lets get dreamy around here... i was looking some stadium pictures, and then i watched some stadiums that would look nice in MLS.... look at them, and please post your opinion and more pictures!!! Bolton wanderers' reebok stadium: (28K) Reading FC's "Madejski" Stadium: (30K)
Can you post one of that Genoa stadium? That's dreamy. Could fit in a tight space downtown location. I'm sure an MLS version would be smaller yet.
boavista's stadium is probably the best fit for mls, the design could be a bit different though. check out the ostseestadion, http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadiu...enburg_vorpommern/rostock_ostseestadion.shtml where usa played germany in a 2002 friendly. a similar version would be perfect for any mls team.
All good stadiums... Hopefully, the MLS will succeed to the point where they can build stadiums with real character, like baseball is doing now--Camden Field in Baltimore or Coors Field in Denver. Too bad it costs a bit more money to do it that way. However, any SSS built in the US will have to have some open areas for future expansion. The time will come when 20,000 isn't enough and it would be a real drag to have to start over. Last year, I was lucky enough to be able to attend a match with West Ham visiting "Chelsea Village". Although the place was great on atmosphere, it would be totally unworkable in the US. Here's just a few reasons: 1. It was cramped and the seats were too close together for US tastes. (And it wasn't non-smoking. Ycck!) 2. Getting in and out of your seat was extremely difficult. (Would never pass fire code in Denver!)Narrow aisles and not enough of them. You couldn't go out and buy food or drinks at the half. It would have taken you too long to work your way back in. 3. And even if you wanted to try to get refreshments, the food stands were all before the turnstyles. 4. There were no beer vendors or other mobile salespeople, like we're used to at most US sports venues. Granted, these are all unimportant to the game itself, but what's the point of building a SSS where you control the concessions if nobody can get to them? Like a lot of other things, stadiums in the US will have to reflect US tastes and expectations.
I think for teams like Chicago or the other well drawing teams, it would be dumb to just build a 20,000 seat SSS because soon that won't be adequate. Somewhere around the 25,000-30,000 is probably the best idea.
No running tracks please All I ask is that we don't build any of those 1970-1990 stadiums with the large oval design, running track bull$hit3. Something like Old Trafford, or Bolton's sadium would be great.
Bayer Leverkusen's BayArena would be nice to have for an MLS team. I think it's capacity it about 22,000.
How about Estadio Nemesio Diez of Toluca? 26,000 All-seater Or maybe Walkers Stadium in Leicester? 32,000.
This is what San Diego's stadium was supposed to look like for our former A-League team http://www.soccernova.com/html/stadiums/proposed_specific/san_diego_flash.htm
Someday I'll learn to post pictures. "View Source" must be lying to me or something. Genoa's Luigi Ferraris, follow the link. http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/europe/italy/liguria/genova.shtml
Re: All good stadiums... well I agree with all your post, but i disagree with you on this.... to me soccer is a complete experience, it onvolves, the game, the players, the people that is around me, etc... so everything counts in order to having a great experience in a game.... GENOA'S STADIUM.... very nice one!
The Fire had plans for an SSS some years back but Daly stands in our way. anyway they wanted to(this was one of the ideas) build a copy of Madjeski Stadium except make the outside brick like an old firehouse and call it Firehouse Stadium. It looked good but then plans and info just stopped.
Vitesse Arnhem's stadium in Holland is really cool. it has a retractable roof and field. I was there for the 2000 Euro cup game between Turkey and Italy.
So these fans will automatically support another team just because they can't get tickets to their team's games because it's already sold out? I'd much rather have a team in one market avergae 30,000 (hopefully that day comes) than 2 teams averaging 15,000. Pretty much every MLS stadium that has been mentioned, including HDC and CCS have left room for expansion.
take away the track and Monaco's staium would be nice. http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/europe/monaco/monte_carlo_louis_2.shtml Roda http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/europe/netherlands/kerkrade_parkstad.shtml both are a little short 20k Huelva http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/europe/spain/andalusia/huelva_colombino.shtml Oslo cap 25,600 http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/europe/norway/oslo_ullevaal.shtml
Re: All good stadiums... not that important I suppose but... redesigning to make the seats less cramped would be easy. (Chelsea were just sqeezing as many seats in as possible due to limited space) the refreshment bars outside the stadium are not run by the club. There would have been refreshment bars inside but serving everyone in 15 minutes is never easy. It's not legal to have alcohol in the seats in the UK, hence no roving beer-sellers. The stadium's design wouldn't stop there being salespeople if they were required.
The ideal US stadium... OK, let's take it a step further and try to list some of the necessary things for the ideal US SSS: 1. The stadium would have a very open design with wide aisles opening to roomy promenades behind the seats. 2. There would be a large number of refreshment stands and they would serve a a wide variety of fare. Everything from hotdogs to sushi and from soft drinks to Guiness. 3. There would have to be a large number of close restrooms, especially for women, with changing rooms for the little ones. 4. Video screens and TV's would be everywhere so people could watch the game on their way to pick up a beer. 5. You couldn't build an SSS in most cities without an adequate number of parking spaces. Exceptions might be a New York or downtown San Francisco park. These are just a few ideas. I'm sure other folks would like to add their own. Sure, this wouldn't work in the UK. And you can leave out the special fenced-off "family section" because in the US, the whole damn place is a family section. But think iof how the average American family goes to the game. They show up early in the family minivan. They check out the seats then they go for some refreshements. The teenagers want to wander around the place and check out the other teenagers. It's an entirely different cultural thing over here and the stadium has to reflect it.
Re: The ideal US stadium... A roof, water misting system for the fans like the Rose Bowl has, perhaps. Room for future expansion.