August 5, 2005
Soccer-Specific Stadiums
Galore!
After months of relative quiet, the discussion over
soccer-specific venues in the U.S. is finally heating
up again. While Saturday’s opening of FC Dallas’
Pizza Hut Park has been anticipated for quite a long
time—four months too long to be precise—the
news that really hit the nation yesterday came from
the MetroStars and AEG.
Following a painful quest that made soccer fans wonder
just how much the New York/New Jersey area must hate
their sport, an agreement to bring the MLS original
club to Harrison, NJ, has finally been reached. The
MetroStars’ new 20,000 seat venue will be part
of the $1 billion redevelopment of the historic Harrison
waterfront. According to the official press release,
the stadium is “now expected to open in time for
the 2007 MLS season.”
Well, MetroStars fans, you may want to give those
Dallas guys a call and get prepared for the worst. If
construction in Harrison should be delayed the way it
was in Frisco, MLS and the U.S. soccer scene could suffer
an even bigger blow than they did this season. Numerous
fans eager to use their season tickets and cheer on
their team inside a brand-new stadium would be very
disappointed and, as a result, might be less enthusiastic
when it comes to attending MetroStars matches.
In the midst of MLS’ desperate attempt to build
a reputation of financial strength, progress and reliability,
having to delay the opening of a new stadium simply
doesn’t look good. Now throw in MetroStars GM
Alexi Lalas and his vision of creating a “Super
Club” that would be “making money and creating
a worldwide perception of success,” and the irony
involved would be even greater.
If MLS wants to continue using the building of soccer-specific
venues as major marketing instrument, it will have to
make sure that the public does not get the wrong perception.
It can happen once, as it did in Frisco, but with new
stadiums in Chicago (2006) and Colorado (2007) on the
horizon, the League will have to make sure things happen
on time from now on. Otherwise, there is a good chance
its reputation will suffer a major blow—not only
with fans, but also with potential investors.
With that said, Saturday’s match at Pizza Hut
Park will mark a milestone in U.S. soccer history and
it will be a big party for all those with tickets. So
have fun watching what should be a heated battle between,
oh by the way, FC Dallas and the MetroStars.
Gunnar Berndt, Contributing Editor, 90:00™
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