Still hate the plastic pitch and the NFL lines they try to erase but are still there certain times of year. I don't buy the 'but it rains too much for grass' argument. There are better hybrid fields these days used at some of the best stadiums in the world.
Also gotta mention the capacity is wrong. They don’t usually open the whole stadium yes, but come cup games or some marquee games during the season they fit nearly 70,000 inside.
I absolutely love Lumen and as a long time season ticket holder I've had tons of great memories. CCL final was probably the best atmosphere inside a stadium I've ever experienced.
Been to quite a few games at TQL Stadium and it does not disappoint. From the exterior to the inner workings to the fan atmosphere to the product on the pitch.
A genuinely big complaint with TQL is that the concourses are super narrow, with only a couple columns of people able to move through all the people waiting in line for various vendors
@@ethanhatcher5533fax i buffed/scratched my af1 on a stair there due to how narrow the stairs to seats are. Also i feel bad that your a cbj fan bro. Ownership is awful. Everything your team tries to do to become contenders fails nobody elite wants to sign or stay there! And on top of all that other than the upset over tampa bay…….they havent done anything in 24 years of playing
@@ethanhatcher5533I experienced the same thing when I went there it was the hell is real ecf so maybe it was more packed then usual but it felt like all 25000 of us were in a normal hallway rather than a stadium
I've taken in a match at Allianz Field and it was awesome. We took a light rail train to a stop at a nearby shopping center, then walked up to the stadium. The views are great, especially at sunset when the fabric exterior starts to glow naturally from the setting sun behind it.
Been to a few games at CityPark, and there is no bad view of the pitch at all! The supporters section gets really rowdy and loud! The refs can definitely hear you being that everyone is so close to the action! The stadium also glows a City Red at night around the outside, its very pretty to look at! Its worth coming to a game, and they're always sold out!
A note on BC Place, it can actually hold 54,500 people if they open up the upper bowl. the 22,120 sited is what the Whitecaps often have as their capacity during regular season games, putting coverings on some sections of seats and not opening the upper bowl. The full capacity of the lower bowl is 27,695. For big games they can definitely get more people in the building. A big example for this is the friendly game scheduled this month between the Whitecaps and Wrexham FC, owned partially by Ryan Reynolds who is a Vancouver native. For that game, they are opening up the upper bowl.
The reason why Chicago moved back to Soldier Field was due to low attendance at SeatGeek Stadium (plus the fact that no one wants to go out to that far away suburb of Chicago)
Went to Lumen Field (previously CenturyLink Field) in the 2010s for both Seahawks and Sounders games while stationed at Puget Sound. Even as a diehard fan of American football, I enjoyed the atmosphere of a Sounders game way more. Awesome times indeed.
Fun fact about the Whitecaps and BC place. Their history with that venue goes back to the opening in the early 80's while playing in the NASL. They played to a packed house against the Seattle Sounders defeating them 2 - 1.
Yes that was the opening game of any sort at the stadium and I think it's still the record attendance for a sports event there though the Pope and Ed Sheeran attracted more. It's a shame the current Whitecaps owners don't seem to have the ambition the fans deserve.
Soccer fan here. Glad you made a video about the MLS! Hope to see more soccer stadium videos. Potential ideas could be for the USL or even stadiums that still exist that hosted a NASL team from the 70s. Also maybe even F1 race circuits?
As a fan of the Crew, something I have noticed is that it actually seems that Dee Haslam makes a majority of decisions for the front office, rather than Jim. Funny enough, we have won MLS Cup in both 2020 and 2023, along with a Campeones Cup in 2021… …yeah, I don’t get how the Browns can be a disaster while the Crew have blossomed into a literal golden age under the Haslam family’s ownership. Lol
As a browns and crew fan, i think they just had more practice with the browns before hand, like they were figuring out how to be good owners, and both teams have reached great stability and have competitive mentalities now in the past 5 years
So here is my two cents on the non- soccer specific stadiums: -NYCFC: they have been the laughing stock of the league for years because of the fact they play in a baseball stadium despite the fact at the time they were awarded a "franchise" (god i hate that word) the league had a rule that any future team had to have a solid plan for a Soccer Specific Stadium (SSS) before being awarded a "franchise". It's been 10 years since lol BUT like you mentioned, the plan got the go ahead and they'll be getting their new stadium soon, ironically across the street from Citi Field (for those that don't know, NYCFC is 50% owned by Yankees) - Chicago Fire FC: I used to know the specific reason why they left their SSS out in Bridgeview, IL (i believe something having to do with the lease or something). That and the fact their stadium is about 45 minutes from Chicago itself and their ever dwindling attendance figures prompted them to leave Bridgeview and move in with Bears in Soldier's Field. They celebrated that move by making a slight rename from "Chicago Fire Soccer Club" to "Chicago Fire Football Club". My guess is they wanted to appeal to a more metropolitan crowd in Chicago proper by calling themselves a "football club" instead of the suburban-y soccer mom-esque "soccer club". Either way despite moving into the actual city they represent their attendance hasn't improved and neither has their record. Either way it'd be interesting to see if Bears do move out to the suburbs and Fire FC inherits Soldier's field and downsizes it to a more proper size for soccer. Maybe 30k so they could also accommodate high profile soccer games in Chicago proper? - Charlotte FC: I'm guessing this video was made before Panthers announced the city approved their new stadium renovations which will keep both Panthers and Charlotte FC in town for a while (they're both owned by the same guy). That said for NFL owners who also own MLS "franchise clubs" (what "FC" should really stand for in this country) its obviously more cost effective to have their team play in the same stadium as their NFL team. So no shot will CFC ever get their own stadium. - Revolution FC: Gillette stadium is oversized and extremely far away from Boston and those two factors hurts Revolution from attracting and retaining fans. A stadium much closer to Boston proper is needed with the right size and amenities. For most NFL owners keeping their teams in their NFL stadiums makes sense especially if they're in the city they claim to play for but for Revolution and Kraft, they really need to build their own stadium in a place that makes sense for them. - Sounders FC: A city that loves its team and a stadium that since day 1 was designed to accommodate soccer inside the city proper. Definitely wouldn't make sense for Sounders to move out. However there have been rumblings of Sounders building their own stadium multiple times but nothing concrete so far. but the rumors have surfaced multiple times so in 15 years, who knows? - Atlanta United FC: Same as Sounders. a city that loves and attends the teams games, a stadium designed with soccer in mind, and fantastic walkability to the stadium. ATL will never leave Mercedes Benz Stadium. Although they have played multiple times at Kennesaw Stadium.
The top stadium on your list has something in common with the Columbus Crew stadium. They both have expensive turf systems involving underground heating elements and grow lights that allow for healthy natural turf during the very cold months, and the purpose of this is to serve as a home for the US national team. Details like this may be worth mentioning in future videos because a lot of this infrastructure is not just about the MLS club. Some of these stadia are purpose built and maintained with the national team in mind, and that is very much the plan from the outset. I kind of love that about these venues. There's a large number of national team matches that are not suitable for a cavernous gridiron football stadium and there are truly major cities in which it's difficult to have a crowd that will actually cheer for the US instead of its opponent. This is where small to medium size markets are able to step in with a super high quality stadium that seats 18 to 20,000, and there are a lot of use cases where that is absolutely perfect for the USMNT- and the USWNT for a lot of their matches. I hope and expect that there will be more projects like that, and I think that's worth mentioning within the analysis of a SSS. How well does it serve the interests of the national team? Some of them are built for that, on purpose, and it's great to see.
I went to PayPal Park back in 2016 when it was called Avaya Stadium it was awesome the view was great and the roof canopy does a good job covering from the sun
And the largest outdoor bar in North America (So they say). I live in San Jose though, it's a really nice stadium. I played my high school alumni game there a few years ago...was pretty cool to walk out from the locker rooms onto the field.
There is something to be said for oddly asymmetrical soccer stadiums. Many older European stadiums have a hodgepodge look because of the way they were expanded one side at a time, or because they only have a tiny area to work with. Sort of like a retro classic ballpark.
Wolverhampton Wanderers built a new stand in the 1970s which basically bankrupted them. For 3 decades the pitch was moved over to the new stand which meant the corner used to house visiting fans was directly behind the goal and the other side was miles from the pitch. Sheffield United's stadium used to have 3 sides with the other side being used for a cricket field. They built a stand in the cricket field in the early 70s, which guess what? Nearly bankrupted them. Yankee Stadium may not be perfect but it's better than some of the English grounds I went to in the 1970s and 1980s and a lot of the new purpose built English stadiums, at places like Reading, Millwall and Middlesbrough are soulless.
Real Salt Lake’s stadium used to be called “Rio Tinto Stadium”. Rio Tinto is a mining company. It’s affectionately known as “The RioT” by fans, even after the naming rights change. It may not be the most interesting looking soccer-specific venue in MLS, but it’s a hell of an atmosphere.
Same with Lumen Field. They got money from the state to house major league football and soccer but couldn't drum up much enthusiasm for a MLS bid from the locals. Unbelievable looking at what's happened since.
Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando was so amazing when I checked out a game in 2019. The fans there were insane. Loved the purple seats and the smoke when they score a goal. The only con I had when I went there was the neighborhood itself. A very sketchy area especially when exiting the end of the game at night oh and lack of parking spaces. Still recommended imo
"There's not much around the stadium, which is nice" "I'm ranking it low because it's so old" Love most of your vids, but is this really how most Americans think? Stadiums (or grounds, if we really wanna get into it) that are accessible without a car & that have history and unique character that comes with age are considered much better by most European fans.
Providence Park is unique amongst major sports venues in the United States in that it has no parking. None at all. You are expected to park elsewhere and take public transit, which most Portlanders very much enjoy. It turns the light rail trains into huge pre-game celebrations.
Some Americans think that way. I think depending on which school of thought you talk to, which one is the "more common" school of thought will vary, but there are absolutely a large number of American sports fans that prize automobile accessibility to sports venues and tend to view "old" as a synonym for "decrepit." Which, to be fair to them, the latter is often true in the NFL and NHL, where the main MO is to do minimal maintenance to the team's venue so that whenever the lease is about to expire the billionaire ownership can use "look, our stadium is falling apart!" as a way to hold cities hostage for taxpayer dollars on threat of relocation. I'm not sure that that school of thought is necessarily common among US *soccer* fans, because US soccer fans tend to skew more urban and liberal-to-leftist than the general populace in the US, and that often corresponds to being more pro-pedestrian-friendly urbanism and anti-billionaire ownership (under a different ownership system, there'd be less incentive to let old stadia become decrepit). Although even there, the latter isn't helped by the fact that the vast majority of our soccer teams are not old enough to have a ton of established history (and some of the ones that do, *ahem DC United ahem*, have ownership that is utterly uninterested in embracing it and the fan support they built up in their early days). Also cities in the US are frequently unwilling or unable to rally support for making proper transit systems or upgrades to them necessary for this sort of thing.
@@fanboy50 this makes a lot of sense, thanks for responding. As a Brit who has lived in the States for a few years, the lack of walkability & decent public transit in most cities is something you really feel on a daily basis & I think really impacts the experience of going to an NFL or MLB game. We're also not used to the dynamic of owners using taxpayer funds to prop up their team's stadium (it's happened once in recent memory with West Ham moving into the London Olympic stadium and was considered shady AF) so that explains some of the difference in how aging stadiums are treated. There was actually a big wave of teams building new stadiums in England from the early 90's-late 2000s after the Cook Report made all-seater stadia mandatory in the top English leagues in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster. Most of those grounds had to be built relatively quickly to meet compliance while maximising capacity, so most of them look very similar & are viewed by many as a harbinger of commercialisation in the English game. But now it's gotten so much more expensive to build new stadiums (as well as purchase the land required) that, for most teams who would move, it makes more sense to spend whatever money they have on renovating their current homes instead.
@@adiuntesserande6893 this is how it's supposed to be IMO. I live in the Northeastern US but haven't made it out to PDX yet, would love to go to a Timbers game although I hear it can be tricky to get tickets
right, as a European i find Providence Park the most charming stadium in MLS. It also nice to switch up architectural styles, because 90% of these venues look the same to me. Also im really bored by Allianz Arena-inspired stadiums. Don’t get me wrong, the original is great and extremely innovative for its time, but now there’s just so many copycats.
I think the reason the Chicago Fire are in Soldier field is because the bears said they were moving out so any team can take it. Like when your older brother moves out and you take his room. 😂
As someone who has been to over 50 college-level and above stadiums/arena, including Galaxy, Wildcat, and Charger home games, I disagree with your review of Dignity Health. I won't go into all the details, but I think you failed to take into account the awesome spectator experience, including some of the most comfortable stadium seats I have experienced.
FUN FACT: The Sounders were able to glom onto the Seahawks' lease at Lumen Field because Seahawks owner Paul Allen was a minority owner in Sounders in the team's early days, and his sister Jody inherited it after his passing.
Portland resident and Timbers fan here. Providence park needs to renovate and expand as well as knock down the Multnomah Athletic Club building to make new sections. The seating where the MAC building consist of drab bleachers you have at your local high school compared to complete seating rest of the stadium.
That team was originally known as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. Several years later, they were known simply as the MetroStars. Then, Red Bull bought the team & gave it the name it has now.
Not mentioned about Inter & Co in Orlando, after the Pulse tragedy, they converted 49 seats to the colors of the rainbow in tribute to the 49. And those are always the most coveted to sit in!
I've only been to Audi Field once, for a DC Defenders game, and really liked it. I've actually rode past Red Bulls Stadium a couple of times on Amtrak.
I was expecting snapdragon to also be on the list,... having visited snapdragon quite a few times it is a beautiful stadium contrary to its open look (not covers) well suited for soccer
as a german, what strikes me the most ist, how differnt all the stadiums are and how many have a horseshoe form. a lot of stadiums are the same and very symmetrical on all sides, the american stadiums seem to be more distinguishable
Red Bull Arena was originally supposed to have an outside like the original Allianz in Munich but the financial crash led to that feature being axed. It is also in NJ because at the time a soccer stadium in NYC was a fantasy that had zero chance of ever being allowed to happen (trust me, they tried). Harrison is also a fitting site as it has a long soccer history and was the home of (among others) Tony Meola and John Harkes (think he technically grew up in nearby Kerney).
Ahem, Tony Meola, John Harkes, and Tab Ramos are all from Kearny - "Soccer Town USA". KEARNY. Get it correct. Harrison's soccer history, while good, is nowhere close to Kearny's soccer history. Heck, Manchester United has played games at Kearny high School!! Harrison was chosen due to the nearby PATH (subway) and Interstate 280, as well as plenty of unused, vacant former warehouse land.
even the Bank of Montreal knows not to invest its money in this socialist run city. In addition, whatever is built in this province by private industry will eventually be nationalized and appropriated by the always over-reaching Quebec government. Corporate money knows very well to stay away from here.
The bears aren't moving to Arlington Heights. They couldn't get the same property tax deal that the horse track owner/operators got and have been looking at a lakefront stadium. They bought the property in AH and then wondered why the property taxes went up. Great glan
My issue with tql is that i still dont get why they put it in the west end instead of closer to downtown or somewhat near the riverfront like the rest of the stadiums also on gameday good luck getting in on time if you dont have a parking garage pass!
One thing about this topic that's great for content creators is the constant addition of new teams and new stadia for them and for existing clubs, year by year. I guess you'll have to make a new video pretty soon!
KC native here, been to many sporting kc games at CMP and the atmosphere is electric (playoffs are another level). I even went to arrowhead (hosting the WC in 2026) this year for the game vs inter miami and the atmosphere was electric
I love the LA Field as it's the perfect looking stadium for semi-pro football or at least for the UFL. Also an inspired for an American Football simulation video game im working on
Slightly related: Mon County Ballpark outside of Morgantown has been open for nearly a decade, yet Google Earth doesn't even have it under construction.
15:13 I love CMP. It is a great stadium but I know the north stand is hard for my wife to sit at because it is bleacher seating. We generally sit in the south stand now.
The MLS snubbed the Wilfs in their attempt to get soccer into US Bank Stadium all so that they could build their own mini-Euro stadium with entirely private money. Not too bad, gotta admit.
BMO is a great field, my only complaint about it othervthan being a bit plain is it's in a stupidly annoying part of town to get to. Every way there is a pain. The best thing the argos ever did was go to BMO field. It had to be altered to fit the cfl field because it's bigger than a soccer pitch but it's a great place for any game, nice and loud and CFL playoff games in the cold by the lake are awesome.
@@TommyBuskulic-u2k ya, I forgot about that. The sidelines have mats down because they're on the grass. The mats keep everyone on the sidelines from tearing up the field along the sides.
Good vid, although where is Houston? Im an urban planner by trade and took classes in architecture, I'm also a galaxy fan. I hate the fact that the first MLS SSS were mostly designed by Rosetti Architects under AEG's influence, except for Historic Crew, so they pushed them to have a cookie cutter design. I don't think MLS stadiums started to get more individual design character until Red Bull Arena, but your critique there is spot on. I wish Red Bull would be rebranded Tri-State Bulls, or TSB for short, still respects the Red Bull owners, and allows for a true NJ connection. Of all the MLS SSS, to me the one with the most character, both architecturally and culturally, is Portland, it reminds me of a historic english soccer ground.
As a fan of fc dallas i like your thoughts on toyota stadium but the stadium is about to get a lot of upgrades that are set to be done by i think 2027 or 28
The fact that NYCFC has been around for up to a decade now and still play their home games inside of a baseball stadium has to be the joke of the MLS. When they guaranteed that they wouldn’t be in that stadium for as long as they have been. What I find even more amusing is when the team qualified for the CCL and CONCACAF flat out refused to allow them to play the games in a baseball stadium.
Another reason for the Sounders to not leave Lumen field anytime soon, if ever, is that if they build a soccer specific stadium, they will be moving out to the burbs to do it. Which I'd be willing to bet had a lot to do with the Fire leaving their soccer specific stadium and moving to Soldier Field. Having a stadium that is easy to get to, goes a long way in bringing in fans.
I've yet to go to a game at Paypal Park, but hopefully in the future. Would also be nice if the team wasn't in last place. 2 additional facts about PayPal Park & the Earthquakes: 1) right below the scoreboard is the Scoreboard Bar, currently the largest outdoor bar in North America. 😊 2) The Earthquakes are owned by John Fisher. 😞
many moons ago, when I lived in Ohio, I used to drive by the Crew's original stadium now and then for work - I always remember thinking how good it looked.
I'm a Columbus fan, but I think you've ranked Providence Park waaay too low. I know you said you don't like asymmetry in a soccer stadium, but that's what gives it its charm. It has so much history and character to it. (And of course, the Timbers Army makes it amazing every match day)
Q2 is so amazing as well as the support for a major league team in Austin that Austin already needs to upgrade the stadium yet they just built it. Its still the most sold out stadium in all of MLS. Austin FC has sold out every regular-season and playoff game (51) since entering the league in 2021. That's insane. I think Austin underestimated the demand bc its only a 20k seated stadium. Def need to add around 5-10k in the next upgrade. Hopefully soon!
it is amazing what MLS is becoming, North America is hosting a World Cup in the near future. I wonder if it will beat 1994 which still holds the attendance record for the FIFA World Cup.
I have seen games in many stadiums here and abroad. Providence Park is funky, old, filled with character and fits PDX perfectly. It's right downtown. You have to walk to get here. The atmosphere is amazing. The outside is ivy covered! I don't know if this is true or not, but I heard that several years ago the USMNT got to pick where to play Costa Rica (I think) and they chose Portland because it was their favorite to play. Tell me this is actually true!
Seattle Native here. Lumen field was sold as shared venue from the get go. The push was to get the soccer fan votes in 1997 promising an MLS team.
Caught a game there a couple of years ago. Great atmosphere.
Still hate the plastic pitch and the NFL lines they try to erase but are still there certain times of year. I don't buy the 'but it rains too much for grass' argument. There are better hybrid fields these days used at some of the best stadiums in the world.
Also gotta mention the capacity is wrong. They don’t usually open the whole stadium yes, but come cup games or some marquee games during the season they fit nearly 70,000 inside.
I absolutely love Lumen and as a long time season ticket holder I've had tons of great memories.
CCL final was probably the best atmosphere inside a stadium I've ever experienced.
@@MrCho14agreed. It was supposed to have a grass pitch, but Mike Holmgren said he wanted field turf, and he got his wish.
Been to quite a few games at TQL Stadium and it does not disappoint. From the exterior to the inner workings to the fan atmosphere to the product on the pitch.
we like to watch some local soccer in Cincy
A genuinely big complaint with TQL is that the concourses are super narrow, with only a couple columns of people able to move through all the people waiting in line for various vendors
@@ethanhatcher5533fax i buffed/scratched my af1 on a stair there due to how narrow the stairs to seats are. Also i feel bad that your a cbj fan bro. Ownership is awful. Everything your team tries to do to become contenders fails nobody elite wants to sign or stay there! And on top of all that other than the upset over tampa bay…….they havent done anything in 24 years of playing
@@ethanhatcher5533 Was gonna say the same thing. Also maybe I'm spoiled by Geodis but the bathrooms not having any heating/cooling isn't great either
@@ethanhatcher5533I experienced the same thing when I went there it was the hell is real ecf so maybe it was more packed then usual but it felt like all 25000 of us were in a normal hallway rather than a stadium
I've taken in a match at Allianz Field and it was awesome. We took a light rail train to a stop at a nearby shopping center, then walked up to the stadium. The views are great, especially at sunset when the fabric exterior starts to glow naturally from the setting sun behind it.
On a foggy night, Allianz Field is absolutely beautiful.
Been to a few games at CityPark, and there is no bad view of the pitch at all! The supporters section gets really rowdy and loud! The refs can definitely hear you being that everyone is so close to the action! The stadium also glows a City Red at night around the outside, its very pretty to look at! Its worth coming to a game, and they're always sold out!
A note on BC Place, it can actually hold 54,500 people if they open up the upper bowl. the 22,120 sited is what the Whitecaps often have as their capacity during regular season games, putting coverings on some sections of seats and not opening the upper bowl. The full capacity of the lower bowl is 27,695. For big games they can definitely get more people in the building. A big example for this is the friendly game scheduled this month between the Whitecaps and Wrexham FC, owned partially by Ryan Reynolds who is a Vancouver native. For that game, they are opening up the upper bowl.
The reason why Chicago moved back to Soldier Field was due to low attendance at SeatGeek Stadium (plus the fact that no one wants to go out to that far away suburb of Chicago)
Went to Lumen Field (previously CenturyLink Field) in the 2010s for both Seahawks and Sounders games while stationed at Puget Sound.
Even as a diehard fan of American football, I enjoyed the atmosphere of a Sounders game way more.
Awesome times indeed.
Fun fact about the Whitecaps and BC place. Their history with that venue goes back to the opening in the early 80's while playing in the NASL. They played to a packed house against the Seattle Sounders defeating them 2 - 1.
Yes that was the opening game of any sort at the stadium and I think it's still the record attendance for a sports event there though the Pope and Ed Sheeran attracted more. It's a shame the current Whitecaps owners don't seem to have the ambition the fans deserve.
Soccer fan here. Glad you made a video about the MLS! Hope to see more soccer stadium videos. Potential ideas could be for the USL or even stadiums that still exist that hosted a NASL team from the 70s. Also maybe even F1 race circuits?
01:34 “FORMER MAYOR BEETLE-JUICE.” 😂😂💀 LMFAO
As a fan of the Crew, something I have noticed is that it actually seems that Dee Haslam makes a majority of decisions for the front office, rather than Jim.
Funny enough, we have won MLS Cup in both 2020 and 2023, along with a Campeones Cup in 2021…
…yeah, I don’t get how the Browns can be a disaster while the Crew have blossomed into a literal golden age under the Haslam family’s ownership. Lol
Haslam spent the first few years jerking around and making bad hires in the front office. Something that finally seems to have settled down a bit.
As a browns and crew fan, i think they just had more practice with the browns before hand, like they were figuring out how to be good owners, and both teams have reached great stability and have competitive mentalities now in the past 5 years
2023 = MLS Cup played IN THE SNOW in November
bullshit
@@TrumpCantRead salty LAFC fan
@@gagemiller facts baby yeah
So that's how the bald man remains calm as a Giants fan. Man, it all makes sense now...
Loved it ! Great info, good sense of humor, I enjoyed this video !
So here is my two cents on the non- soccer specific stadiums:
-NYCFC: they have been the laughing stock of the league for years because of the fact they play in a baseball stadium despite the fact at the time they were awarded a "franchise" (god i hate that word) the league had a rule that any future team had to have a solid plan for a Soccer Specific Stadium (SSS) before being awarded a "franchise". It's been 10 years since lol BUT like you mentioned, the plan got the go ahead and they'll be getting their new stadium soon, ironically across the street from Citi Field (for those that don't know, NYCFC is 50% owned by Yankees)
- Chicago Fire FC: I used to know the specific reason why they left their SSS out in Bridgeview, IL (i believe something having to do with the lease or something). That and the fact their stadium is about 45 minutes from Chicago itself and their ever dwindling attendance figures prompted them to leave Bridgeview and move in with Bears in Soldier's Field. They celebrated that move by making a slight rename from "Chicago Fire Soccer Club" to "Chicago Fire Football Club". My guess is they wanted to appeal to a more metropolitan crowd in Chicago proper by calling themselves a "football club" instead of the suburban-y soccer mom-esque "soccer club". Either way despite moving into the actual city they represent their attendance hasn't improved and neither has their record. Either way it'd be interesting to see if Bears do move out to the suburbs and Fire FC inherits Soldier's field and downsizes it to a more proper size for soccer. Maybe 30k so they could also accommodate high profile soccer games in Chicago proper?
- Charlotte FC: I'm guessing this video was made before Panthers announced the city approved their new stadium renovations which will keep both Panthers and Charlotte FC in town for a while (they're both owned by the same guy). That said for NFL owners who also own MLS "franchise clubs" (what "FC" should really stand for in this country) its obviously more cost effective to have their team play in the same stadium as their NFL team. So no shot will CFC ever get their own stadium.
- Revolution FC: Gillette stadium is oversized and extremely far away from Boston and those two factors hurts Revolution from attracting and retaining fans. A stadium much closer to Boston proper is needed with the right size and amenities. For most NFL owners keeping their teams in their NFL stadiums makes sense especially if they're in the city they claim to play for but for Revolution and Kraft, they really need to build their own stadium in a place that makes sense for them.
- Sounders FC: A city that loves its team and a stadium that since day 1 was designed to accommodate soccer inside the city proper. Definitely wouldn't make sense for Sounders to move out. However there have been rumblings of Sounders building their own stadium multiple times but nothing concrete so far. but the rumors have surfaced multiple times so in 15 years, who knows?
- Atlanta United FC: Same as Sounders. a city that loves and attends the teams games, a stadium designed with soccer in mind, and fantastic walkability to the stadium. ATL will never leave Mercedes Benz Stadium. Although they have played multiple times at Kennesaw Stadium.
Cincy born and raised fan here, TQL does NOT disappoint
Only a few bad seats like 20
The belly button comment was completely unexpected but appreciated 😂
Love it every time I go to Allianz field, it is the nicest looking stadium in the MLS
Portland's football ground is my favourite mls stadium. It looks like a proper old school football ground. Full of character as well.
The top stadium on your list has something in common with the Columbus Crew stadium. They both have expensive turf systems involving underground heating elements and grow lights that allow for healthy natural turf during the very cold months, and the purpose of this is to serve as a home for the US national team. Details like this may be worth mentioning in future videos because a lot of this infrastructure is not just about the MLS club. Some of these stadia are purpose built and maintained with the national team in mind, and that is very much the plan from the outset. I kind of love that about these venues. There's a large number of national team matches that are not suitable for a cavernous gridiron football stadium and there are truly major cities in which it's difficult to have a crowd that will actually cheer for the US instead of its opponent. This is where small to medium size markets are able to step in with a super high quality stadium that seats 18 to 20,000, and there are a lot of use cases where that is absolutely perfect for the USMNT- and the USWNT for a lot of their matches. I hope and expect that there will be more projects like that, and I think that's worth mentioning within the analysis of a SSS. How well does it serve the interests of the national team? Some of them are built for that, on purpose, and it's great to see.
Allianz Field was INCREDIBLY controversial until it was built. As soon as it was opened it became near-universally beloved locally.
“Jerking us around” talking about a team owned by Robert Kraft
Well done sir.
I went to PayPal Park back in 2016 when it was called Avaya Stadium it was awesome the view was great and the roof canopy does a good job covering from the sun
And the largest outdoor bar in North America (So they say). I live in San Jose though, it's a really nice stadium. I played my high school alumni game there a few years ago...was pretty cool to walk out from the locker rooms onto the field.
There is something to be said for oddly asymmetrical soccer stadiums. Many older European stadiums have a hodgepodge look because of the way they were expanded one side at a time, or because they only have a tiny area to work with. Sort of like a retro classic ballpark.
Wolverhampton Wanderers built a new stand in the 1970s which basically bankrupted them. For 3 decades the pitch was moved over to the new stand which meant the corner used to house visiting fans was directly behind the goal and the other side was miles from the pitch. Sheffield United's stadium used to have 3 sides with the other side being used for a cricket field. They built a stand in the cricket field in the early 70s, which guess what? Nearly bankrupted them.
Yankee Stadium may not be perfect but it's better than some of the English grounds I went to in the 1970s and 1980s and a lot of the new purpose built English stadiums, at places like Reading, Millwall and Middlesbrough are soulless.
Real Salt Lake’s stadium used to be called “Rio Tinto Stadium”. Rio Tinto is a mining company. It’s affectionately known as “The RioT” by fans, even after the naming rights change. It may not be the most interesting looking soccer-specific venue in MLS, but it’s a hell of an atmosphere.
Atlanta fan here, mercedes benz was partially designed with the mls in mind as arthur blanc founded atlanta united the same year the stadium finished
Same with Lumen Field. They got money from the state to house major league football and soccer but couldn't drum up much enthusiasm for a MLS bid from the locals. Unbelievable looking at what's happened since.
BC Place does not have a retractable roof, it did originally but it caused so much headaches it became permanent in 2010.
Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando was so amazing when I checked out a game in 2019. The fans there were insane. Loved the purple seats and the smoke when they score a goal. The only con I had when I went there was the neighborhood itself. A very sketchy area especially when exiting the end of the game at night oh and lack of parking spaces. Still recommended imo
Thanks for the kind words about citypark!
The 203? Like the prerequisite stop before going to a concert at the 930 Club? Nope, I have no idea what you’re talking about!
"I like it clean and easy, just like you're mom" DAM SON!
Glad you still have the scarf!
Was it you who gave it to me????
@@FivePointsStadiums that was me lol
So glad to have a world class stadium in my city
"Meet me at The Dick later"
funniest part of this video. :)
We have “Protect the Dick” stickers too
"There's not much around the stadium, which is nice"
"I'm ranking it low because it's so old"
Love most of your vids, but is this really how most Americans think? Stadiums (or grounds, if we really wanna get into it) that are accessible without a car & that have history and unique character that comes with age are considered much better by most European fans.
Providence Park is unique amongst major sports venues in the United States in that it has no parking. None at all. You are expected to park elsewhere and take public transit, which most Portlanders very much enjoy. It turns the light rail trains into huge pre-game celebrations.
Some Americans think that way. I think depending on which school of thought you talk to, which one is the "more common" school of thought will vary, but there are absolutely a large number of American sports fans that prize automobile accessibility to sports venues and tend to view "old" as a synonym for "decrepit."
Which, to be fair to them, the latter is often true in the NFL and NHL, where the main MO is to do minimal maintenance to the team's venue so that whenever the lease is about to expire the billionaire ownership can use "look, our stadium is falling apart!" as a way to hold cities hostage for taxpayer dollars on threat of relocation.
I'm not sure that that school of thought is necessarily common among US *soccer* fans, because US soccer fans tend to skew more urban and liberal-to-leftist than the general populace in the US, and that often corresponds to being more pro-pedestrian-friendly urbanism and anti-billionaire ownership (under a different ownership system, there'd be less incentive to let old stadia become decrepit). Although even there, the latter isn't helped by the fact that the vast majority of our soccer teams are not old enough to have a ton of established history (and some of the ones that do, *ahem DC United ahem*, have ownership that is utterly uninterested in embracing it and the fan support they built up in their early days).
Also cities in the US are frequently unwilling or unable to rally support for making proper transit systems or upgrades to them necessary for this sort of thing.
@@fanboy50 this makes a lot of sense, thanks for responding. As a Brit who has lived in the States for a few years, the lack of walkability & decent public transit in most cities is something you really feel on a daily basis & I think really impacts the experience of going to an NFL or MLB game.
We're also not used to the dynamic of owners using taxpayer funds to prop up their team's stadium (it's happened once in recent memory with West Ham moving into the London Olympic stadium and was considered shady AF) so that explains some of the difference in how aging stadiums are treated.
There was actually a big wave of teams building new stadiums in England from the early 90's-late 2000s after the Cook Report made all-seater stadia mandatory in the top English leagues in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster. Most of those grounds had to be built relatively quickly to meet compliance while maximising capacity, so most of them look very similar & are viewed by many as a harbinger of commercialisation in the English game. But now it's gotten so much more expensive to build new stadiums (as well as purchase the land required) that, for most teams who would move, it makes more sense to spend whatever money they have on renovating their current homes instead.
@@adiuntesserande6893 this is how it's supposed to be IMO. I live in the Northeastern US but haven't made it out to PDX yet, would love to go to a Timbers game although I hear it can be tricky to get tickets
right, as a European i find Providence Park the most charming stadium in MLS. It also nice to switch up architectural styles, because 90% of these venues look the same to me. Also im really bored by Allianz Arena-inspired stadiums. Don’t get me wrong, the original is great and extremely innovative for its time, but now there’s just so many copycats.
I love Providence Park. It may be old but it is a great venue to see a match even if the neighborhood is a little seedy.
I've got to shout out Portland, straight from the Timbers Army section. Love the atmosphere there! #RCTID
Yeah but Portland having turf and not real grass is still stupid, and I don’t want to hear the weather excuse
I think the reason the Chicago Fire are in Soldier field is because the bears said they were moving out so any team can take it. Like when your older brother moves out and you take his room. 😂
“Saputo, boy if they were in Mexico”. Good thing that company isn’t called Masputo. 😅
"The only stadium on this list named after a belly button." Sir....
As someone who has been to over 50 college-level and above stadiums/arena, including Galaxy, Wildcat, and Charger home games, I disagree with your review of Dignity Health. I won't go into all the details, but I think you failed to take into account the awesome spectator experience, including some of the most comfortable stadium seats I have experienced.
That’s fair
I was at TQL for the ECF as a crew fan last year and I thought the concourse felt very packed and small when compared to the ones in Columbus.
@1:24 good ol metra making an appearance, just a beautiful added feature to the chicago downtown area
You’ll be glad to know that the Rapids’ stadium is, indeed, referred to as The Dick, or The Richard
BMO Stadium in Los Angeles was also built on the grounds that once sat the Los Angeles Sports Arena.
built with private money, no public subsidy
I’m an NYCFC fan, and every time I see a video like this, I know what rank our stadium will be.
we only have a couple more years to go before our stadium
FUN FACT: The Sounders were able to glom onto the Seahawks' lease at Lumen Field because Seahawks owner Paul Allen was a minority owner in Sounders in the team's early days, and his sister Jody inherited it after his passing.
Very impressive. Now, let's see Marcus Halberstram's stadium plans.
There’s going to be a $150-$180 million dollar renovation to Toyota Stadium in Frisco in the coming years! Already been confirmed!
I’m sure they will mess it up and waste all that money. Toyota stadium is gross.
Mexico is in North America. There are many soccer- specific stadiums in N.A. larger capacity than Nashville’s Geodis Park. *Correction
Portland resident and Timbers fan here. Providence park needs to renovate and expand as well as knock down the Multnomah Athletic Club building to make new sections. The seating where the MAC building consist of drab bleachers you have at your local high school compared to complete seating rest of the stadium.
The band Phish plays at Dick’s every Labor Day weekend. It’s always referred to as PhishDicks
🙄
Yeah how ridiculous for a team with "New York" in its name to play its games in New Jersey. We would never let that happen in the NFL, right...??
Hahaha
That team was originally known as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. Several years later, they were known simply as the MetroStars. Then, Red Bull bought the team & gave it the name it has now.
Not mentioned about Inter & Co in Orlando, after the Pulse tragedy, they converted 49 seats to the colors of the rainbow in tribute to the 49. And those are always the most coveted to sit in!
Can’t wait to see a game at Naming Rights Sponsor Stadium.😂
I've only been to Audi Field once, for a DC Defenders game, and really liked it. I've actually rode past Red Bulls Stadium a couple of times on Amtrak.
Snapdragon stadium should be included, because San Diego is getting a team next year.
For the record, SD has a team already as opposed to 'getting one'. They start playing next year (2025).
I was expecting snapdragon to also be on the list,... having visited snapdragon quite a few times it is a beautiful stadium contrary to its open look (not covers) well suited for soccer
as a german, what strikes me the most ist, how differnt all the stadiums are and how many have a horseshoe form. a lot of stadiums are the same and very symmetrical on all sides, the american stadiums seem to be more distinguishable
Red Bull Arena was originally supposed to have an outside like the original Allianz in Munich but the financial crash led to that feature being axed. It is also in NJ because at the time a soccer stadium in NYC was a fantasy that had zero chance of ever being allowed to happen (trust me, they tried). Harrison is also a fitting site as it has a long soccer history and was the home of (among others) Tony Meola and John Harkes (think he technically grew up in nearby Kerney).
Ahem, Tony Meola, John Harkes, and Tab Ramos are all from Kearny - "Soccer Town USA". KEARNY. Get it correct. Harrison's soccer history, while good, is nowhere close to Kearny's soccer history. Heck, Manchester United has played games at Kearny high School!! Harrison was chosen due to the nearby PATH (subway) and Interstate 280, as well as plenty of unused, vacant former warehouse land.
Also it's right across the Passaic River from downtown Newark.
So the Bank of Montreal has it's name on two Stadiums, neither of which are in Montreal. Classic.
TD bank does Bostons rink and it’s called Toronto Dominion bank
even the Bank of Montreal knows not to invest its money in this socialist run city. In addition, whatever is built in this province by private industry will eventually be nationalized and appropriated by the always over-reaching Quebec government. Corporate money knows very well to stay away from here.
The bears aren't moving to Arlington Heights. They couldn't get the same property tax deal that the horse track owner/operators got and have been looking at a lakefront stadium. They bought the property in AH and then wondered why the property taxes went up. Great glan
Lol!!!
My issue with tql is that i still dont get why they put it in the west end instead of closer to downtown or somewhat near the riverfront like the rest of the stadiums also on gameday good luck getting in on time if you dont have a parking garage pass!
3:41 Trying to trigger Tree?
I’ve been to a few games at Allianz, love it! Such a nice place to watch a match. Hoping to get to another game there sometime soon.
I know it won't stay that way, but when NYCFC gets its new stadium, hopefully it stays "Naming Rights Sponsor Stadium". It has a nice ring to it.😂
One thing about this topic that's great for content creators is the constant addition of new teams and new stadia for them and for existing clubs, year by year. I guess you'll have to make a new video pretty soon!
So, the New York Red Bulls very much play in New Jersey, BUT for their first ten years of existence they were the New York/New Jersey MetroStars.
Yeah that’s true but that was the past before redbull came around and changed your guys name
@red_fr_alt "your guys?"
I'm from Massachusetts.
@@psychorabbitt my bad mate just figured that you may have been a redbull fan sorry about that
14:43 what happened there 5Points?
KC native here, been to many sporting kc games at CMP and the atmosphere is electric (playoffs are another level). I even went to arrowhead (hosting the WC in 2026) this year for the game vs inter miami and the atmosphere was electric
"Former Mayor Beetlejuice"
LOLOLOLOLOL
Lumen Field opens the full 55,000 capacity for big games like rival Portland. Not a bad seat, similar to Portland and LAFC.
Over 60,000 against Portland when I was there in 2014.
I love the LA Field as it's the perfect looking stadium for semi-pro football or at least for the UFL.
Also an inspired for an American Football simulation video game im working on
Slightly related: Mon County Ballpark outside of Morgantown has been open for nearly a decade, yet Google Earth doesn't even have it under construction.
I can confirm the east seats at Toyota Stadium are brutal in the summer.
As and Orlando city fan that is the first time I’ve heard a UA-camr rank us that high before 😂
15:13 I love CMP. It is a great stadium but I know the north stand is hard for my wife to sit at because it is bleacher seating. We generally sit in the south stand now.
Dude, did you ever do a story on the baseball stadium in Portland that was featured in the Netflix special 'the battered bastards of baseball'??
wait - was that the ground featured at 5.30?
Visited Q2 in 2021 and was quite impressed. I think Minnesota & Cincy are 1 and 1a as far as top stadiums in the league.
Love the video !
The MLS snubbed the Wilfs in their attempt to get soccer into US Bank Stadium all so that they could build their own mini-Euro stadium with entirely private money.
Not too bad, gotta admit.
BMO is a great field, my only complaint about it othervthan being a bit plain is it's in a stupidly annoying part of town to get to. Every way there is a pain.
The best thing the argos ever did was go to BMO field. It had to be altered to fit the cfl field because it's bigger than a soccer pitch but it's a great place for any game, nice and loud and CFL playoff games in the cold by the lake are awesome.
The CFL field has larger length than the MLS field. However, the MLS field has a larger width than the CFL field.
@@TommyBuskulic-u2k ya, I forgot about that. The sidelines have mats down because they're on the grass. The mats keep everyone on the sidelines from tearing up the field along the sides.
Was at Audi Field in DC 2 weeks ago as an away fan, walking to the top of the section was like hiking a freakin mountain!
Good vid, although where is Houston? Im an urban planner by trade and took classes in architecture, I'm also a galaxy fan. I hate the fact that the first MLS SSS were mostly designed by Rosetti Architects under AEG's influence, except for Historic Crew, so they pushed them to have a cookie cutter design. I don't think MLS stadiums started to get more individual design character until Red Bull Arena, but your critique there is spot on. I wish Red Bull would be rebranded Tri-State Bulls, or TSB for short, still respects the Red Bull owners, and allows for a true NJ connection. Of all the MLS SSS, to me the one with the most character, both architecturally and culturally, is Portland, it reminds me of a historic english soccer ground.
As a fan of fc dallas i like your thoughts on toyota stadium but the stadium is about to get a lot of upgrades that are set to be done by i think 2027 or 28
I’ve been to a few games for Real Salt Lake, it’s a beautiful stadium with good vibes
Just went to BMO stadium (LA) and man the atmosphere in there is crazy
very interesting video. There's a lot going on in the mls.
The fact that NYCFC has been around for up to a decade now and still play their home games inside of a baseball stadium has to be the joke of the MLS. When they guaranteed that they wouldn’t be in that stadium for as long as they have been. What I find even more amusing is when the team qualified for the CCL and CONCACAF flat out refused to allow them to play the games in a baseball stadium.
Lmao
land in NY is no joke
Another reason for the Sounders to not leave Lumen field anytime soon, if ever, is that if they build a soccer specific stadium, they will be moving out to the burbs to do it.
Which I'd be willing to bet had a lot to do with the Fire leaving their soccer specific stadium and moving to Soldier Field.
Having a stadium that is easy to get to, goes a long way in bringing in fans.
I've yet to go to a game at Paypal Park, but hopefully in the future. Would also be nice if the team wasn't in last place.
2 additional facts about PayPal Park & the Earthquakes:
1) right below the scoreboard is the Scoreboard Bar, currently the largest outdoor bar in North America. 😊
2) The Earthquakes are owned by John Fisher. 😞
I went in 2016 to see my favorite Mexican soccer team it was cool
many moons ago, when I lived in Ohio, I used to drive by the Crew's original stadium now and then for work - I always remember thinking how good it looked.
Putting Houston's stadium over LDC is absolutely wild.
I'm a Columbus fan, but I think you've ranked Providence Park waaay too low.
I know you said you don't like asymmetry in a soccer stadium, but that's what gives it its charm. It has so much history and character to it. (And of course, the Timbers Army makes it amazing every match day)
Glad you didn't have any critique for Q2 😉Quite beautiful, isn't it? The beer and water showers in the supporters section are great to cool down with.
NYCFC gonna run neutral drop and stuntman out of the iron triangle in a few years with their new stadium 😢
Q2 is so amazing as well as the support for a major league team in Austin that Austin already needs to upgrade the stadium yet they just built it. Its still the most sold out stadium in all of MLS. Austin FC has sold out every regular-season and playoff game (51) since entering the league in 2021. That's insane. I think Austin underestimated the demand bc its only a 20k seated stadium. Def need to add around 5-10k in the next upgrade. Hopefully soon!
“most sold out”? - hilarious
LAFC has sold out EVERY match, and been around longer than Austin
10:00 as someone who used to work in Chester, I hear ya
Im a Minnesota United fan and I always love going to games. Not a bad seat in the stadium.
it is amazing what MLS is becoming, North America is hosting a World Cup in the near future. I wonder if it will beat 1994 which still holds the attendance record for the FIFA World Cup.
I have seen games in many stadiums here and abroad. Providence Park is funky, old, filled with character and fits PDX perfectly. It's right downtown. You have to walk to get here. The atmosphere is amazing. The outside is ivy covered! I don't know if this is true or not, but I heard that several years ago the USMNT got to pick where to play Costa Rica (I think) and they chose Portland because it was their favorite to play. Tell me this is actually true!
USL stadiums please
That Comadore whatever bridge in Chester looks... Scary😶
That's a scary looking town, drove through there once.
WHOOOOOOO LET's GO LOOOOONS