Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to 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
Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...
,
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
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: long by wide. These soccer field dimensions are wider than the regulation
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
field width of , or the width of a
Canadian football field. The playing surface typically consists of
grass
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...
as opposed to
artificial turf, as the latter is generally disfavored for soccer matches since players are more susceptible to injuries. 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, 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. 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.
History
In the 1980s and 1990s, first-division professional soccer leagues in the United States, such as the North American Soccer League and Major League Soccer, primarily used
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
fields, many of which were oversized in terms of seating capacity and undersized in terms of the width of the soccer field; they often used
artificial turf (none of which, at the time, were approved for international soccer under FIFA rules). Although many of the
baseball parks had smaller capacities, natural grass, and a wider field, these parks were generally in use during summer, when North American–based soccer leagues, such as Major League Soccer, also hold their seasons, and the irregular field dimensions and sightlines were often considered undesirable.
Soccer-specific stadiums first came into use in the 1990s, after the
multi-purpose stadium era.
The term "soccer-specific stadium" was coined by
Lamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt (August 2, 1932 – December 13, 2006) was an American businessman most notable for his promotion of American football, soccer, and tennis in the United States.
He was the principal founder of the American Football League (AFL) and ...
, who financed the construction of the
Columbus Crew Stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium constructed specifically for Major League Soccer.
In the 2000s, other Major League Soccer teams in the United States began constructing their own stadiums. Canada's first soccer-specific stadium was
BMO Field
BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is home to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Constructed on the site of the former ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, home to
Toronto FC. This stadium was renovated to accommodate
Canadian football for the 2016 and subsequent seasons. The distinction is less prominent in Canada, where MLS's attendance figures are comparable to those of the domestic
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
, and the CFL's wider field means fewer compromises must be made to accommodate both;
Tim Hortons Field
Tim Hortons Field, nicknamed "The Donut Box", is a multi-purpose stadium in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Built as a replacement for Ivor Wynne Stadium, Tim Hortons Field is primarily used for Canadian football and association fo ...
was built purposely to both soccer specifications and CFL regulations. Of the three Canadian cities that host both MLS and CFL teams, only one (Montreal) has separate stadiums for each.
Major League Soccer (MLS)
Current MLS soccer-specific stadiums
Under Construction MLS soccer-specific stadiums
In 2011
Bob Lenarduzzi
Robert Italo Lenarduzzi, OBC (born May 1, 1955) is a former North American Soccer League player, Canadian international, and coach of the Canadian national and Olympic soccer teams. He is currently club liaison for Vancouver Whitecaps FC. H ...
confirmed that the
Vancouver Whitecaps are now committed to BC Place, and that plans for the
waterfront stadium have been put on hold.
National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Current NWSL soccer-specific stadiums
United Soccer League (USL)
Current USLC and USL1 soccer-specific stadiums
All
USL Championship
The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...
teams and
USL League One
USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championshi ...
teams will be required to play in self-owned, soccer-specific stadiums by the 2022 season. The following is a list of current USL stadiums that are soccer-specific stadiums:
Proposed USL soccer-specific stadiums
NCAA (Division I)
Other soccer-specific stadiums
Past soccer-specific stadiums
Other countries
The term "football-specific stadium" is sometimes used in countries where the sport is known as football rather than soccer, although the term is not common in countries where football is the dominant sport and thus football-specific stadiums are quite common. The term tends to have a slightly different meaning in these countries, usually referring to a stadium without an
athletics track surrounding the field. Some soccer stadiums in Europe are also used for other sports, including rugby, American football, and field hockey. The problem with oversized stadiums designed for another sport is particularly visible in European American football leagues and conflicts between teams sharing the stadium (a notable example are
Eintracht Braunschweig and the
Braunschweig Lions
The New Yorker Lions are an American Football team from Braunschweig, Germany. Until late 2010, the team was known as the Braunschweig Lions. which share a stadium) and (often municipal) owners of the stadiums sometimes arise, leading to attempts at single sport-specific venues.
See also
*
List of soccer stadiums in the United States
*
List of soccer stadiums in Canada
*
List of football (soccer) stadiums by capacity
*
List of Major League Soccer stadiums
Major League Soccer (MLS) is the premier professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. The league has 29 teams in 29 stadiums as of the 2023 season: 26 in the United States and 3 in Canada. At the time of the league's inauguration i ...
*
List of NASL stadiums
*
List of National Women's Soccer League stadiums
*
List of Women's Professional Soccer stadiums
Notes
References
{{Authority control
Association football venues
Association football terminology
*Soccer
Lists of soccer stadiums in Canada
Specific