I was just thinking recently about how the stadium talks have reportedly progressed and I think Freddy has a lot to do with that. If the injury to Martins was due to a lack of necessary facilities, the pressure should increase to get a stadium done. Ideally I'd love for someone in the front office will get a hold of this thread and use it for input when creating the blueprint for our stadium. So what do you want? I'll start. I thought that Victoria Street would boast a much closer view to the field for the fans. Instead it seems as though the front row is elavated and far away from the action. Now I'm sure this would look good in DC with all the banners we have along the side, but I would love to be right at field level. So my suggestion would be to put the fans right on the field. Keep the stands tight and don't allow all this wasted space on the sides. Much like this... Highbury (Arsenal) Please don't sell out and name the stadium something like Dr. Scholls Foot Powder Coliseum. We're the class of MLS so let's have our stadium reflect that class. I know dollars speak louder than my whimsical cries but please, please, please don't sell out. Mods, if there were any threads like this a while ago, sorry. Just bump the other one.
You mean other than a complimentary seat for me complete with my own all-you-can-drink-for-free beer tap in the arm rest? The problem with the first row at HDC isn't that it's high off the ground. It's that the field was made too big. The height of the front row is actually very good. It gives just enough perspective from above so you really can see the game without making you feel like you're in the upper deck. Maybe you could drop it a foot or so but the perspective, I think, is worth having. The field should probably only be 75 yards wide. HDC, I believe, can handle something like 80 yards which is simply too big. So when they play at 75 yards there it seems like the seats are far away from the sidelines.
Fans. More than anything else I want a full house. All the perks are nice, but if it draws a full house 25,000 or so, then it's a success. The rest is gravy.
I think DC United stadium should be the stadium of all stadiums in the US. Why? Cause DCU were the Mac Daddies of MLS for the first few years and they beat a team from Brazil in a tournament that actually gave them some bragging rights. Because I flew from Puerto Rico to see 4 games in MLS's 3rd and 4th seasons and seeing close to 30,000 in attendance for those matches was awsome. DC United deserves a place like the one in LA only more so. As much as I like HDC I am not completely happy with its design. I would seriously like a stadium model for at least ONE MLS team to look like the classic stadiums from England or Europe. The inclined seats that almost reach the floor with a roof on all sides is EXACTLY what I am talking about. One day I think MLS will get it together and get us a four sided roof stadium that will have an atmosphere that is still lacking in MLS. HDC is great and all, but it makes me feel MLS only took to 75% and not 100% when you think of going all out.
What do I want in our stadium (eventually)? Guiness, like they have up at the Razor. Close to the field intimacy, like they don't have up at the Razor and like they do have in England. I absolutely agree with MightyMouse on this. And what else? Well me, of course.
Home Depot Center-like stadium would be awesome. Here's my hopes: 1. Roof - absolutely necessary as we have a lot of fair-weather fans ... as 2003 attendance proved. 2. Stands Very Close to Field - enhances atmosphere and makes the game much more exciting both in person and on TV. 3. Wide Field - I think the current RFK dimensions are ideal. I don't want Spartan, and I think the HDC is too big. 4. Expandability - I'm cool with a 20-25k stadium, but only if it has expandability for at least 10-25k more. Put hospitality tents and hot-dog vendors (in the little wheeled carts) there for the time being, make it the official tailgating area, or even make it VIP parking, but reserve some space all the way around for future expansion. Design the stadium so that it actually is expandable, even if it means a higher tier in 4 separate sections. We want MLS to grow in popularity, let's plan for it now. 5. Affordability - Looking at our current stalwart fans and the dramatic increase in ticket prices for the Home Depot Center, I definitely think there needs to be full consideration into how to make the game affordable for us fans. While many of the fans can afford and/or will splurge for significantly higher (doubling?) ticket prices, many simply cannot rationally make that decision. I'd hate to inadvertently ailienate a significant portion of the true fans. Actually, this is my main reason for being happy with RFK. 6. Corporate Sponsorship - If it helps recover the investment in the new stadium and keep MLS in business, I'm all for it. But I just hope it's not Roto-Rooter Field or something. Similarly, if it can help offset some of the dramatic rise in ticket prices, I'm likewise happy about it. 7. Bouncing Stand Area - At least one section (for the supporters groups) should be bouncy. I realize that it wasn't intentional, but in the bouncy stand MLS has found the ultimate TV atmosphere maker. Let's not lose it. -Digital
-Near the Metro so I don't have to navigate 66 with my BAL at .06 -In a part of the city where it is accesable to all classes of peoples (not that RFK isn't mind you) -Capacity at 16,000 with plans for expansion. Like others have said, I hate going to games where it feels empty. That can be anywhere. I was at a game atthe Nou Camp and there were 60,000 people there and the place seemed empty. So perhaps intimacy is the word I should have used. -I also wish that they had a designated away fans stand. I was having a conversation with Johnny Moore once in SJ and he told me they do that when the play foreign teams at Spartan stadium. I think it makes a nice feel. We are very clique as fans in the mls. I like that. This side mine that side yours. We can show the world that we can do this without violence too.
Okay then. How about "Everclear Grain Alcohol Stadium" or "Trojan Extra-Large Condom Stadium". Or my personal favorite "Deja Vu Showgirls Stadium". I agree with all above. More fans, cheaper/better beer, and a proper layout ala Anfield or Highbury.
Don't forget the cupholders, either. I would like a terrace like at Crew Statium. Someplace where people can mill around and watch the game away from their seats. I agree with the people who said it needs to be exandable. And that expandability needs to be both cheap and easy. Decent concessions. I liked the toolbox quite a bit but obviously in DC we can't have the concessions in on an open-air concourse. Too much rain and hot sun. Lotsa bathrooms. Lots and lots of bathrooms. Something that RFK has the toolbox doesn't have is tv's on the concourse so if you're standing in line for food you can still see the game. Let's put those in the restrooms, too.
How about painting the seats in the various supporter section to spell out the same of the supporters club? One thing I would like to see is United (or someone else) record some of our songs and play them instead of the canned music before and after games. Oh yes, even more important than bouncing stands: The visitors entrance/exit must go under La Norte so we can be proper hosts. Sachin
Too true. One team in my local club has "SEPTICLEAN" on their jerseys! What the new place must have is a tailgating area. I can't believe tailgating isn't allowed at the HDC.
did any of you see the updated pictures going around about a month ago? at the same time chris bergin did the article with Hudson talking about the progress of the stadium, supposedly there were some new pics going around.
Plans aren't the problem - they have plenty of artist's conceptions, I'm sure. They need to find a place to build the friggin thing!
Replace the CSC with the Hooters girls. If some babe in tiny orange mini pants and a too small tshirt tells you to get off the seats, believe me you'll get off the seats.
The El Diablo Stand at one end -- preferably El Norte. Come up with three more so each end is named like in the English grounds. PNE has one stand named after Alan Kelly, once our part time GK coach.
Besides the bouncing section, I would like it if the seats where La Norte sits behind the goal were above the goal. For example, the Univeristy of Marylands seats behind the goal. Im not saying just the same number of seats behind the goal but more like where the seats are located.
I'm not really saying anything new here, but I do spend a lot of time thinking about a new DC United stadium. I'd like the capacity to be something around 25,000, so that DC United can fill, or approach filling, the stadium on a regular basis. If the stadium is a nice venue with an exciting atmosphere, and if DC United wins regularly, this shouldn't be out of reach. Make the field about 75 yards wide, and place the seating as close to the touchline as possible, without creating obstructions. There's no sense in making the field area big enough for an 80 yard field if they're not going to use all that space. The height where the seating at HDC starts seems fine, as it allows a clear view of the pitch; but I'd like to see it start a little lower (like a foot or two...), but not too low. I love seeing Highbury and other stadiums where the fans are really close, but those below-level seats in the first couple rows actually offer pretty bad views and kind of suck. Also, I'd like the seating areas to be fairly steeply pitched, so that even fans in the back feel like they're on top of the action. I've sat in the upper deck at Crew Stadium, and although vertically higher than my lower-level seats at RFK, it feels much closer and gives a really good perspective for watching. The shallow rise of the seating area at RFK spreads the seats out too far and too low (good for baseball, not for soccer...). Also, paint the stands with the team name to give the stadium a sense of place. Have a roof over at least part of the stands, to keep sound in and to protect people from the sun and elements. I don't really care if there's an open plaza-like area where people can overlook the field and stadium. I'd rather have it designed so that people are actually in (or in front of) their seats than have them milling around some concourse while seats go empty. When the game is being played, you should be in the stands. Lots of tvs should be placed in concession areas and bathrooms, and their should be lots of bathrooms, so everyone can go do what they have to do quickly. A bar/pub at the stadium that's open on gamedays and non-gamedays alike would be really nice, but the viability of such a thing obviously depends on the stadium's location. It would also be nice if they had a decent beer selection and maybe a pre-game happy hour where fans weren't totally gouged of all their money. It also would be pretty cool to have a place totally dedicated as a soccer bar, broadcasting games from all over all the time. I don't care if it's overlooking the field or not; again, you should be in the stands when the match is on. Have ample beer stands all around the stadium, so nobody has far to walk, and get some decent food. Please! The stadium should be in a central and/or convenient location, with the best subway and road access possible. RFK is really pretty great for that reason, and I'd hate to see a new stadium lose some of that convenience. Also, like RFK, don't have any stupid piped-in jock rock or other music, commercials, or any of the other atmospere-killing shlock so common in other American sports venues. Keep it simple, and let us create our own atmosphere. I really don't care what it's called. I'd rather have the place called "DC United Stadium" or similar, but if some corporate sponsor makes with the ducats to help offset some of DC United's and MLS's operating costs and we wind up with a place called "Scrubbing Bubbles Flushable Toilet Wipes Arena," that's alright with me. And get rid of those $6-an-hour knuckleheaded security goons.
Did you guys ever see the list of beer Quakes fans have avaialble at Spartan Stadium? Check out this Adobe PDF file listing their consessions. Warning - you'll need Acrobat installed to read it.
Terraces at one end like they have in Germany. Eg.) For league games the end is terraced but for internationals(i think there's a FIFA ban on terraces, not sure tho)the end is converted to all-seating. Put all supporters groups in this section and then u have your atmosphere, guaranteed. Other than that, as long as there's 20,000 other seats around me, i'm happy.