Soccer-specific stadium

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Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada, coined by Lamar Hunt, to refer to a sports stadium whose primary (but not only) purpose is to host football (soccer) matches. An SSS may host other events such as other sporting events (mostly lacrosse and gridiron football), drum and bugle corps competitions, and concerts, but the design and purpose of an SSS is centered on soccer. These venues tend to be located in the suburbs outside the city limits instead of in the city itself, with the current exceptions of Columbus, Ohio and Toronto. Some facilities (namely Toyota Park and Pizza Hut Park) have a permanent stage at one end of the stadium used for the express purpose of staging concerts.

A SSS typically has amenities, dimensions and scale suitable for soccer in the United States, including a scoreboard, video screen, luxury suites and possibly even a roof. The field dimensions are within the range found optimal by FIFA — 110-120 yards (100-110m) long by 70-80 yards (64-75m) wide,^[1] wider than the regulation American football field width of 53⅓ yards. Lastly, the seating capacity is generally small enough to provide an intimate setting, between 11,500 - 30,000 for a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise, or between 5,000 - ~15,000 for a franchise in the United Soccer Leagues (whose attendance is subject to more variation), as opposed to the gigantic American football stadiums in which most MLS teams were compelled to play at the league's inception. The seating capacity for USL Premier Development League fields ranges from 1,000-5,000. The first large SSS in Canada is BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario.

The term "football-specific stadium" is sometimes used in countries where the sport is known as football, although not so much so in countries where football is the dominant sport and thus football-specific stadia are quite common, or in countries where baseball is dominant (Far East, Central America and the Caribbean). The term tends to have a slightly different meaning in these countries, usually referring to a stadium without an athletic track surrounding the pitch.

1 List of soccer-specific stadiums
2 See also
3 Notes and references
4 External links

Stadium	Club(s)	City	Capacity	Opened	Cost (Millions USD)
Buck Shaw Stadium	San Jose Earthquakes	Santa Clara, CA	11,500	1962	3 (2007 rennovation)
Columbus Crew Stadium	Columbus Crew	Columbus, OH	22,500	1999	28.5
The Home Depot Center	Los Angeles Galaxy, CD Chivas USA	Carson, CA	27,000	2003	150
Pizza Hut Park	FC Dallas	Frisco, TX	21,193	2005	80
Toyota Park	Chicago Fire	Bridgeview, IL	20,000	2006	98
Dick's Sporting Goods Park	Colorado Rapids	Commerce City, CO	18,500	2007	130
BMO Field	Toronto FC	Toronto, ON	20,522	2007	62.5
Real Salt Lake Stadium	Real Salt Lake	Sandy, UT	~20,000	2008*	145*
Red Bull Park	Red Bull New York	Harrison, NJ	~25,000	2009*	220*

* = projected

Stadium	Club(s)	City	Capacity	Opened	Years Used	Status
Lockhart Stadium	Miami Fusion	Fort Lauderdale, FL	20,450	1959	1998-2001	Open

Club(s)	City	Current Stadium	Capacity
D.C. United - Poplar Point Stadium	Washington, D.C.	RFK Stadium	55,672
New Earthquakes Stadium	San Jose, CA	Buck Shaw Stadium	11,500
Houston Dynamo	Houston, TX	Robertson Stadium	33,000
New England Revolution	Somerville, MA	Gillette Stadium	68,756
St. Louis expansion team	Collinsville, IL	None
Philadelphia expansion team - Chester Stadium	Chester, PA	None
Kansas City Wizards	Kansas City, MO	CommunityAmerica Ballpark	10,000

Stadium	Club(s)	Division	City	Capacity	Opened
Lusitano Stadium	Western Mass Pioneers	Second	Ludlow, MA	3,000	1918
Legion Stadium	Wilmington Hammerheads	Second	Wilmington, NC	5,300	1930s?
Ezell Park	Nashville Metros	PDL	Nashville, TN	1,317	1950s?
City Park Stadium	Westchester Flames	PDL	New Rochelle, NY	1,845	1970s?
Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium	Puerto Rico Islanders	First	Bayamon, PR	15,000	1974
Busch Field	Virginia Legacy William & Mary Tribe	PDL NCAA	Williamsburg, VA	2,271	1984
David Maus Soccer Complex	Central Florida Kraze	PDL	Lake Mary, FL	3,666(?)	1995(?)
Virginia Beach Sportsplex	Hampton Roads Piranhas	PDL	Virginia Beach, VA	10,000	1999
Blackbaud Stadium	Charleston Battery	First	Charleston, SC	5,113	1999
SAS Soccer Park	Carolina RailHawks Cary RailHawks U23's	First PDL	Cary, NC	7,000	2002
Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium	Minnesota Lightning	USL W-League NCAA	Falcon Heights, MN	1,000	1999
Macpherson Stadium	Carolina Dynamo	PDL	Greensboro, NC	1,600	2002
Invaders Soccer Complex	Indiana Invaders	PDL	Mishawaka, IN	4,985	2004
Patriot Stadium	El Paso Patriots	PDL	El Paso, TX	3,000	2005
PAETEC Park	Rochester Raging Rhinos	First	Rochester, NY	13,500	2006
RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium	Atlanta Silverbacks	First	Atlanta, GA	3,000	2006
Saputo Stadium	Montréal Impact	First	Montréal, QC	15,000	2008

Club(s)	Division	City	Current/Former Stadium	Capacity
Des Moines Menace - Liberty Bank Stadium	PDL	Des Moines, IA	Waukee Stadium	6,000
Vancouver Whitecaps - Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium	First	Vancouver, BC	Swangard Stadium	15,000
Minnesota Thunder	First	St. Paul, MN	James Griffin Stadium	6,000

Stadium	Club(s)	Division	City	Capacity	Opened
King George V Park	National Stadium Memorial Sea-Hawks	CONCACAF CIS	St. John's, NL	10,000	1925
WRAL Soccer Center	CASL teams	CASL	Raleigh, NC	3,200	1990s
Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium	Hawaiʻi Rainbow Wahine Various	NCAA Local	Waipio, HI	4,500	2000
Mike Rose Soccer Complex	Memphis Tigers Various	NCAA Local	Memphis, TN	2,500	2001
Starfire Sports Complex	Seattle Sounders (alt.) Various	USL-1 PCSL	Tukwila, WA	2,000	2002
Morrison Stadium	Creighton Bluejays Various	NCAA Local	Omaha, NE	6,000	2003
Uihlein Soccer Park	MSOE Red Raiders Various	NCAA Local	Milwaukee, WI	7,000	1994

^ Laws of the Game 2006 (PDF) p. 6. FIFA (July 2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-22. Although the official Laws of the Game allow for pitches in adult matches to be 100-130 yards (90-120m) long by 50-100 yards (45-90m) wide, the more restrictive range is specified for international matches.