Ok, so now that it's official that the Dallas Burn will be playing in Southlake for at least 1 season, I decided to make the 15 minute trek to the facility and get a good look at the infamous Dragon Stadium. I was fortunate in that there is a soccer tournament being played this weekend, so for a few bucks I was able to waltz right in and take pictures. I ultimately took 50 pics or so, but I've posted 15 on a very quick and dirty website: http://www.geocities.com/gollum1197/DragonStadium This should give you a pretty good idea of what we're dealing with here. And now for some observations: It's VERY easy to get there. I won't give the exact directions here, but trust me. Unfortunately, getting parked once you're there will be tough since the roads within 1/4th of a mile leave a lot to be desired. Parking will be an issue, but not only are there industrial places nearby who could offer parking, but Mustang-Panther Stadium is darn near close to being within walking distance. If they offer shuttles from there then parking would be almost doubled right off the bat. A sellout of 13,000+ will definately swamp concession stands, I'd wager. There are two stations on the home side, and I assume two on the other. I think there are 4 sets of bathrooms as well. There appears to be a souvenir store when you walk into the home side. Start selling Burn gear! The club seats are nice. Comfy seats with great sightlines and lots of leg room. The 2-story press areas looked nice as well, and there was a conference room by the main home entrance. The bleachers aren't so nice, but man do you get close to the field. I almost got hit by the ball a few times, and would almost be afraid to sit that close when the pros hit the field. The coloring on the turf stands out in the pics, but I didn't mind so much watching a match. I can only hope the field goal uprights will be taken out for Burn matches, and the lines can be covered. FieldTurf (or whatever) is really nice. I was able to sneak on the field at halftime and walk on it. It's like lush indoor/outdoor carpet (I mean that in a good way) with black, rubberish chunks all in it. When I set my foot down the turf didn't grab it like AstroTurf does. I could pivot really easily and not feel it in my knees. Watching the game, it played like grass. Extra stands could definately be added in front of the training rooms, but one problem I noticed was how close the foundation was to the field. The concrete is very close to the goal line, and there was even an attacker who couldn't stop and fell on her butt once her cleats hit the cement. This place could rock if packed with screaming fans. All in all, I was impressed. With added bleachers and no football markings, you wouldn't know it was a high school stadium. It'd even look great on tv. Just visiting the stadium made me feel better about the move, and I look forward to sitting up close for a match (although not TOO close). Oh, well.....just my $0.02 worth........
They were unable to get rid of the pointy ball lines in Chicago at the high school there. Is there any reason to belive it can be done at Dragon Stadium? I'm still amazed how nice it is for a high school stadium.. Those seats! I've never seen any thing but total bleachers at a high school before. Thanks for the pix!
The crowd in the pics looked about right for a Burn game. It looks like a nice small stadium. My issues are: When will the temp bleachers be in place? In time for opening day? Can the fieldgoal posts be taken down and can the lines be covered? Thanks for the pics.
the more i see of this stadium, the less i dread the burn playing there. fieldturf seems like an ok playing surface and if they get rid of the football lines i believe dallas will have a sweet little home for the next two years.
Not too bad.. If there is any way those lines could be covered up it would be a big plus.. The one worry I have though is for the TV viewer.. What kind of angles will the cameras have? It seems pretty gosh darned tight along that one sideline.. Corner kicks seem almost out of sight.. Doesn't really matter anyway as the Burn usually only have about 5 games on TV anyway..
looks pretty damn nice for a high school stadium...geeze... so the lines are painted on the field? i wonder if they will be covered up for the burn games and i gotta agree with the other poster; those purple and black endzones are pretty damn ugly.
I have a feeling that the markings can't be undone because it's turf and the blades are dyed those colors. It may not be that it can't be done at all. If it can be done, it costs money to do it come fall when the football teams will be at it again. Maybe the cost will not be enough of a factor but I just have a feeling, like in Chicago, we will have to live with that horrid markings situation while the Burn is there.
ugh... lets just hope that they don't get 6 or 7 nationally televised games like the fire did last year.
Wait a second. This is a high school football stadium? How does the school district afford teachers, books, lab equipment, computers, etc? I mean, the seats have frickin' CUPHOLDERS!!
Hala, you're trying to reason with the unreasonable. For the record, the Los Angeles match on May 11, and the two matches against the MetroStars (June 22 and July 27) were Cardinal Stadium's only national television appearances in 2002. Those last two got two of the higher ratings of the season, so lots of folks saw it, though.
Dude, this is Texas. Football is important. Book learnin' is for sissies. There are some pretty nice high school football stadia in Ohio and Pennsylvania as well, from what I've heard.
Not sure that they can't be undone. I have heard that they can be, but there are costs involved. I'm sure someone will let us know soon enough. I am optimistic that the Dragons can do without the elaborate endzone marking for a few years to help the district earn some money. Obviously, come football season the lines will be back(if they ever go away), but hopefully just the lines.
Nice pics Lone Star. That's a nice stadium. The seats are close to the field. My only issue is the grid lines,they are a big distraction. Other than that,Dragon stadium seems like it's going to be a nice home.
I agree with everyone. After seeing the pics this is a much better stadium than the one in Naperville. BUT and this is a big BUT. It all goes to ************ if they dont get the goddam lines out. This move afterall was to mimic a home for the burn now wasnt it. But it's obviously not the burn's home its the home of the friggen Dragon's.
Nice little stadium you guys have to play in down there. I drove by my high school's stadium, it's been 8 years since i was in school there and they built this beautiful nice football/soccer stadium. i'm in PA so football is big here like texas and ohio. I think it cost around 3.5mil to build. I was like so that is probably going to be like where the burn will play, not too bad. The crowds will look better at least all packed in there.
ok, time for a dumb question: how should a soccer team without an official owner have enough clout to go to a high school football stadium in north texas and tell them to get rid of the lines on the field? as i said, a dumb question...
The place still looks pretty damn bush league to me. What an embarrassment. I'm so glad Minor League Soccer has "arrived."
The field markings should have been addressed before they signed the dotted line. If they have lines on the field on opening day, I will be very disappointed. How foolish does this league have to look before people start using their brains.
You're saying if the lines dont disappear its no better than Naperville? Geesus people, you guys are picky as hell. It's not that bad. Chiefs fans dont complain when their is pitch markings on their field. MLB and NFL fans never complained about the others' lines when they used to share stadiums. So what if the lines stayed there? You still have: A) 13,000+ temporary stadium. B) Full sized, regulation pitch C) seats with good sightlines D) seats up close to the touchline. E) some actual comfortable seats F) Cup holders! G) a deal where the team gets ALL revenues. H) A chance to for the team to say "this full stadium is what it will look like if you build us an SSS." I) FieldTurf as opposed to the crap in Naperville. J) a statement already that all the usual soccer fan stuff will be allowed in. Of those 10 things I listed above, Naperville has only has 3 of them.
The only answer I can think of is the bare bones minimum of $105,000 a year ($7,000 per regular season match) the school district will recieve that they don't have to share with anyone under the Robin Hood act.......or whatever the heck it's called. I think in one of the articles I read that was a reason listed for why Southlake was pursuing a deal such as this.
The only thing that makes Naperville tolerable in my mind is that it's a temporary move. Other than that it's a crap stadium. Dragon stadium is a much better stadium in many ways than Naperville like you said, but it may or may not be temporary. Well atleast there havent been any reports saying that the burn would move back to the Cotton Bowl, nor have there been any confirmations on Frisco. All that we are told is that they can extend the lease deal anytime and also terminate the deal anytime. Lots of question marks remain. Knowing that, everything having to do with this apparent stadium deal is good for the immedieate future except for the gridiron lines. Remember, perception is everything. Especially for a league that is approaching 8 years. The last thing we need is another reminder that football is first, soccer is second.