I don’t expect a hard news element from Don Garber’s time with the media today, but you never know. Consider this a “heads up.”
Major League Soccer’s commissioner will address soccer friendly members of the chattering class today at 1:45 p.m. at BBVA Compass Stadium.
I expect that he’ll talk about stadiums as his league’s critical growth component. I’ve already worked up some notes for him in the previous post.
I would imagine the Commish will be asked about the other key element of league evolution: expansion beyond the current 19 clubs. But, again, hard news probably isn’t going to fall. If so, it would swindle some of the spotlight from the dazzling star of this show, the 22,000-seat beauty, the current talk of Houston sports.
Here’s the current list of facilities built or re-developed for MLS clubs, with capacity and the year opened. While you study it, I’ll be on my way to Houston, where most of the important MLS movers and shakers will gather for two days of pomp and stuff ahead of tomorrow’s match (Dynamo vs. D.C. United, 4:30 p.m., NBC Sports Network.)
- Crew Stadium Columbus 20,145 1999
- Home Depot Center LA Galaxy 27,000 2003
- FC Dallas Stadium Dallas 20,500 2005
- Toyota Park Chicago 20,000 2006
- DSG Park Colorado 18,000 2007
- BMO Field Toronto 20,000 2007
- Rio Tinto Stadium Real Salt Lake 20,200 2008
- PPL Park Philadelphia 18,500 2010
- Red Bull Arena New York 25,000 2010
- Jeld-Wen Field* Portland 20,400 2011
- Livestrong Sporting Kansas City 18,400 2011
- BC Place* Vancouver 21,000 2012
- BBVA Compass Houston 22,000 2012
- Stade Saputo** Montreal 20,300 2012
*Renovated rather than built
** Opening in June
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- wesbadia - May 11, 2012 at 10:06 AM
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Pretty sure BC Place debuted towards the tail end of 2011 season. Either way, enjoy the trip to Houston, Steve!
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- dhagentj - May 11, 2012 at 6:20 PM
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I don’t understand why BC Place is considered a facility built for MLS while CenturyLink isn’t. It has said since day one right on the plaque on the side of the building: A “Football AND Soccer stadium”. It was built in order to lure an MLS side to Seattle. If it had worked right away and the league had expanded to the city in 2002, would it be considered an MLS venue then? Anyone that has visited for a match know it’s a wonderful place to watch the beautiful game.
/Rant
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- Steve Davis - May 12, 2012 at 7:58 AM
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BC Place was reconstructed with the Whitecaps in mind; in Seattle, the Sounders just moved in
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- dhagentj - May 12, 2012 at 1:23 PM
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Like I said, CenturyLink was built to host soccer (as well as football) just like BC Place. You just posted an article about how you always check field dimensions when you walk in to a new park. From what I understand, the pitch the Sounders use is actually on the larger side. That should be proof enough.
I feel like Seattle’s stadium gets a bad rap because of bad MLS experiences in other NFL stadiums that WEREN’T specifically designed for soccer. I’ve been to a couple of other parks in this league, and while I’m hardly an unbiased observer, I’d much rather watch a match in the CLink than say, Home Depot Center.
