Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada[1] to refer to a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi-purpose stadium which is for a variety of sports. A soccer-specific stadium may host other sporting events (such as lacrosse, American football and rugby) and concerts, but the design and purpose of a soccer-specific stadium is primarily for soccer. Some facilities (for example SeatGeek Stadium, Toyota Stadium and Historic Crew Stadium) have a permanent stage at one end of the stadium used for staging concerts.
A soccer-specific stadium typically has amenities, dimensions and scale suitable for soccer in North America, including a scoreboard, video screen, luxury suites and possibly a roof. The field dimensions are within the range found optimal by FIFA: 110–120 yards (100–110 m) long by 70–80 yards (64–75 m) wide.[2] These soccer field dimensions are wider than the regulation American football field width of 53+1⁄3 yards (48.8 m), or the 65-yard (59 m) width of a Canadian football field. The playing surface typically consists of grass as opposed to artificial turf, as the latter is generally disfavored for soccer matches since players are more susceptible to injuries.[3] However, some soccer specific stadiums, such as Portland's Providence Park and Creighton University's Morrison Stadium, do have artificial turf.
The seating capacity is generally between 18,000 and 30,000 for a Major League Soccer franchise,[4] or smaller for college or minor league soccer teams. This is in comparison to the much larger American football stadiums that mostly range between 60,000 and 80,000 in which the original North American Soccer League teams played and most MLS teams occupied during the league's inception.[5] As opposed to gridiron-style football stadiums, where the front row of seats is elevated several feet above the field of play to allow spectators to see over the heads of substitute players and coaches on the sidelines, soccer-specific venues typically have the front row closer to the level of the pitch.[6][7]
In the 1980s and 1990s, first-division professional soccer leagues in the United States, such as the North American Soccer League and Major League Soccer, primarily used American football fields, many of which were oversized in terms of seating capacity and undersized in terms of the width of the soccer field; they often used artificial turf (none of which, at the time, were approved for international soccer under FIFA rules).[citation needed] Although many of the baseball parks had smaller capacities, natural grass, and a wider field, these parks were generally in use during summer, when North American–based soccer leagues, such as Major League Soccer, also hold their seasons, and the irregular field dimensions and sightlines were often considered undesirable.
Soccer-specific stadiums first came into use in the 1990s, after the multi-purpose stadium era.[8][9]
The term "soccer-specific stadium" was coined by Lamar Hunt, who financed the construction of the Columbus Crew Stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium constructed specifically for Major League Soccer.[8] In the 2000s, other Major League Soccer teams in the United States began constructing their own stadiums. Canada's first soccer-specific stadium was BMO Field in Toronto, home to Toronto FC. This stadium was renovated to accommodate Canadian football for the 2016 and subsequent seasons.[10] The distinction is less prominent in Canada, where MLS's attendance figures are comparable to those of the domestic Canadian Football League, and the CFL's wider field means fewer compromises must be made to accommodate both; Tim Hortons Field was built purposely to both soccer specifications and CFL regulations. Of the three Canadian cities that host both MLS and CFL teams, only one (Montreal) has separate stadiums for each.
Stadium | Club(s) | Metro area | Proposed capacity |
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Centene Stadium | St. Louis City SC | St. Louis, Missouri | 22,500 |
In 2011 Bob Lenarduzzi confirmed that the Vancouver Whitecaps are now committed to BC Place, and that plans for the waterfront stadium have been put on hold.[11]
Stadium | Club(s) | City | Capacity | Opened |
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Audi Field | Washington Spirit | Washington, D.C. | 20,000 | 2018 |
Banc of California Stadium | Angel City FC | Los Angeles, California | 22,000 | 2018 |
Children's Mercy Park | Kansas City Current | Kansas City, Kansas | 18,467 | 2011 |
Exploria Stadium | Orlando Pride | Orlando, Florida | 25,500 | 2017 |
Lynn Family Stadium | Racing Louisville FC | Louisville, Kentucky | 11,700 | 2021 |
PNC Stadium | Houston Dash | Houston, Texas | 22,039 | 2012 |
Providence Park | Portland Thorns FC | Portland, Oregon | 25,218 | 2011 |
Red Bull Arena | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Harrison, New Jersey | 25,000 | 2010 |
SeatGeek Stadium | Chicago Red Stars | Bridgeview, Illinois | 20,000 | 2006 |
Segra Field | Washington Spirit | Leesburg, Virginia | 5,000 | 2019 |
WakeMed Soccer Park | North Carolina Courage | Cary, North Carolina | 10,000 | 2002 |
All USL Championship teams and USL League One teams will be required to play in self-owned, soccer-specific stadiums by the 2022 season. The following is a list of current USL stadiums that are soccer-specific stadiums:
Stadium | Club(s) | Metro area | Proposed capacity |
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Downtown Spokane Stadium | USL1 Spokane | Spokane, Washington | 5,000 |
Pro Iowa Stadium | USL Pro Iowa | Des Monies, Iowa | 6,100 |
York College | Queensboro FC | Queens, New York | 7,500 |
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2017) |
Stadium | Team(s) | City | Capacity | Opened |
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Albert-Daly Field | William & Mary Tribe | Williamsburg, Virginia | 1,000 | 2004 |
Ambrose Urbanic Field | Pittsburgh Panthers | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 735 | 2011 |
BBVA Field | UAB Blazers | Birmingham, Alabama | 5,000 | 2015 |
Belson Stadium | St. John's Red Storm | Queens, New York | 2,600 | 2001 |
Bill Armstrong Stadium | Indiana Hoosiers | Bloomington, Indiana | 6,500 | 1981 |
Columbia Soccer Stadium | Columbia Lions | Manhattan, New York | 3,500 | 1985 |
Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium | West Virginia Mountaineers | Morgantown, West Virginia | 1,600 | 2004 |
Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium | Louisville Cardinals | Louisville, Kentucky | 5,300 | 2014 |
Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium | Minnesota Golden Gophers | Falcon Heights, Minnesota | 1,000 | 1999 |
Ellis Field | Texas A&M Aggies | College Station, Texas | 3,500 | 1994 |
Eugene E. Stone III Stadium | South Carolina Gamecocks | Columbia, South Carolina | 5,000 | 1981 |
Razorback Field | Arkansas Razorbacks | Fayetteville, AR | 1,500 | 1992 |
Eugene E. Stone III Stadium | Furman Paladins | Greenville, South Carolina | 3,000 | 1995 |
Harder Stadium | UC Santa Barbara Gauchos | Santa Barbara, California | 17,000 | 1966 |
Hermann Stadium | Saint Louis Billikens | St. Louis, Missouri | 6,050 | 1999 |
Hofstra University Soccer Stadium | Hofstra Pride | Hempstead, New York | 1,600 | 2003 |
Hurricane Soccer & Track Stadium | Tulsa Golden Hurricane | Tulsa, Oklahoma | 2,000 | 2003 |
Lamar Soccer Complex | Lamar Lady Cardinals | Beaumont, Texas | 500 | 2009 |
Mazzella Field | Iona Gaels | New Rochelle, New York | 2,400 | 1989 |
Mean Green Village | North Texas Mean Green | Denton, Texas | 1,000 | 2006 |
Merlo Field | Portland Pilots | Portland, Oregon | 4,892 | 1990 |
Mike Rose Soccer Complex | Memphis Tigers | Memphis, Tennessee | 2,500 | 2001 |
Morrison Stadium | Creighton Bluejays | Omaha, Nebraska | 6,000 | 2003 |
Morrone Stadium | UConn Huskies | Storrs, Connecticut | 5,100 | 1969 |
Nicholls Soccer Complex | Nicholls State Colonels | Thibodaux, Louisiana | 1,000 | 1998 |
Old Dominion Soccer Complex | Old Dominion Monarchs and Lady Monarchs | Norfolk, Virginia | 4,000 | 1990 |
Riggs Field | Clemson Tigers | Clemson, South Carolina | 6,500 | 1915 |
Roberts Stadium | Princeton Tigers | Princeton, New Jersey | 2,356 | 2008 |
SU Soccer Stadium | Syracuse Orange | Syracuse, New York | 1,500 | 1996 |
University of Denver Soccer Stadium | Denver Pioneers | Denver, Colorado | 2,000 | 2009 |
UNCG Soccer Stadium | University of North Carolina at Greensboro | Greensboro, North Carolina | 3,540 | 1990 |
Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex | Marshall Thundering Herd | Huntington, West Virginia | 1,006 | 2013 |
Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium | Hawaiʻi Rainbow Wahine | Waipiʻo, Hawaii | 4,500 | 2000 |
Yurcak Field | Rutgers Scarlet Knights | Piscataway, New Jersey | 5,000 | 1994 |
Ole Miss Soccer Stadium | Ole Miss Rebels | Oxford, Mississippi | 1,500 | 1997 |
Stadium | Club(s) | City | Capacity | Opened | Years used | Status |
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Mark's Stadium | Fall River F.C. | Tiverton (CDP), Rhode Island | 15,000 | 1922 | 1922–1950s | vacant grass lot |
Fifth Third Bank Stadium | Kennesaw State Owls | Kennesaw, Georgia | 8,318 | 2010 | 2010–present | converted to a multi-purpose stadium in 2015 after Kennesaw State University launched their football program |
The term "football-specific stadium" is sometimes used in countries where the sport is known as football rather than soccer,[citation needed] although the term is not common in countries where football is the dominant sport and thus football-specific stadiums are quite common. The term tends to have a slightly different meaning in these countries, usually referring to a stadium without an athletics track surrounding the field.[citation needed] Some soccer stadiums in Europe are also used for other sports, including rugby, American football, and field hockey. The problem with oversized stadiums designed for another sport is particularly visible in European American football leagues and conflicts between teams sharing the stadium (a notable example are Eintracht Braunschweig and the Braunschweig Lions which share a stadium) and (often municipal) owners of the stadiums sometimes arise, leading to attempts at single sport-specific venues.
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