The Most Urbanist Soccer Stadiums in North America: 10 Cities That Do Association Football Right
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- Опубліковано 20 вер 2024
- If you go to the home grounds of most association football ("soccer") clubs in Europe or South America, they are dovetailed into a central city or dense neighborhood location, and they provide lots of choices in how to travel to and from the match.
North American sports venues -- particularly those in the United States -- usually aren't like this. They're often in a far-flung suburban location, surrounded by a moat of surface parking, and difficult to access for anyone who can't or doesn't want to travel my personal motor vehicle.
Association football, as played in the MLS, NWSL, and Liga MX sometimes provides a different roadmap to stadium success. Some of the best examples are designed to nestle into a neighborhood, they're located near transit and bikeways, and they strive to minimize parking footprint.
Today's video explores the best venues North America has to offer, and shames lots of venues that apparently haven't learned any lessons at all from the continents that originated the beautiful game.
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Twitter: @nerd4cities
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Tesho Akindele on Twitter: @Tesho13
Previous CityNerd Videos Referenced:
- Disproportionately Busy Airports: • So Many Planes! The Go...
- The 10 Most Urbanist Ballparks: • What Is Urbanism? 2022...
- Top 10 Cities for Ferry Travel: • Transit On the Water: ...
- 10 Most Important Stations for North American High Speed Rail: • The 10 Key Stations fo...
- Top 10 NFL Stadiums for Transit: • Top Ten Transit to NFL...
- The 10 Most Urbanist NBA/NHL Arenas: • 10 Arenas That Fit The...
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Resources:
- en.wikipedia.o...
- en.wikipedia.o...
- www.mlssoccer....
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Images
- Tesho Akindele By Klinsmann2011 - Tesho Akindele, CC BY-SA 2.0, commons.wikime...
- Audi Field By Matt Garrity from West Palm Beach, United States - Audi Field, CC BY-SA 2.0, commons.wikime...
- Audi Field aerial By Duane Lempke - Duane Lempke Photography, CC0, commons.wikime...
- Providence Park bike parking By sarahmirk - Own work, CC0, commons.wikime...
- BC Lions By Julien Silva - originally posted to Flickr as BC Place Vancouver, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikime...
- Thumbnail BC Place By Ryan Adams, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikime...
- Thumbnail Exploria Stadium By Steveo89 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikime...
- Thumbnail Estadio Nemesio Diez: By PresidenciaMX - Flickr, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikime...
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Music:
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Halloween themed video: best/worst urban graveyards. Would like to hear your stance on whether or not they're bad urban land use.
That would certainly be an interesting topic. If not best/worst, maybe largest ones instead. As for whether or not it is a good use of urban land, that answer is easy. No. But in most cases, the cemetery was established on the outskirts of town and then said town eventually grew to overtake the graveyard. And at least in the US, it is very expensive and quite a hassle (politically and bureaucratically) to relocate a graveyard. When they needed to move a cemetery that was located in the middle of O'Hare Airport to make room for a runway; it was time-consuming, expensive, and there were plenty of lawsuits.
There’s interesting history to go along with the topic too. If I remember correctly, long ago cemeteries were basically the first public parks in the US. They had much more general use than they do today. Although there’s a cemetery in LA (I think) that hosts outdoor movies.
Assistens Kirkegård (the Assistens Cemetery) in Copenhagen is a good ex. of a cemetery in the middle of a city. It still function as a cemetery, but is at the same time one of the most used "green spaces"/parks in the city.
I find that topic interesting, but admit it's probably too niche for this channel. Luckily the cremation rate is increasing fast enough in the US that we'll generally waste less land on cemetery space as time goes on. That said, some places aren't catching onto the trend fast enough. There's a small suburb of SLC that recently approved a $7 million bond measure to buy land for a new cemetery which, by the city's own estimates, will end up selling out of plots in only 30 years, bringing them back to square one of not having enough cemetery space.
I'm gonna go to my burial by train. No SUV for my last ride!
As a Canadian, I appreciate that you factor in Mexico along with Canada. While I often already know about the Canadian entries on your lists, It's really cool to learn more about a country that has a surprisingly low profile.
Citynerd talking about MLS?! This is EXACTLY my niche lol fantastic work as always! I’ve always had a bit of an obsession with stadium architecture, tbh my fascination with stadiums is what originally led me down the rabbit hole of urbanism/planning/transit content.
Also I know Ray’s worn that Newell’s shirt before but goodness it’s fire. I love that he seems to support semi-obscure teams, since I *think* I’ve seen him in Querétaro colors too. A football hipster after my own heart as an American palace supporter lol.
Gotta say I’m jealous of every city that made this list, my hometown-ish New England Revs play in potentially the most auto-dependent stadium in the league and the crowd tends to be sparse and totally dead bc of it. We need a Boston-area soccer-specific ASAP.
Revs stadium situation is so bad, also a Bostonian and have been to more matches at St. Mary's than Gillette.
Allianz Field home of MNUFC will be really good once the planned development starts on the currently empty parking pads. Its got LRT and BRT, they demolished strip malls to build it and reconnected much of the grid system through the stadium area, and Its exactly halfway between our two downtowns; in a culturally and economically diverse part of the city! However bike connections are lacking...which is very unusual in the twin cities.
I'm tired of the Twin Cities erasure from CityNerd! This stadium was built as a massive TOD project with zero public dollars, and includes zero parking stalls.
@@Styster I live a few miles south of Allianz. Midway still has a long way to go to be a great urbanist environment. Housing along University from Snelling to DT St. Paul is still not especially dense and a lot of the businesses are still separated from the main transit corridor by huge parking lots. Also, University was not designed with bikes in mind
@@Styster Shh ... if CityNerd doesn't talk about us, others won't move here in droves!
... says the woman who moved here in 2019😀
I blame St Paul for the lack of bike routes. But yeah once they do something about the eyesore of that parking lot it would be a lot better. My friend lived in the apartments right next to the stadium and I made fun of him for the great view onto the always empty parking lot.
I was surprised by the lack of mention of Allianz field, yeah! I was interested to hear his take because I could have seen it as a good or bad situation at the moment - the LRT/BRT is great, and it makes sense to be in the middle of both downtowns - but that then makes it decently far from either one and there's still quite a lot of parking footprint. Good plans for the future, but maybe not at the moment.
Great video. Here in the UK, most football grounds were built within the local communities as football was a mostly working class sport, but in the last 30 years, most new grounds are now built out of town 😕
Also, it’s great to see more purpose built MLS grounds. I remember the early days with matches being played in 2/3 empty NFL stadiums.
I think the 1994 World Cup boosted soccer in the US a lot, and that has come through in the generations who were children at the time, helped the MLS maintain traction.
Also, some Americans have switched to soccer from American football because they feel that repeatedly smashing into each other on purpose is not worth the health risks.
Your last point, absolutely. Used to be an avid gridiron fan but now I've cultivated a healthy antipathy for it. Soccer (yes, "soccer"!) for me with a little bit of F1 for good measure.
Head & Neck injuries including concussions are more prevalent in Soccer than they are in Football just so you know.
@@adellis24 Not according to the information that I can find for the US. Football is the worst, typically followed distantly by girls' soccer, boys' soccer, wrestling, and cheerleading.
@@joeb4294 The NFL generates 19 billion a year(Most among all sports leagues in the world).... American Football ain't going nowhere anytime soon. And clearly you don't know about the Collegiate Game
@@fivehundrediq5212 I'm well aware that football is very popular and will remain popular for a long time. I was only stating that some Americans have turned away from it, and that U.S. soccer has likely benefited from that.
Another BIG honorable mention for Centene Stadium in St Louis. SLCFC don’t join the league until next year, but that new stadium fits really well into the downtown’s urban fabric. Excited to see if they can garner a good crowd.
St. Louis is historically a great soccer city --- maybe the best if you go back far enough!
I really love how it integrates into the city, and I’m excited to see its segment of the Brickline greenway be built
I hope St Louis doesn't use the SLCFC name too much. Too close to Salt Lake City. Yes they are RSL, but non-soccer fans will get confused. And non-soccer fans are the people St Louis and MLS need to appeal too.
@@CityNerd It’s like that way in most regards. lol
Please keep spreading the good news about us instead of just the bad and it could become Americas 4th largest city again (in my opinion it was actually 3rd because this is when Brooklyn and NY were still separate but I digress) Anyways,
Thanks for all the great content :]
@@titanbronco1627 to be fair, RSL sealed their own fate with the cringiest name in American pro sports (tho the CPL’s Atlético Ottawa is giving them a run for their money). Last I checked Salt Lake City hasn’t received any patronage from the Spanish royal family lol it’s such a silly name. I know that’s kinda tangential to ur point, but I try to drag RSL whenever I get the chance. In terms of St Louis City FC, I have personally heard the few people I know from the area call it “the Lou.” Might make sense to abbreviate the club as “Lou City” or something like that (tho I’m sure the Brits and Kentuckians will both take exception to that name for different reasons lol). St Louis City FC is definitely a mouthful all at once tho I think it was an overly safe choice for their branding.
I think the reason soccer skews urbanist is because urbanist people idolize Europe and soccer is popular there.
I'm European so unsure, but isn't 'tailgaiting' a cultural thing in the USA which promotes huge surface parking
Yes it is, but that’s mostly for football. Our soccer fanbases tend to prefer a more European model of walking from a bar to the stadium before the match starts.
Tailgating is fun, but u don’t necessarily need a huge parking lot for it. At my college, we always held a big tailgate for the homecoming football game on the practice fields for football, rugby, and baseball. Occasionally it would get a little bit muddy, but that kind of added to all the fun.
I thought Toronto deserved at least an honorable mention. As someone who has been to a game there despite not being from the area (or Canada for that matter), it was super accessible with a train line running behind the north end. Very close to residential and not far from the downtown core. There were a couple above ground lots but a really cool location close to the water, expressway, and a pretty lively neighborhood
Ya. I'm not surprised. Unless you've actually been to BMO Field you can't really get a sense of how easy it is to get there via transit and walking and biking and how much stuff is nearby in Liberty Village. A satellite view puts it in the middle of a parking lot at the EX.
@@mthomas2404 Those parking lots are also a bit of a unique case, since that land has been used for the Canadian National Exhibition for over a century, so I think it is a rare instance where surface parking is a reasonable land use the rest of the time.
Reasonable land use? For a prime location in a rapidly growing city with a housing shortage?
@@pangerme In this one very specific instance, yes. The CNE isn't going anywhere any time soon, so sure, use the land for parking. There's not a lot else you're really going to be able to do with it.
BMO would have lost points on the amount of parking nearby and the long walk from the King or Union stations, although the GO Exhibition Station is pretty close and it's not a long walk from the King Streetcars.
Now that we're back with the Top 10s. I hope to see a *Top 10 Most Urbanist Colleges & Universities in the US* with dishonorable mentions in the future on this channel soon 🙏
Will consider! Thanks!
Expand it to North America. York U is a former and probably still current abomination but at least they got two subway stations for all their sprawl, and the university formerly known as Ryerson is literally nestled into the core northeast of Yonge-Dundas Square, complete with a quad of closed side street.
@@CityNerd That would be an interesting list, but how do you even distinguish? I went to school at Northeastern University in Boston. Just by looking at it you might think it would top the list, but then there's also BU, Suffolk University, MIT, and a whole host of other, less well known schools. (Yes, MIT is in Cambridge not Boston. Sue me.) Not to mention NYU and The Cooper Union in New York City. All those fit seamlessly into the urban fabric (sorry Harvard and Columbia, but putting a wall around your school disqualifies you in my mind). And that's just a small sample of schools from two cities. If that translates to the rest of North America, the list would be a knife fight with a mile long list of honorable mentions.
I wonder if any of Philly's Universities will make it onto this list...
@@sblack53 and I think adding Queen's U for a smaller city but extremely urban campus would be interesting! I think 90% of the students live within 1km of the school and almost everyone walks, bikes or busses to school!
as a huge soccer fan and aspiring urban planner, this video was brilliant. thank you so much and nice newell's shirt!!
Spot on with Houston. Downtown is surprisingly bikeable. And the parking is definitely shared with the Astros.
It's Roller Skatable too. Though the Urban Animals Skate Club is a mere shadow of its late 20th century glory.
Montreal's lines are more often identified by colour than number. They do technically have numbers but they're rarely used. The line near Saputo Stadium is the green line. Great vid as always and I'm happy that Montreal was mentioned.
In Vancouver, if we aren't bombarded with a constant stream of validation that we do in fact live in the greatest city of all time, we start remembering the crushingly unaffordable housing and our brains start to melt. Thank you for supplying my daily dose!
BC place is also the western Canada's most important events venue. I'm a lighting technician who grew up there and have worked many a concert/trade show/large city wide community event at BC place and never drive to work
The stadium in St. Louis is almost finished being built, it would be interesting to hear you talk about that one at some point
Agreed. I thought he'd have mentioned it at least since it's an urban stadium with dedicated cycle tracks being built out plus light rail connection
It ticks a lot of boxes on a list like this too.
Calling the area about that stadium urban is quite the stretch though: There is no practical walking traffic anywhere there. The entire corridor down "farty", all the way to the ballpark and the river, is set up for people from the suburbs to come in, attend the event and leave. The relative lack of attractions that are actually open an in serious use outside of game days make the stadiums just blight 99.9% of the time. The ED at least attempted to be a convention center most of the time, but we all know how well that went.
Unless your urban center is strong and well built, so that the stadium's relative lack of inactivity is countered by superior accessibility: That's what makes a place like Mestalla or Santiago Bernabeu acceptable despite their low use. Carting the local fans all the way outside the city center would be a chore. Compare that to St Louis' downtown, where low use facilities are sitting next to other low use facilities. They aren't urban development, they are blight, because the infrastructure is set up to fill the stadiums up with cars. Downtown St Louis is already filled with covered parking, and yet, along with the stadium, we are getting even more parking! The stadium should have been in, say, Earth City, where all the parking infrastructure does little damage.
An empty lot would be better, because at least that could be redeveloped into something that might get constant use. Instead the stadium will sit there, being about as useful as the old AT&T building.
Yeah, I limited this to current MLS and Liga MX clubs, and I kinda almost bit off more than I could chew as it is!
Really wish I could've hosted that game on 9/18. But the rumor is if the electronics get fixed, we'll have a European team here for a friendly in November!
I think you have it slightly backwards. When you're in college, even in the US you meet people from more places and get exposed to things like soccer from other foreign students studying where you are and you're actively looking for new and different things to be interested and a part of. So it's something "different" enough from the normal sports-guy stuff while still being very popular in the worldly sense.
I don't think college is causal at all.
Soccer a middle/upper-middle class sport in the US. Those same people are also more likely to go to college.
It's unfortunate and I hope the culture changes (both soccer and college should be accessible to more people), but that's why soccer fans are "educated"
I really think that the Fifa games have an impact too.
Good arguments here and in the replies. I did think about the fact that soccer has been the premier youth sport in a lot of the US for at least a decade now. The FIFA thing, yeah. Has Football Manager caught on much in the US yet?
@@57125 but in the wrong demographic.
@@CityNerd Football Manager has been gaining momentum in the US. One of the biggest FM creators on UA-cam is American (Zealand). On another note, the NBC deal with the Premier League nearly a decade ago has also brought a lot new eyes to soccer and along that those curious about cultures and design without having to travel abroad.
When it comes to soccer-specific stadiums, I have only been to one and that is Red Bull Arena for a 2017 Gold Cup doubleheader between French Guiana (who made their debut) and Canada, and Costa Rica and Honduras (we only stayed for Canada vs French Guiana because we didn't want to get back home to Long Island too late; plus we knew the atmosphere for Costa Rica vs Honduras would be chaotic) so I can only talk about that one.
Location wise, it has being walking distance to the Harrison PATH station (and one stop away from Newark Penn with connections to NJ Transit trains and buses, Greyhound, Newark Light Rail, and Amtrak trains) going for it, which has new transit-oriented housing (even has a Five Guys). There's luxury apartments but they're also building mixed-use ones. The walk to the arena isn't bad (nearly a mile), but south of the tracks by the arena is still filled with construction and barren lots. No cycling lanes either. But hey, at least it's not Subaru Park.
I find the issue with PATH is that they really don’t optimize it for travel to RBA on game days. Unless you’re getting on at WTC (and even then, it’s not guaranteed), you have to transfer at Journal Square, and that is not always quick. I’ve waited 20 minutes sometimes at that platform to make the final leg to Harrison. I’ve also found that they really corral you on the sidewalks near the Harrison PATH station with barriers, which makes it really difficult to cross Frank Rodgers Blvd if you need to for whatever reason. But the fact that you can take public transit there, even if it’s not top-tier, is a positive.
Subaru Park, Red Bull Arena, and Audi Field were all built as anchor tenants for revitalizing/de-industrializing areas of already dense cities.
That’s why the surroundings of those three stadiums remain in constant construction of new development. There’s been considerable changes to the density in Harrison, for example, especially since 2017.
You are 100% correct the lots are shared in Houston. Those lots are used for business parking in the day, event parking during games, and free parking at night.
The bike lanes, feel free to chop on them, but we worked hard to get them 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 baby steps my guy! We're trying!
East End is such a great neighborhood too, I always enjoy soccer games at PNC.
Wow, appreciate the Tesho reference. Didn’t know about guy, but glad people like him exist. It’s cool to see public figure sports stars being supportive of public works and urban development! We could always use more people like that!
Toronto getting the shaft again, BMO field is a 200m from a GO Regional rail line which many fans use to get to the game, 2 LRT lines , and an Under construction subway lines, that 4 rail lines that 4 lines 200m from BMO field. An being Toronto there is a ton of highrises density nearby on the other side of the rail line in Liberty Village.
Being from Ottawa, I love to see Toronto get shafted, but I was surprised to see that BMO Field did not rate mention.
The Center of the Universe shafted? Poor babies….
An interesting thing about Vancouver too is that all the empty lots near the stadium are set to be developed into housing and park space with poorly designed highway style roads like the viaducts being taken down which will make the space more enjoyable
A big part of soccer culture is that most clubs (not the mega clubs as much) are very woven into their communities, and the sheer volume of clubs means each decent sized community has a club to rally around. American sports lend themselves to being super provincial because teams have to represent such a huge area
And many US teams aren't clubs. They are sports franchises. It's a completely different interaction (US teams are more like businesses) with the surrounding community.
Was waiting until BC Place was going to be on the list. Was at Vancouver for a layover for a few hours in July so I met up with friends using the Canada and Expo Line to kill time for next flight. Loving the urban design of Vancouver both BC Place and Rogers Arena are well placed for having to be beside Chinatown and being on their other side of the Marina overlooking the Science Centre. Funny enough there’s a Costco right beside the two stadiums underground
There's a large hill just to the north west of the stadiums that the urban fabric has pushed out from in the form of that Costco. You can walk up to it, climb a giant staircase outside the entrance about 4 stories up, and then be at street level again for the upper side.
I know, that is one of the most uncharacteristic Costcos! Love it
It's a shame to see Vancouver Chinatown becoming a no-go zone after dark. By the way, the tourist attraction is called Science World. :)
@@vincentng2392 I say give it a try, I don't find it to be unsafe at night.
@@CityNerd Video Idea: Top Ten urbanist Costcos.
Would be interested in how the new Crew stadium scored (Columbus, Ohio). They just built the new stadium right in the downtown core, but the city as a whole sort of handicaps the ability to get to these games via public transit. They did add good bike connectivity to the major bikeways that run down the city's rivers though, and include game-day bike valet. Overall a major improvement vs the historic crew stadium that was really only accessible via car with very little else around it, and I'm hoping this trend continues.
In 50 years they may finally put a rail stop at the stadium considering there's several rail lines running right next to the stadium. :( I've gone to games riding my bike and the valet is extremely nice and free which is an added bonus.
Yeah surprised Crew stadium didn’t make the honorable mentions
👏👏👏 Columbus!
yea think this is a miss, the Crew stadium is in the optimal location, considering how terrible Columbus's transit experience is.
Went to a recent game against NY Red Bull, very nice stadium
The best part of BC Place (and downtown Vancouver in general) is how hostile it is to drive. I have never been more scared to drive in my life than I was there. Parked in the hotel basement and didn’t drive anywhere until I left town.
Try Montreal!
Banc of California Stadium, Los Angeles. Would fit in well here. Close to E and J Lines. Ample bus access. In a great entertainment complex. Adjacent to college (USC) campus. Bike lanes along Figueroa St.
And was built where the old LA Sports Arena was. And integrates visually well with the cityscape.
The big parking lot is shared with the Astros. The Dynamo sell a season parking pass for $150 but you can't use it on the days the Astros are playing. I feel like taking the light rail to the game is free because I don't see people pay. Houston leads the country in apartment production so more of Houston will have apartment buildings like that, though two of the apartments west of the stadium are due for demolition because of the highway 45 expansion project.
as a Canadian, I thought I 45 and Katy fwy were way too big already.
So glad to see Houston get the much-needed love here and Dallas getting the much-needed shame. Dallas has a stadium phobia.
Also, great SEC football selection for the sub-check.
I think we're about to see a lot of SEC stadiums!
Some of the DFW suburbs doesn't even have public transit at all. Such as Frisco, Arlington, Grand Prairie, Allen and more.
hopefully the houston love isn't shortlived considering the looming proposed freeway expansion
@@jetfan925 They have it. It just all leads to Downtown Dallas
@@kevinleon01 true, the proposed freeway expansion goes right by some of the density, but look at it on the bright side: it also destroys the surface lots PNC shares with the Juice Box!
LOVE LOVE LOVE the Tesho Akindele shoutout. Gotta love Tesho.
I always find it funny that in the US rail lines are named after colors.
That would never happen in Germany, because there are too few men who know enough color names for that to work.
??????Could you make a vid about convention centers and their role in cities and the types of conventions they hold??????
This wpuld be great
love the shoutout for tesho ! seems like such a great guy
Houston, for all its many, many, many failings does seem to be moving, in fits & stops, in a better direction. Granted, when you're bar is set so low, any little bit can look huge.
Great video man! Nice to see that the US is finally getting into football, I think the MLS will become a major force in the American continent in a near future.
Video suggestion: top ten busiest bus routes in North America
I'm so happy to see my current home and previous home cities make the top two! Thanks for another great video!
I mean, American football games only involve 10 minutes of actual gameplay, even if they are interspersed with almost 3 hours of beer and pickup truck ads. It's no surprise that people who went to college and/or who didn't grow up breathing leaded gasoline exhaust aren't as in to it.
It’s possible to like one sport without shitting on the other. My favorite sport is soccer, but I grew up playing football all the way thru high school, and still really like the game. Yes, it has some problems and the tv broadcasts are shockingly high in commercials, but at a base level some people (myself included) really enjoy the complex tactics and mechanics of the game. It’s possible to love soccer without hating football or any other sport.
I feel like Vancouver got the leg up due to three key decisions. 1. The city fought freeways coming downtown in the 60s/70s (although still wound up with two ridiculous viaducts which will hopefully be torn down soon), 2. The World's Fair (Expo 86) was in Vancouver and its theme was Transportation which caused the Skytrain to be built, and 3. The decision to revitalize the stadium (and take off the silly air supported dome) and have the Whitecaps play there.
The Whitecaps had originally bought a waterfront property in Gastown (the historic district downtown) and wanted to play there, which would have also had great transit connectivity to Waterfront with its two Skytrain lines and SeaBus (and I guess the float planes and Helijet terminal). That got scuttled because it would have required building over the Canadian Pacific rail yard, but would have had some amazing views of the north shore mountains. The city rejected the idea and the province revitalized BC Place instead, which would have had only one sports tenant with the BC Lions of the Canadian Handegg League. If the stadium hadn't been revitalized and the other downtown stadium not been built, they would most likely be playing out at Empire Stadium (or equivalent) out at the PNE with its close proximity to the freeway and lots of parking lots.
One of the reasons that BC Place and Rogers Arena in Vancouver are able to keep a low parking footprint are their downtown location. Most office buildings within walking distance keep their parking lots open on game night and make money filling their parking lots. Nearby hotels and restaurants are shared by tourists, conventioneers and sports fans. This is probably true with any similar downtown facility.
I think it would be interesting to see a video comparing land use in cities such as Vancouver and Seattle that are constrained by mountains, sea and rivers with other cities which have far more room to expand such as Edmonton, Kansas City or Dallas.
Tbf you use they skytrain if your going to a game in vancouver. Noone wants to deal with parking when they csn just use a park n ride
@@coocoo3336 There will be another Metro Vancouver soccer team in 2023 playing in the lower-tier Canadian Premier League. Its home will be in the car-centric suburb of Langley unfortunately.
a head to head comparision of Vancouver and Seattle on all categories would be very interesting. maybe Portland too.
Nice! I will say I’m very surprised Atlanta didn’t make the list. It’s one of the few stadiums directly served by a subway (MARTA station on both sides of the stadium, both 2 minute walks). No giant parking lots or decks. It doesn’t really fit into a street grid, but it is in downtown and walking distance from a lot of apartments, hotels, and offices. There’s a new pedestrian street leading to it from Centennial Park. They just built a bus transit hub next to it, and there’s a bike valet for Atlanta United games.
I was also surprised. I almost always take MARTA to the games, and it is very easy/convenient. It is definitely my primary use of MARTA. Heading to the game on Sunday with kids in a cargo bike for the first time, so we will see how that goes!
And wait until the Centennial Yards buildout is finished, adding to the useable/liveable space in the area
Once Centennial Yards is built out and they do something about closing the gap-canyon between the sidewalk and the stadium then I think it could be towards the top of a list like this.
Glad you talked about Saputo Stadium when it comes to Montreal and not the...white elephant in the room that the team sometimes uses. I mean it says a lot about a stadium when its architect refused to back down from his original vision despite escalating costs for raw materials and delays, the stadium's roof and tower weren't even completed in time for the Summer Olympics, and it took Montreal THIRTY YEARS to pay off its debt. Doesn't take long to figure out why people call it the Big Owe.
Greetings from Vancouver! Thank you for listing BC Place as your number one. By the way, while Stadium-Chinatown Skytrain Station bears the original reference to BC Place, the later-built Rogers Arena (formerly GM Place) for Canucks hockey is actually closer to the station.
I would definitely add Estadio Azul in Mexico City, although it is a smaller stadium (33,000) expectators, it has ZERO parking footprint and is in the middle of a dense mixed use neighborhood.
I'm pretty sure he said that he'd talk about teams that are in liga mx, and estadio azul is just by an expansion league team.
Not gonna lie, i thought of it either way
I love old baseball stadiums, and how squeezing them into tight urban areas had an effect on the playing field.
If "how if feel to watch a match" was factored in *even a little bit* then Providence Park takes the Cascadia Cup and this list no problem. I'd say Providence Park is the "best overall place to experience soccer in North America" when you put the "urbanism" together with the "vibe & culture of the games". Feels downright European there. Even Rapinoe said it was her favorite place to play (because the vibes are so intense.
Also, Merritt Paulson should sell both teams. HE KNEW. And not only "did nothing" - he was a part of the coverup.
15 minutes every Wednesday is not NEARLY enough!
Nice shirt! Have you been to an Argentinian football game? Wouldn't say the transit is always great, but it can't get much more urban with where some of the stadiums are, especially in Buenos Aires.
Newell's shirt was a gift from a friend who spent some time in Rosario! Haven't been down but do plan to go!
I audibly gasped when Providence Park wasn't #1 hahaha, but hey I'll take #2. I live 2 blocks from the stadium and love keeping my windows open on summer nights and listening to the crowd. Wonderful neighborhood.
Austin FC's Q2 Stadium is poised to be a really great urban stadium. It has a dedicated rail stop and tons of dense mixed-use development is currently happening from the ground-up. It will be super exciting to see how it develops over the next 5 years.
Unfortunately, our land use policies will stop it from seeing that potential. Also, it was built on a lot ruined by toxic chemicals in the 70s which is why that parcel of land had sat empty for so long before the city gave it away for the stadium.
@@ToddDicken73 Just keep fighting until the zoning laws are changed. As a Missourian IK the struggle is real in a red state but we will prevail eventually. Also, hey at least the toxic lot is now being used for something positive.
@@ToddDicken73 Do you mean the same land use policies that permitted development of The Domain, the massive mixed-use neighborhood literally across the street from the stadium? Just checking. As to contamination, was the site not remediated? I suspect it was or the stadium could not have been permitted, but I can't find reference to it on the usual Brownfield lists. I'd like to see your references for your assertions.
I was really impressed with Austin's stadium. It was so easy to take the train from downtown to the stadium.
I live in South Austin and haven't been to Q2 yet, but on maps it looks depressingly surrounded by strip malls and warehouses. Hopefully the metrorail expansion goes well so that more people across the city can actually USE that rail stop to the stadium.
As NYCFC fan I’m so happy we’re finally building our own place across from Citi Field
I'm very happy to see my home stadium of Audi Field make this list! It's a really fantastic venue in a rapidly developing urban neighborhood that looks better every time I go. I did find it amusing that Audi Field made #3 on this list but Nats Park did not even make the honorable mentions for Urbanist Ballparks when they are a 1/4 mile away from each other. I guess there was much stiffer competition for Urbanist Ballparks than Urbanist Soccer Stadiums.
Maybe you can explain to me : How on Earth did Audi Field got to cost a whopping $400-500 mln dollar ?!?! 😵😵
It is a bare bones 20k stadium , not fully roofed. three sides have 'naked stands without vip rooms, facilities etc. At the time there were no other buildings that would hinder construction. The location was an old industrial zone and can't have broken the bank, you'd say. All in all this shouldn't have cost more than $100 mln , really ..
(to give a benchmark : 8:52 Brentford Community Stadium (17k cap, fully roofed, with enclosed facilities, built on a cramped plot in West London) cost only £71 million , in 2022 !! And the lavish 60k Tottenham Hotspur stadium cost 'merely' twice the bill of Audi Field )
Yeah, I probably got the most grief for omitting Nationals Park in the baseball video. I kinda have to go off what's in the latest aerial for each stadium, but my understanding is there's a lot more good adjacent land use around Nationals Park now than what the aerial shows. Will update at some point!
@@allws9683 agreed, this drives me insane. Cannot understand how the money was used. Nowhere near a $500m stadium. Have to think a lot went to the land (maybe near Nats park the values were increasing a lot?). But I will be very curious to see how long such a bare bones stadium lasts, particularly because it has no room for expansion either (can’t be more than 20 years right?).
I continue to think United ownership could also join with Commanders ownership (if they were both reasonable humans) to partner on a new stadium at the old RFK site. United could perhaps use it for major events until the local fandom grows enough to fill it consistently. And the Spirit could share Audi more. Having had the foresight to work on this ahead of time would’ve certainly prevented the World Cup miss debacle. I have been saying it since the initial 2026 announcement. But I am a dreamer I guess. 😔
@@CityNerd It's certainly getting there. They can't seem to stop building mixed-used apartment buildings in the neighborhood. There are definitely some questionable land uses though: multiple self storage places, an electrical transformer, some auto shops, a billboard for sports betting. But I find the image of a Public Storage nestled between two luxury condo buildings to be amusing enough to not complain too much about it.
Shout out to Charlotte FC! We had a great inaugural season and share the Bank of America Stadium with the Carolina Panthers. Its in a great location too!!!
Another aspect that I think has driven the growth of soccer is the rising income of Latinx americans who have long formed key supporter groups for MLS teams
How did Banc of California for LAFC and Angel City FC not get on this list? Even the honorable mentions? It has a stop on the Expo light rail line, close proximity to DTLA, shares what parking is there with museums and the LA Colosseum, has protected bike lanes on Figueroa street approaching the stadium and is in one of the densest neighborhoods in Los Angeles.
It probably did deserve an honorable, like..."This is pretty good for LA - look at Dignity Health Sports Park!!" Still kind of a lot of parking but I think it's going to get better, similar to Red Bull and Allianz.
Welp, the apartments built up next to PNC Stadium in Houston TX were demolished this summer for Freeway expansion. Houston gonna Houston :/
Thanks for listening to my video suggestion! Great video! I love soccer and urbanism, so when they cross over it's extra cool. Unfortunately I live in a one of the cities on your dishonorable mentions list (Denver). Nevertheless I bike 12 miles to the games. I have taken transit there before, when the poorly set up bus route to the stadium existed, but it was not a good experience as the return bus didn't even show up 😂. I wish it was downtown near the other stadiums 😞
As someone from Vancouver, mad respect.
Personally as a Mexican American I find it ok to exclude Mexico from some of the urbanism videos. The US influenced Canada in a lot of ways but Mexico was excluded due to the racism and language barrier from long ago as well as the local indigenous people still having a notable population (unlike the US and Canada and their Manifest Destiny). As such the Mexican people developed differently than the other American cities with different emphasis on how to live in the urban environment. That and also the extreme poverty that in some places just means it was made to walk around as that was all the people that settled there could afford to do.
I, a 40 year old, did grow up liking and playing soccer (although my favorite sport was, and still is, American Football). However, your analysis of my increased fandom is spot on. I studied abroad in Växjö, Sweden in the winter/spring of 2005 and attended sporting events in my "home" city and just about wherever I travelled. My interest in soccer increased greatly and I became a genuine fan of AFC Ajax from Amsterdam and Vålerenga IF from Oslo and follow them on Social Media and try to catch Ajax whenever I can since they show up on American TV from time to time. I also check up on the other teams for which I attending games including Östers IF from Växjö, Malmö FF, and Bohemians from Dublin. I did follow Minnesota's 2nd tier teams to a degree, but now that the Loons are an MLS franchise I do consider them my favorite soccer team. My interest very much stems from my time in Europe as a student, however.
1-5 ! ❌❌❌ 👹
I think that Soccer is a college scholarship opportunity for rich suburbs. As a consequence there is a lot of soccer among youths in the burbs among both girls and boys. Leads to a rich and young fan base. The product from Europe is pretty amazing lately as well.
I think that’s partially true, but I’d also say the internet has a lot to do with it. Young people are more connected to the world than previous generations bc of the internet. Plus big American athletes, especially those in the nba, seem to be getting more and more into the sport and posting about it on social media, showing up at matches, and even buying stakes in clubs. Of course there’s also a big immigrant population who loves the sport as well. So the growth of the game here is a whole combination of factors tbh.
Personal health impact too. More parents getting their kids to play soccer vs say NFL & NHL (in terms of head injuries say).
@@emjackson2289 really good point. Baseball is rural. Basketball is urban. NFL is dangerous
Most of my soccer teammates were not rich.
as a newell's old boys "hincha" seeing you with that shirt makes me really happy and of all argentinian football club, it's one I would not expect someone outside of the country to wear it
Should do USL Stadiums next!
Biking to Audi Field is an absolute joy from any points north, and only getting better. They also have a free indoor bike valet on gamedays that is always packed (in a good way). There is a stupid amount of development going on on Buzzard Point, which for forever was just industrial wasteland. One of the few things the organization has gotten right recently has been that stadium location (although the stadium itself leaves a bit to be desired). Also loved the Tesho shoutout.
The location is fantastic. The stadium, sadly, is not. I also can’t believe it wasn’t designed to be expanded at all (even though there is a field of land there that could’ve been used?). And the roof continues to be pending.
@@RealMattHaney Yeah unfortunately the Pepco easement that runs under the main stand really constrained them in terms of design (couldn't put anything below ground level) and the green space next to stadium is slated for development (hotel I think). Which tbf in terms of land use is probably better. And I know it frustrates some people but I *love* that there's basically no parking footprint at the stadium, or at least there won't be once Akridge develops their lots to the south of the stadium.
@@hippynothipster I was not aware of the easement. Also glad there is no parking footprint. Just wish the stadium were a little better (especially for the money) and designed to hold more fans (at least at some point).
@@RealMattHaney I personally love how small it is because there is not a bad seat in the house to be honest. I remember getting to see Rooney play there a couple years ago and it was amazing because I felt so close to the field.
@@andergustafson6664 that’s good. But 20k is small for a major sports team in a major US city. And smaller cities draw more fans. And I think you could have a similar experience in a 40k-50k stadium. Also for a team struggling pretty badly, it feels like it might’ve been smart to have more ticket revenue when a lot of the income is from ticket revenue. Also what is the lifetime of the stadium? And isn’t the World Cup in 2026 supposed to boost MLS? The stadium fills up now…so there’s no room for growth. Which feels like a weird choice to me. I guess a full stadium is better than a half empty stadium. But if you build it then maybe you’re also motivated to fill it.
Vancouver's stadium has a skytrain station next to it. It's actually called Stadium-Chinatown Station.
THIS IS THE VIDEO I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR.
Bless you.
Your sub count is going to exceed the largest in the world soon, I suppose you could shift to motor sports arenas but that'll only take you so far too...
Another reason soccer is gaining popularity in the educated population is the lack of CTE injuries when compared with football. While I will encourage my children to play sports as they get older, Football is completely banned.
Video Suggestion: Not sure if this has anything to do with urban planning but…the amount of storage units in the US. I swear these are popping up everywhere I look.
As a whitecaps season ticket holder it's cool to see BC place top the list. Makes me appreciate going to the games a bit more!
Agree re Philadelphia Union. Big fan of the team, not of the location. Like many newer pro sports venues, there was hope that it would.help revitalize Chester. Worst part of the experience is driving in and driving out, which is the only way to get there.
I'm a Union fan, but I almost never go to home games because I don't have a car. It's not impossible to get to Subaru Park on public transportation, but very, very difficult.
Best stadiums are those that didn't take public funding
A video about "third places" could be interesting! As a college senior who doesn't want my social life to end after college, that's really top of mind for me.
Seconding this. I think this is the single biggest reason young people gravitate towards cities (other than job opportunities) - no one wants to lose access to a walkable community and nearby friends after getting a taste of it in college.
@@daniel6678 Exactly. Now that I know there's a better way to live, I can't go back.
Glad to see my beloved Allianz Parque at the intro!
can you do a video about densifying cities and how it relates to gentrification? I'd love to hear your input on how we can make better dense cities while respecting those that inherited the remains of white flight, etc.
Thanks!
The dilemmas that take place when one piece of left-wing dogma collides with another piece of left-wing dogma.
NIMBY ism is bi partisan. IMO cities would have fewer issues with gentrification if already wealthy neighborhoods didn’t block so much housing.
@@RealChrisFischer Say you simp for capital without saying you simp for capital
Gentrification is a good thing
@@Number1Camper Agreed. Gentrification is simply a word that gets thrown around when people try to make a neighborhood someplace people want to live. In DC, we're fighting to get bike lanes installed. NIMBYists in NW hate it. In SE DC (majority black and poor) though, councilmembers have been trying to block or remove bike lanes saying it's gentrifying. That doesn't make any sense.
Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte FC Soccer (and Panthers American Football)) checks most of the blocks. Near downtown, within a half mile of a light rail line and a tram line, non-existent parking footprint, sort of fits in the grid, some bikeway access with more on the way, Increasing residential and office density being built near the stadium over time.
Atlanta United (Mercedes Benz Stadium) also checks most of the blocks, though has heavy rail lines (good), and a lot more parking (minus points).
Mercedes Benz also loses points for stadium footprint
I thought Toronto's BMO Field would get an honourable mention for being right across from Go Transit's Exhibition station, which runs at 30 minutes frequency off-peak, and serviced by 2 streetcar routes and a bus route that run at 10-minute frequency, while also not being far from the Martin Goodman Trail on the Lakeshore for bike access, but it is basically surrounded by parking for 90% of the year so the omission makes sense
The nearest neighbourhood, Liberty Village, has a significant bottleneck in the Exhibition Station tunnels. It's nowhere near as transit friendly as Scotiabank Arena or the Skydome (walking distance to Union Station), but nowhere is going to be as transit friendly as a terminal station.
It's kind of the opposite problem of new Crew Stadium, in which it's in an urban environment, but non-existent public transit (which is because Columbus is utter crap at).
@@martytu20 I'm sure BMO Field will move up in the "rankings" once the new subway line (Ontario Line) is completed... if it ever does. With that in place BMO Field will be supplied with a region rail stop at Exhibition Station (GO Train), two streetcar lines (#509 Queens Quay and #511 Bathurst), plus I am hearing there are plans to have some bus lines (e.g. #63 Ossington, and #29 Dufferin) will connect into the Exhibition Station transit hub.
Nice Newell's Old Boys shirt!
I agree with demographics as a driver, but I personally chalk it up to Latin American immigration in large part.
In the mid 1990's, "soccer moms" were the key demographic group political parties tried to sway. Those kids are now grown and are what we call "Millennials".
The Colorado Rapids stadium was built on land that was part of the old Stapleton Airport, which closed in 1995. It wasn't built where the terminal was, but rather on the north end about four miles from the old terminal where a runway used to be.
Lumen field was actually designed as a dual use stadium for both American football and actual football. So that's why an NFL stadium like lumen dovetails so well with a football clubs needs
Just came across your channel and the second I read the title, I knew I had to subscribe. Hoping you hit 100k subscribers soon!
PS- Glad to see that the three Cascadia teams made your top ten stadiums. #RCTID #PTFC 💚💛⚽️🌲
I would be interested to hear your opinion on BMO field in Toronto. Close to downtown, regional train and streetcar on its doorstep however in a massive parking lot that is empty for most of the year until the summer end exhibition….
The area has gotta be the most under utilized area in Toronto yet no one talks about it being redeveloped.
I was wondering the same. BMO field has 3 streetcar lines that terminate nearby, 509 and 511 at Exhibition loop, and 504 at Dufferin loop. When you factor in the 2x hourly GO train service, you have an area that is amazingly well served by transit.
The stadium is reasonably bikeable from some west end neighbourhoods. Liberty Village is adding residential density to the north.
Points off for not being well integrated into the city fabric, and for the sea of parking.
@@wtspman Don't forget the under-construction Ontario Line.
@@mileitman I was going to mention that, but changed my mind. In 10 years time, if it is built and running, the Ontario line will be another great transit option for folks trying to get to BMO Field, especially for folks coming from more distant parts of the city to the east and the north.
I have a video suggestion for you (apologies in advance if you already broached this topic) but roundabouts. Pros and cons on traffic flow and why they aren’t as ubiquitous in the United States as other countries.
Video idea: greenbelts. I would love to hear your thoughts on the topic.
Here in the Toronto region most suburban municipalities have pretty much sprawled out to their limits and we are starting to see leapfrog development on the outside of the greenbelt. It is really starting to sour my opinion of the whole concept.
The leapfrog development is an argument for the success of the greenbelt! It's managed to protect that huge portion of land. The leapfrog development is an issue and it's definitely had a dramatic impact in Niagara, Brant County, and Simcoe County especially. The good news is that many of those regions have made the decision to not allow any further urban boundary expansion which I hope will mitigate a lot of the leapfrogging.
The main thing about Toronto is that housing demand needs a mindset change from a detached house with two car garages to a modest house that is walkable to all the amenities.
I bet if the Chicago Fire still played in Bridgeview, they would have been a dishonorable mention
In Canada, I'm pretty sure soccer viewership is driven by our relatively high population of immigrants and descendants of immigrants. For the younger crowd, tickets are generally more affordable too. Finally I think the ability to stream overseas games has increased interest in watching soccer in general.
For clarification on the Houston parking lots, those are owned by the Astros and leased to the Dynamo/Dash on non conflict game days.
Are you gonna do NHL next? I feel like the smaller footprint of a Basketball/Ice Hockey stadium can make it fit nicely into the fabric of a city rather than placing it in the middle of nowhere.
Also Montreal has a very urbanist CFL stadium though a bit far from metro lines.
Just don’t look at Ottawa 😅 but in all fairness they do have plans to move into a more friendly downtown location in the future
Did it, but it was over a year ago
Love taking the rail to PNC stadium in Houston for games. Stoked to see it on the list!
I think it's interesting that more than any other I would identify Soccer as a "suburban sport" in north America. Soccer moms are a ubiquitous example of the suburbs, and I would say the green space needed to play is rarer within urban centers (due to poor North American zoning).
This somewhat goes along side your comment of the higher education among fans, as again suburbs generally have better funded schools (because racism).
Suggestion: Light Rails in North America that can easily be converted in metro/ subway.
Aspects:
1. Current Grade Seperation
2. Population to support it
3. Does it deserve it
4. High floor LRT will be easy to convert to metro
5. Current Ridership
6. Potential Growth
Like the message to support the idea
Some ideas: 1). Putting the downtown portion of the Buffalo LRT into a cut-and-cover tunnel under the current transit mall has been suggested since the transit mall idea is pretty dead.
2). Portland, Oregon, obvi. There's actually a serious proposal for this.
3). San Diego would benefit from this.
4). Texas Cities (Houston, Dallas). Okay... Dallas already has a plan for a partial subway corridor.
Pleasantly surprised, as a Spirit fan, to see Audi Field so highly ranked! The stadium is in a former industrial neighborhood, so there isn't a lot of stuff there that would bring crowds to the area, except for game days (although this has definitely gotten better in recent years). It definitely feels a little removed from the city. That said, the walk back along the waterfront towards the wharf is really nice and there are a couple of easily accessible bus routes, in addition to the green line, as well as a bike valet at the stadium. But also, anything looks good in comparison to the Loudon County facility where the Spirit play half of their games, because DC United won't share the field full-time. That venue is about an hour drive outside the city, with no metro accessibility-- a major bummer for car-free soccer fans.
You could argue Audi Field is planned for say, twenty years out, in that sense it's terrific planning just that it's going to take time, but even that time is a good thing with projects around it getting more patient consideration.
I can't take your post seriously for calling yourself a "Spirit fan" lol
Ugh I hate the Soccerplex, no one wants to go all the way out to German Town for a soccer game
Honorable mention to Banc of California, has the Metro nearby and is in a dense area
I’d love to see you rate the football and cricket stadiums of Australia. Australia suffers from many of the same car centric design as US cities, but the major stadiums are generally all downtown, surrounded by transit. Some really gorgeous stadium designs, too.
I was just thinking that!
Your consistent use of Lucas Oil as an example of the worst stadium is exactly correct. Please keep shaming it and maybe my city can fix itself.
Riazor Stadium in Coruña (Spain) is an imposing venue for players to play in. The space limitations created a 32500 stadium wich looks huge and vertical. Also as it is completely integrated with the city it has many ways to get there. The city being compact also helps for people to get to it. Plus it ha lots of places to just relax before the match while you see the lovely beach. Because yes, it's basically some 10-15 m from the sea, wich makes it even more special.
I had a several hour layover at Seatac about a decade ago. Unplanned, I was able to take the train from the airport to Lumen stadium, watch the Sounders lose to Columbus (lol), got on the train back and made my flight almost effortlessly.
I keep trying to get city/urban nerd channels to look at Louvain-la-Neuve, a totally planned pedestrian city with many experiments in urban planning.
Edit: less specifically, the good, bad and ugly of planned cities
Wow, that looks really interesting. I'm shocked, this is the first time I have heart of it.
@@wtfareperfectplaces I've suggested on his channel and also Citybeautiful.
Ha ha. I both love and hate Louvain-la-Neuve 😂
In particular I love why it was built!
@@kierannelson2581 Walloon?
@@clayton97330 yep. And as opposed to Louvain.
I noticed DC Audi field made the top few for soccer stadiums but Nationals Park missed any mention for baseball. Nats park has green line subway service, several bus lines, the anacostia river trail and protected bike lanes, and also lots of built up multi use development (plus home plate entrance faces the waterfront). Thoughts?
I think that pretty much all of D.C.'s stadiums (exept fedex field) are really urban. Even rfk backs up into a neighborhood. Capital One Arena is in the middle of downtown too, and has like 3 metro stations near by. D.C. is just an amazing urbanist city overall.