Soccer-specific stadium

Energizer Park, home of St. Louis City SC, is a soccer specific stadium, located in St. Louis.

A soccer-specific stadium, mainly in the United States and Canada,[1] is a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi-purpose stadium which is for a variety of sports. A soccer-specific stadium may host other sporting events (such as lacrosse, American football and rugby) and concerts, but the design and purpose of a soccer-specific stadium is primarily for soccer. Some facilities (for example SeatGeek Stadium, Toyota Stadium and Historic Crew Stadium) have a permanent stage at one end of the stadium used for staging concerts.

A soccer-specific stadium typically has amenities, dimensions and scale suitable for soccer in North America, including a scoreboard, video screen, luxury suites and possibly a roof. The field dimensions are within the range found optimal by FIFA: 110–120 yards (100–110 m) long by 70–80 yards (64–75 m) wide.[2] These soccer field dimensions are wider than the regulation American football field width of 53+1⁄3 yards (48.8 m), or the 65-yard (59 m) width of a Canadian football field. The playing surface typically consists of grass as opposed to artificial turf, as the latter is generally disfavored for soccer matches since players are more susceptible to injuries.[3] However, some soccer specific stadiums, such as Portland's Providence Park and Creighton University's Morrison Stadium, do have artificial turf.

The seating capacity is generally between 18,000 and 30,000 for a Major League Soccer franchise,[4] or smaller for college or minor league soccer teams. This is in comparison to the much larger American football stadiums that mostly range between 60,000 and 80,000 in which the original North American Soccer League teams played and most MLS teams occupied during the league's inception.[5] As opposed to gridiron-style football stadiums, where the front row of seats is elevated several feet above the field of play to allow spectators to see over the heads of substitute players and coaches on the sidelines, soccer-specific venues typically have the front row closer to the level of the pitch.[6][7]

  1. ^ Sakiewicz, Edward Paul (2006). "Chapter I: Introduction". A Comparative Study of Enterprise Risk Management and Decision Making Criteria Used in Developing Soccer-specific Stadiums for Major League Soccer. Capella University. p. 24. ISBN 9780542914812. Retrieved August 1, 2015 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "Laws of the Game 2010/2011" (PDF). FIFA. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 4, 2010. Retrieved October 9, 2010. Although the official Laws of the Game allow for pitches in adult matches to be 100–130 yards (90–120 m) long by 50–100 yards (45–90 m) wide. The more restrictive range is specified for international matches like the ones used in the FIFA World Cup.
  3. ^ Fox Sports (September 10, 2014). "USWNT stars not backing down on artificial playing surface stance". FOX Sports. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  4. ^ Andrews, Phil (December 31, 2005). "Philadelphia's Field of Dreams: MLS' Newest Home". Bleacher Report. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  5. ^ "M.L.S. Continues to Bolster Growing Brand With New Stadium in Houston". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 12, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  6. ^ Schrotenboer, Brent (January 12, 2017). "Chargers plan to play in smallest 'NFL stadium' for next two seasons". USA Today. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  7. ^ Hastings, Rob (January 24, 2017). "Spurs are starting a stadium design revolution in Tottenham". iNews. Retrieved July 20, 2018.