Taken from the MLS N&A thread: http://www.kcforum.net/forum/viewthread.php?action=attachment&tid=34338&pid=610386 Notes: 1. No telling what the authenticity or veracity of this is 2. MLS logo appears to be the pre-1996 red/white/blue version 3. With five or more years of various stadium efforts in Kansas City that would've involved mockups, graphics, etc.... it is very possible that this is, in fact, a legitimate rendering - but not have anything to do with the current stadium effort. 4. It appears to be a direct ripoff of the late Jeju World Cup Stadium in Seogwipo, South Korea. 5. If this ends up being built, Kansas City will have the most kickass stadium in all of MLS.
thats one fugly stadium dude...i think the roof pretty much makes it look like crap...i like how the seats are set up...thats about it...plus its in the middle of nowhere...however it's not my team so i could care less
If they build that thing it will make MLS a target for players that wish to play in kick ass stadiums... it kicks major ass.
Well, they took off the renderings but I must admit that is going to be one beautiful stadium if it gets done!!
The big-ass empty lot to the right of the center point on this Google map: http://www.ibiblio.org/footy/kcsite Bounded by Antioch Road on the west, US-69 on the east, 159th street to the north and 167th street to the south. There is currently a US-69 interchange at 167th and there is approval to add another at 159th. EDIT: WTF? Why is Tiny URL a banned word?
Wow that is BA!! It is good to see MLS gravitating toward more foward design, now that the Camden Yards of MLS has been established in Chicago.
They made some serious mistakes in Chicago. Not necessarily ones that are immediately obvious to casual fans, but hopefully they're problems that'll be addressed in future stadiums. The biggest problem - and one I've been pointing out for around a year and a half is that, the seats in the front row are too low given that there's no moat, trench, or dugouts around the field such that the folks who are on the field, but not playing in the game are blocking the view of the most expensive seats. Standing on the field during the ASG, I was eye level with folks seated in the third row. I tried to tell folks - even Peter Wilt - but my concerns were ignored in Chicago. Now all the security folks, ball kids, tv cameramen, cable pulls, sound dish folks, photographers, team/league functionaries, halftime entertainers, linesmen, players warming up, and anyone else on the field, but not actually in the game are in the line of sight between paying customers and the action on the field. At this point, there's really not much that can be cheaply done about it. There are other issues, but like I said, they don't particularly impact the way the stadium looks. But they do impact that way the stadium is used and the imagery that can be take from events at the stadium to help market the place. It's all unfortunate because on paper Toyota Park is a jewel. In practice, it's a functional step backwards. Hopefully they can address the mistakes they made when they rushed to do something "better" than CCS/HDC/PHP without considering the consequences of those changes. Sometimes function is more important than form.
yeah, not having a moat would be a flaw in that design. in the euro games i see on tv, it really doesn't seem like there are a lot of people on the sidelines anyway, just ballboys (the linesmen are on the pitch). i suppose the tp folks could cut a small moat around the pitch, enough for ballboys and the like, but seeing as how we're used to the small army of people you mention above milling around our sidelines, a small moat probably wouldn't suffice anyway. guess we'll have to get used to super high first rows like php, or a big moat, unless we wanna restrict who is on the sidelines.
I've sat in the third row before and didn't have much of an issue. Of course what knowledgable fan would sit in the third row (unless they were forced ) This would be the most troublesome in the endzone which is actually the cheapest seats. The sidelines are raise, but not too far and the most expensive seats (club) are raised even further to accomodate the team benches and the tunnel area (also know as the Steve Nichol tantrun area.) There is clearly a trade off of closeness/ sightlines, but there is nothing better than sitting in the corner, for a corner and being at near field level. Andy, since I haven't been to HDC or PHP, how does this compare to the sightlines in the first couple rows there? My biggest problem is that somebody put a big a$$ stage in one of the endzones!
Hard for me to say. The only MLS SSS that I've watched a game from the stands in is CCC. From personal experience and from talking with other folks, the consensus is that folks that really want to see the game for the sake of following it from a tactical perspective, is that they're going to want to be 15-20 rows up anyway. So the height of fans in the first row is relatively irrelevant. There's definitely a rush and "feel of the game" one gets on the sideline (or at "ice level" in hockey") but you can also lose the "big picture". NFL teams have coaches in the press box for a reason. If you want forest, it doesn't matter. If you want trees, then I'm sure Toyota Park is preferable to the Home Depot Center or Pizza Hut Park. I tend to be a "low percentage" photographer. I like to shoot from the hard angles. From right on top of the action. The problem is that sometimes, not much happens where I can get it - or it happens so fast that I have to be very fast and good to get it. You'll see a lot of "wire service" (read: AP) soccer shots and hockey shots, etc... from "tv camera" angles. The reason is that you're more likely to get something usable from every game and every significant play. That said, it's often harder to get the "wow" or "holy crap" shots. Not impossible, but harder. But when I want to watch and analyze a game, the "tv angles" - or midfield about 20 rows up - is the place to be. If you go to a college conference tournament and want to find the MLS scouts, they're going to be on the 18 yard line at the top of the stands.
That's amazing. I was in row #2 of Toyota Park last night and I never once thought about how bad the seats were. My girlfriend's 3 nieces definately had no problems with having their view(s) obstructed by players as they warmed up.