that the stadium will be able to be expanded in the future, should it be necessary - which would all be gravy at this point.

Re: Beckham's attendance boost - I certainly hope it continues and raises the attendance bar overall, but I don't think that it's likely. Raising the quality of play in the league overall will raise overall attendances to a new level. Accomplishing that will likely take a generation or so, combined with greater financial success for the league. The bottom line is that we'll fix the "problem" of higher attendances in smaller SSS's if/when the time comes.


Spot on. When the Cardinals were building the new stadium, they were getting a lot of flack because it had a capacity 6,000 people less than the old stadium--even though it still had a capacity that was 9,000 people higher than the average attendance of Cardinals games in the final year of the old stadium, which was incredibly high to begin with.

Mark Lamping had a great response:

"You don'tm build your church for Easter Sunday."

And he's right. Why spend more money building a bigger stadium that will most often sit partially empty? Build it smaller, pack the fans in, give it a great atmosphere. It's designed so that it can be expanded, later, if need be.

The Jacksonville Jaguars set incredible attendance marks the first several seasons they were in the league. Then, the team struggled, and the novelty wore off. Attendance wained. Over the last few seasons, they have actually started covering up certain sections of the stadium, to lower capacity. The whole point of having a SSS is to AVOID doing that.

Regarding the "Beckham Effect":

1) We are not New York. Yes, he's been getting big crowds everywhere, but New York was the largest because, well, it's New York. We don't compete with them in terms of population, celebrity, etc. Basing our decision on them is not comparing apples to apples.

2) It's still new. He's getting big crowds everywhere he goes, as everyone clamors to see him for the first time. While he will always draw big crowds, they will likely taper off as the years go by--both because the non-soccer fans have seen him, and don't need to go again, and because as he gets older, his skills will diminish a bit. Hopefully, at the same time, the quality of play around the league gets better. He'll always be a star, but he may not be as dynamic in two years' time when (if) we have a team.

3) Cross that bridge when we come to it. 18,500 is well above league average attendance. Let's start by working on filling that many seats. If the time comes that the Galaxy are coming to town and Cooper truly feels he can sell an additional 15,000 seats or more, I am sure he'd be willing to talk to the league, the Rams, the St. Louis Sports Commission, and the Convention and Visitors Bureau, about renting the Edward Jones Dome out for that one game.

[P@rick_STL]

Are MLS clubs doomed to play on FieldTurf or some other artificial surface? Do any MLS teams currently play on real grass?

[jfranz]

Are MLS clubs doomed to play on FieldTurf or some other artificial surface? Do any MLS teams currently play on real grass?

:confused:

The ONLY teams in the league that currently play on plastic - and are likely to stay on plastic for a while - are Toronto and New England.

New York will play on grass when Red Bull Park (currently under construction) is finished. Real Salt Lake will also play on grass when their Sandy Stadium (also currently under construction, and progressing more quickly) is finished.

And EVERY other team in the league already plays on grass.

Moreover, Toronto may change to grass when/if the stadium is expanded. And there is talk of a new SSS near Boston for New England which would presumable also be a grass pitch. So it's not something you should worry about. After RBNY and RSL move (in the next year or two) there will only be two teams in the entire league still playing on plastic.

Unless I missed something? The St. Louis stadium is going to have grass, right?

[P@rick_STL]

This is reassuring. After reading your reply, I revisited the article I read about the stadium and saw that I misinterpreted a statement about a "youth soccer complex with eight FIFA approved artificial turf fields" to also refer to the stadium playing surface.

Based on what you say about the existing MLS venues (about which I know nothing), it would be shocking if this otherwise ambitious plan failed to include real grass.

Thanks!

:confused:

The ONLY teams in the league that currently play on plastic - and are likely to stay on plastic for a while - are Toronto and New England.

New York will play on grass when Red Bull Park (currently under construction) is finished. Real Salt Lake will also play on grass when their Sandy Stadium (also currently under construction, and progressing more quickly) is finished.

And EVERY other team in the league already plays on grass.

Moreover, Toronto may change to grass when/if the stadium is expanded. And there is talk of a new SSS near Boston for New England which would presumable also be a grass pitch. So it's not something you should worry about. After RBNY and RSL move (in the next year or two) there will only be two teams in the entire league still playing on plastic.

Unless I missed something? The St. Louis stadium is going to have grass, right?

[McGinty]

This is reassuring. After reading your reply, I revisited the article I read about the stadium and saw that I misinterpreted a statement about a "youth soccer complex with eight FIFA approved artificial turf fields" to also refer to the stadium playing surface.

I wouldn't worry. You aren't the first person to assume this.

[MLS_owner]

you r right, i think football(soccer) should be played on grass period.

[WestHamUtdFC]

is there a name to the stadium yet if it were to go up....... hopefully its something cool like pizza hut park or home depot field or whatever its is hahaha...... wow their are some ridiculous names to stadiums and arenas, quite embarassing!

[ironhead]

I think it's safe to assume there will be a sponsorship deal for the stadium's name. I just hope it's at least something like a last name, etc. instead of Home Depot or the like. Schlafly Park would be cool, if they would be interested. Anheuser Park would also be perfectly acceptable.

Ideally, it would be Cooper Park or perhaps Eastport Park (as I believe some have suggested the development might be called Eastport). Horseshoe Lake Road would be charming, except the street name sound kinda lame.

[Marchetti]

Nearly every soccer-specific stadium being built in America is capable of expanding it's size, in most cases from 20,000 to 30,000 within a year or two.

Doubling the size of a SSS would obviously take a little while longer, but it is all part of the *projected* growth of MLS. In fact, most USL franchises building their own stadiums understand the same idea, albeit to a lesser extent.

For a good understanding of USL stadiums, look up Montreal's new Saputo Stadium, and Atlanta's Greater Atlanta ReMax Stadium. Both Charleston and Carolina play in adequately sized stadiums as well, where capacity reaches no higher than 10,000.

It's all part of some plan some guy came up with a while ago. You know?

[Marchetti]

Also, as it stands right now, the majority of MLS teams play on natural grass fields, including the SSS's in Chicago, LA (Galaxy and Chivas USA), Dallas, Colorado and Columbus.

Houston plays their games on natural grass, as does DC and KC.

Real Salt Lake, New England and New York all play on artificial surfaces made for American football.

Toronto FC is the only team in the league that has their own SSS, but plays on artificial grass.

Furthermore, looking at USL franchises, the only team in that league to have their own stadium not fitted with natural grass would be the Rochester Raging Rhinos.

[PopsKrock]

Also, as it stands right now, the majority of MLS teams play on natural grass fields, including the SSS's in Chicago, LA (Galaxy and Chivas USA), Dallas, Colorado and Columbus.

Houston plays their games on natural grass, as does DC and KC.

Real Salt Lake, New England and New York all play on artificial surfaces made for American football.

Toronto FC is the only team in the league that has their own SSS, but plays on artificial grass.

Furthermore, looking at USL franchises, the only team in that league to have their own stadium not fitted with natural grass would be the Rochester Raging Rhinos.

Portland plays on turf.

[ironhead]

Portland plays on turf.

Ahh, but they play at PGE Park, which is not an SSS. It was built for minor league baseball. That aside, it's still pretty cool because it's right in the middle of the city center and on a MAX line (Portland's light rail).

[Allison A]

PGE Park was not built for minor league baseball. If you look at the stands, it's actually a partial horseshoe and with the addition of a grandstand along the one side, could be converted into a SSS relatively cheaply.

http://pgepark.com.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/VirtualMap/TIMBERSMAP2.jpg