Atlanta Silverbacks Park is a sports complex in unincorporated DeKalb County, just outside

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, United States that is currently used primarily for soccer. It was formerly the home venue of the Atlanta Silverbacks soccer club, from which the complex gets its name. It is also the home of the

Atlanta Rhinos The Atlanta Rhinos are an American professional rugby league team based in Atlanta, Georgia. 2014 was their inaugural season in the USA Rugby League. Starting in 2021, the club turned professional, and became founding members of the North Am ...

USA Rugby League The USA Rugby League (USARL) is the official governing body for rugby league, a code of rugby football, in the United States. The organization also runs the national amateur competition for club teams in the US. The league consists of six te ...

, Atlanta Renegades Rugby Club, as well as

Rugby ATL Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

of Major League Rugby. The park includes a 5,000-seat

soccer-specific stadium 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- ...

, which opened in 2006 and is designed for future expansion. The venue was the site of Soccer Bowl 2013.

History

The complex was planned and constructed by the owners of the Atlanta Silverbacks soccer club as a home for their various affiliated teams. It was designed to be built in several phases; the first phase commenced in 2004 with the creation of a grass field and two artificial turf fields. In 2006 the 5,000-seat

, originally known as the RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium, was built over the grass pitch to serve as the home field for the Silverbacks men's upper-division team and the Atlanta Silverbacks Women. In 2007, Reggie Bush and David Beckham filmed a commercial for Adidas at the park in which they try to teach each other to play soccer and American football, respectively. Construction continued in 2011 as the fourth international soccer-sized practice field, called "Renegade Field", was opened. The Silverbacks hosted the North American Soccer League Soccer Bowl 2013 on November 9, 2013, drawing 7,211 fans to the match.

Structure and facilities

Silverbacks Park currently features four full-sized soccer fields. The main field is at the stadium, which currently has a capacity of 5,000. The park was designed to be built in four phases, the first three of which are complete. The planned fourth phase is intended to increase the main stadium size to 15,000-20,000 seats and expand the amount of fields and facilities, adding a club house, pool, and fitness center.

Uses

Soccer

The Atlanta Silverbacks club began using the park as their training facility in 2004. In 2006, the Silverbacks men's first team and the Atlanta Silverbacks Women of the W-League moved their home games to the main field. The men's team played from 2006 to 2008 in the

United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

before withdrawing. They returned in 2011 in the North American Soccer League (NASL). The

Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves Atlanta Soccer Club was an American soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 2007 as Atlanta FC, it became the reserve team of the Atlanta Silverbacks in 2011, and licensed the name of the first team when it folded in 2016. On January ...

played from 2008-2012, and various youth soccer programs also play at the park. In 2013, the men's team won the NASL Spring Championship, earning them the right to host Soccer Bowl 2013 on November 9. The Silverbacks lost 1-0 to the Fall Championship winners, the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...

. In 2015, the NASL took over operations of the men's Silverbacks. On January 11, 2016, the club folded after the NASL announced that they were unable to find suitable local ownership for the team. The women's team ceased to play with the W-League when it folded after the 2015 season, suspending operations after playing 2016 with the WPSL. The reserve team continued to play in the NPSL through the 2018 season, licensing the "Silverbacks" name from the owners of Silverbacks Park. In January 2019, the club announced that the agreement had been dissolved, and they would no longer use the name or play at Silverbacks Park.

Rugby

The

Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

team of the NARL play their home fixtures at the Atlanta Silverbacks Park. The Atlanta Renegades Rugby Football Club, a

Rugby Union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

team, of

USA Rugby USA Rugby (officially the United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.) is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of ru ...

are in partnership with the Atlanta Silverbacks. They use the complex for all their training and home games. The team mainly play at "Renegade Field.".

of Major League Rugby will play their 2022 home fixtures at the park.

Lacrosse

On July 28, 2019, Atlanta's

Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This was followed by a four-team playoff ...

team, the Blaze, announced they would be moving to Silverbacks Park in the middle of their season. This was due to their previous stadium, Grady Stadium in Midtown Atlanta, undergoing maintenance.Atlanta's pro lacrosse team may not last long in Midtown
/ref>

Geography

The stadium and park is located off Northcrest Road between

Interstate 85 Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus is an interchange with I-95 in Petersburg, Virginia, ...

and Chamblee-Tucker Road. The official address is Atlanta Silverbacks Way, Atlanta, GA 30340, although some maps use the former name of Northcrest Way.

References

External links

Atlanta Silverbacks Park
(official website)
Article on the projectAtlanta Renegades Rugby Club Official Website
{{NPSL SE Stadiums Atlanta Silverbacks North American Soccer League stadiums Soccer venues in Georgia (U.S. state) Rugby league stadiums in the United States Rugby league in Georgia (U.S. state) Rugby union stadiums in the United States Sports venues in Atlanta Buildings and structures in DeKalb County, Georgia National Premier Soccer League stadiums Ultimate (sport) venues 2004 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Sports venues completed in 2006