New Tampa SSS?

via mlssoccer.com

In Monday's State of the League address, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said that if the league is going to expand to the Southeast, better stadiums are a must.

By Wednesday afternoon, plans for a soccer specific stadium "in the heart of Tampa" — where the South begins or ends, depending upon what direction you're heading — backed by a slew of soccer folks and, apparently, the municipality itself, had suddenly come to light.

According to report at The Offside Rules, a group called VSI Flames, Inc., in conjunction with PRI Development Partners LLC, unveiled their vision of a 28,888 seat (expandable to 40,000) soccer-specific stadium that they intend to build in downtown Tampa by 2016. The location reportedly would be near the Ice Palace, where the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning play, and the available land is owned by Lightning owner Jeff Vinik. Vinik is also a board member of Liverpool FC.

In the interim, there are plans for a modular stadium and a USL Pro expansion franchise to begin play in 2013. The team would become the second lower-flight franchise in the Tampa Bay area, as the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the NASL just finished their third season across the bay in St. Petersburg.

The project website, with the headine "MLS Franchise in Tampa," is unambiguous about the overall intent:

"It is the stated intention of VSI to deliver and provide the soccer facility projects as detailed throughout this website in order to achieve its long term goal of securing an MLS franchise in the heart of the Tampa Bay community and in doing so will firmly put Tampa back on the world soccer map."

The list of VSI investors is impressive, including former English Premier League players Mark Hughes and Ian Wright, as well as current players Shawn Wright-Phillips, Mikel John Obi, Stephen Warnock and Danny Collins.

VSI's original foray into US soccer came back in 2011, when they partnered with Florida club West Florida FC Flames to create a youth academy. They also have an academy in Portugal.

Calls to VSI and PRI were not returned at the time of publication.

As you could expect, I'm super pumped about this. I would love to see pro soccer in Tampa, ran by functioning owners unlike the Mutiny. Also note the NASL champion Rowdies aren't the team pushing this. I think the best move IF this gets built is hook up with the Rowdies and have a community effort. Also the USL is based in Tampa, so that explains the team.

Ft. Lauderdale Strikers' SSS

Via mlssoccer.com

I remember, back in 1998, when the Miami Fusion (RIP) hosted D.C. United and then-head coach Bruce Arena at the newly refurbished Lockhart Stadium.

"This is great," Arena said in the pregame interview on ESPN (or ESPN2, I don't remember which). "Now we need a dozen more like it."

A decade-and-a-half later, there's more than a dozen not just "like" Lockhart, but "significantly better than" the storied old facility out in Fort Lauderdale. And while the Fusion are long gone, the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers have been reborn and are thriving in the (also reborn) NASL, North America's second division.

On Tuesday, Strikers owners Traffic Sports announced that either Lockhart will get another facelift, or they'll just build a brand new soccer-specific stadium of their own.

“Traffic Sports has given me a mandate to seek a permanent, first class home for the Strikers,” said Tim Robbie, newly named managing director of team personnel and stadium development, in a press release. “Our top priority is to work with the city of Fort Lauderdale to renovate Lockhart Stadium as part of the overall development of the area.

"However, we are prepared to explore any and all options for a new soccer facility in the South Florida area. Given the numerous meetings and conversations I have had on the matter, I am optimistic our efforts to find a worthy, long-term home for the Strikers will be successful.”

If "Tim Robbie" sounds familiar, it's because he's the son of Joe Robbie, the first owner of the Miami Dolphins. In 1987, Joe was able to put together a financing package that culminated in the construction of Joe Robbie Stadium, now known as SunLife Stadium (and still home of the NFL's Dolphins).

This all comes on the heels of MLS Commissioner Don Garber's State of the League address last week, in which he said that for southeastern expansion to happen in MLS, better stadiums are a must. Almost immediately following that, a new Tampa group announced its own plans for a soccer-specific stadium, an eventual MLS franchise, and a USL Pro team in the interim.

For now, however, the Strikers seem content to give it a go in the NASL.

“It’s an honor to serve as the president of one of the most historic soccer franchises in America,” said Tom Mulroy, who succeeds Robbie in that role. “It’s very exciting to become president of the clubwith the growth of the NASL and to have the opportunity to work side by side with Tim Robbie to fulfill this commitment of establishing a permanent home stadium for the Strikers. I am thrilled to be part of it all.”

I like to think this is because of the Tampa stadium plans that were announced. The team plays at a less than half empty Lockhart Stadium now in the NASL. I like to think that the MLS will just expand and US soccer just goes nuts.

Queens MLS Stadium

Via mlssoccer.com

NEW YORK — We've heard MLS officials present the proposed stadium plan for a second expansion team in NYC to press gatherings and on media conference calls.

But for the first time on Tuesday night, MLS Commissioner Don Garber and league president Mark Abbott showcased the project to more than 500 locals at a townhall meeting held at the Queens Theatre in Flushing Meadows Park, just a stone's throw away from the proposed construction site. They also took some hand-written questions from those in attendance.

"I am a Queens guy," Garber told the crowd, which included a vociferous representation of the Borough Boys supporters club. "Like many of you, my family, my parents, my grandparents came to this country and they moved to Queens. This is where I spent the majority of my childhood … I know when my grandparents first came here they probably could never have dreamed that a kid from Queens could be sitting here today talking to all of you about fulfilling our dream, our dream of having this great game having a home right here in New York City."

The Commissioner proceeded to give the crowd an outline of the 100-percent privately financed stadium plan: the timeline, the 2,100 jobs it would create, the $60 million in annual economic activity and the promise of community service.

In addition, there was a detail about the stadium's capacity that was likely new to some following the story.

"We’re looking to build a 25,000-seat stadium," Garber said. "Sometime in the next 30 years, because we believe that this will be a popular team, we are looking for the right to expand it to 35,000 seats. We will not take any more land. We will not have to raise any roofs and we will not have to build it any higher."

The impact to the park itself was also a major topic, with MLS reiterating its plan to relocate the park space acre-for-acre — a "commitment by contract" — and renovate the popular soccer fields that are in desperate need of a facelift.

"[Local players] complain, 'Why don’t they fix the fields?'" said Luis Montoya, president of the Big Apple Soccer leagues, which play on the fields. "It's simple. [The park] doesn’t have money to do it. Now this problem is over."

Montoya was one of a number of representatives from various local organizations, who attended to show their support. They ranged from union chiefs (union workers gave the loudest cheer during Garber's address), Chamber of Commerce representatives and even the head of the Queens Hispanic Pastors Association. Queens high school championship teams also made the trek.

Local elected officials addressed the audience and expressed their interest in learning more about the final terms of the financial deal with New York City and the specifics of the replacement park land.

But many of those same officials still voiced their support for a stadium plan that would not only change the face of soccer in New York City. But it could also change the face of the league, according to Garber.

"Our goal is to be one of the top soccer leagues in the entire world by 2022. This team and this stadium will help us achieve that," Garber said. "You can’t be a dominant soccer league without having a dominant team in the largest and most important city in the world."

During the MLS championship game, the Commissioner said that NYC would be the 20th team, so take that how you will. The new Cosmos will start playing in the NASL next year. The team will play the 2nd half of next season, due to not having a playable roster, or stadium deal. 

Stadium Report Card: Progress Energy Park

Team: Tampa Bay Rowdies
Location: St. Petersburg, FL
League: North American Soccer League
Built: 1947 (rebuilt 1976)
Capacity: 7,227
My event: Regular Season Game vs FC Edmonton

1. Outdoor Design

The stadium has a lot of cement on the inside and outside. It seems like it was rebuilt in the 70s. I think the vertical beams that keeps the roof up look cool, but there isn't much to it.  5/10

2. Indoor Design

It looked a little better inside. The overhang is huge, and covered almost all the stands. The top 15 rows were bleacher seats with a back rest. There is a small berm down the right field line. But looking out, it's absolutely beautiful. The stadium is right on the water, and in the middle of downtown which has a lot of cool views. 6/10

3. Prices

I payed for myself, my sister, and a friend. I wanted to get berm tickets for 12 dollars, but they don't sell them at the door. I was stuck with getting 3 16 dollar general admission tickets. I feel as if that was pretty high. Especially since it came out to 48 dollars. The Rays games are cheaper, and they're a pro team. Food prices weren't bad, but still. 4/10

4. Food

I saw just typical ballpark food, which you had to pay with cash only. 5/10

5. Staff

Didn't get to see that much of them. One guy who was managing the close seats asked to help us find our seats, which was general admission so we could sit anywhere.  7/10

6. Cleanliness

I thought it was pretty clean for an old stadium like this. There were a few peanut shells, but overall I was impressed.  7/10

7. Parking

There is a big lot infront of the stadium, then a long the side streets you could park and pay the meter. We went out in a marina across the street and parked for free in public parking. Next game I go to, that's where I'll park  8/10

8. Atmosphere

This was the best part. The Rowdies' supporters group is named Ralph's Mob(for the nickname of the original's Rowdie mascot) and they were fantastic. They had a chant for every situation, had drums, and people in penguin costumes. 9/10

9. Playing Surface

They are the only team to use the stadium, so the entire field is grass. It was in really good condition. Along the walls was a dirt warning track, but the grass was nicely manicured I thought. 8/10

10. Scoreboard

You can see it in this picture, it hasn't been updated since the rebuilding. I wish they had a video board up because after a really good play, you wouldn't get to see it again. The first half score was kept in the first inning box, and the second half was in the second inning. The timer was underneath the board. 5/10

So overall that is a 64. It's a really nice stadium for a thing like this. I would love it if they renovated it a little with nicer seats and a video board. They still do baseball there sometimes, but it makes a solid soccer stadium I thought.

Inside the Park Soccer

This weekend was a huge weekend in exhibition soccer! European teams gearing up for the 2012-13 season stormed North America with players trying to earn a spot on the teams they play for. But the thing is, 3 of the games were in some unique places

Toronto FC 1-1 Liverpool FC 

Rogers Centre, Toronto

 The English team came over to play Toronto in the Rogers Centre. Normally, TFC plays at BMO Field. But the team opened up the roof(for most of the game) at the Blue Jays' home park. Over 45,000 people showed up to the game! The Jays went on a New York/Boston Road trip, and will be back Tuesday

AC Roma 4-0 Zagłębie Lubin

Wrigley Field, Chicago

Chicago has large Italian and Polish population, which is why they faced two teams from both countries in the "Friendly at the Confines". AC Roma had American Bobby Bradley in his first game for the Italian club, which whooped the Polish team. They scored in the first minute, too. The broadcast said the attendance was around 22,000. The Cubs are in St. Louis, and will go to Pittsburgh before they come home.

Chelsea FC 1-1 Paris St. Germain

Yankee Stadium, New York

The last match was in the Bronx. 38,000 people saw the European Champions Chelsea play Paris St. Germain that has bought a bunch of players in the offseason. Chelsea scored with less than 10 minutes left. The Yankees are in Oakland and Seattle before they go back.

I watched each of these games, and it was really cool to see in these stadiums. The last two were part of the Herbalife World Football Challenge. Chelsea plays the MLS All-Stars in Philly Wednesday on ESPN 2, right after THIS game at 6:30. Liverpool and Roma will play at Fenway! I'll post pictures after

UEFA Euro 2012 Stadiums

Hey guys, sorry for not posting ever, I just haven't had anything good to post in all honesty. I have a few posts lined up so here!

You may or may not know the "second" biggest soccer tournament in the world is going on in Poland and Ukraine. The European championship has 16 of the best teams in Europe the world playing in a tournament to decide the best team on the continent. The games have to be played some where!

National Stadium | Warsaw, Poland

This stadium was built specifically for the tournament, and be the new national stadium in the Polish capital. The stadium can hold 56,070 people. It will host 3 Group A matches(including the opening, a quarterfinal, and semifinal match.

 PGE Arena | Gdansk, Poland

Another stadium built specifically for the tournament, and can hold 31,150 people. 3 Group C matches, and 1 quarterfinal match will be hosted there.

Municipal Stadium | Wroclaw, Poland

Another stadium built specifically for the tournament, and can hold 40k people. 3 matches from Group A will be played here.

Municipal Stadium | Poznan, Poland

This stadium was reconstructed, after being built in 1968, and is the home ground to Lech Poznan in the Ekstraklasa soccer league in Poland. It can hold 39,550 and will host 3 matches from group C.

Olympic Stadium | Kiev, Ukraine

The stadium that will host the final match in the Ukrainian capital was reconstructed  completely, and was originally built in 1923. The capacity is 64,640 and will host 3 matches in group D, 1 quarterfinal match, and the final.

Donbass Arena | Donetsk, Ukraine

Another new stadium for the tournament will host 3 matches in group D, a quarter and semi final. 49,400 people can fit inside the stadium. The Ukrainian team Shakhtar Donetsk will call the ground home, replacing Shakhtar Stadium, which was built in 1936.

Metalist Stadium | Kharkiv, Ukraine

A reconstructed stadium close to the Russian border, that will host 37,750 people and 3 Group B matches. It was recently renovated and first constructed in 1926.  The stadium was  named Dzerzhynets Stadium, after a head of soviet security until being renamed in 1967.

Arena Lviv | Lviv, Ukraine

The smallest arena was built specifically for the tournament. It can hold 32,990 people, and teams playing in group B. FC Karpaty Lviv will call this their home for years to come

Hope you liked this post, and enjoy the soccer!

BBVA Compass Stadium

 After a 2 month road trip, the Dynamo played their first home game at the new BBVA Compass Stadium. Just near the Astros' ballpark, the new downtown stadium seats 22k. Populous designed this stadium, and it cost them 95 million dollars. This is just another soccer specific stadium in the MLS, and the increasing size is worth noting. Off the top of my head, I think only New England, DC, and Seattle play in stadiums not built for soccer usage.

It also looks really cool from the outside!

National Stadium: Warsaw

 Poland's new National Soccer Stadium is almost done! The opening game of Euro 2012 will take place at Warsaw’s new 58,000 capacity National Stadium, now almost completed. It will also host two other group matches, a quarter-final and a semi-final.

 The outdoors is paneling that make the Poland flag. Which is really nice for the new National Stadium. Even though it's very similar to the new major stadiums popping up in Europe, and the renovations at BC Place stadium in Vancouver

There are some additional pictures over at Stadium Porn, which you should look through!

BBVA Compass Stadium

Major League Soccer sources told Houston’s FOX 26 Sports the financial institution, BBVA Compass, has acquired the naming rights to the Houston Dynamo’s new downtown soccer-specific stadium. League sources also confirmed the Dynamo’s naming rights deal with BBVA Compass is for 10 years and is worth $20 million.

The Dynamo’s stadium, is scheduled to open on May 12, 2012 when the Dynamo play their first home game of the upcoming season.

Since their move from San Jose, the Dynamo have been playing at  the Houston Cougars' football stadium. But following everybody else, they got the soccer specific stadium they've been dreaming of. They have one of the best fans in the MLS, and they will be very great full.

FC Tampa Bay stadium

A pro team needs a pro stadium, right? So I made a stadium concept for fun. A location there are talks about for the Rays' stadium is the Florida State Fairgrounds. Sure enough, there was enough room for a stadium there. I made a horseshoe type stadium. I was going for 3 sides, then a section for members of the Supporter's group, Ralph's mob. I might make a logo for them actually. Pretty Simple I guess. I wanted to try something new, and have a the big piece of grass connecting to the outside. The seats go in a green and yellow pattern, as you can see. Also, I positioned the stadium in view of the whole complex, with the fairgrounds, ampatheatre, and Hard Rock Casino



I did a complete rebrand, which can be seen on Sports Logo Spot.

Soccer Specific stadiums

A Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States, Canada and Australia, coined by Lamar Hunt, 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 an all purpose stadium which is primarily used for soccer. These mostly refer to soccer stadiums in the USA. In the early history of the MLS, a lot of teams used NFL stadiums. Eventually, they got chased out. Some went to smaller stadiums, other football stadiums, or baseball stadiums. Some had the money and built their own park. With the opening of Livestrong Sporting Park, there's 11 soccer specific stadiums(for 12 teams). The first was in Columbus, then in 8 years 10 new stadiums were built. Here's a gallery.

Columbus Crew Stadium
Columbus Crew
Columbus, OH
22,685 seats
1999


The Home Depot Center
Los Angeles Galaxy, C.D. Chivas USA
Carson, CA
27,000 Seats
2003


Pizza Hut Park
FC Dallas
Frisco, TX
21,193 Seats
2005


Toyota Park
Chicago Fire
Bridgeview, IL
20,000 Seats
2006


Dick's Sporting Goods Park
Colorado Rapids
Commerce City, CO
19,680 Seats
2007


BMO Field
Toronto FC
Toronto, ON
23,000 Seats
2007


Rio Tinto Stadium
Real Salt Lake
Sandy, UT
20,008 Seats
2008


Red Bull Arena
New York Red Bulls
Harrison, NJ
25,189 Seats
2010


PPL Park
Philadelphia Union
Chester, PA
18,500 Seats
2010


Jeld-Wen Field
Portland Timbers
Portland, OR
18,627 Seats
2011


Livestrong Sporting Park
Sporting Kansas City
Kansas City, KS
18,500
2011


Those are the current ones above, but there are two still coming. Houston spent their history in the Houston Cougars' football stadium. The Earthquakes spent their recent return in the San Jose State Spartans' football stadium.

Dynamo Stadium
Houston Dynamo
Houston, TX
~21,600 Seats
2012*


New Earthquakes Stadium
San Jose Earthquakes
San Jose, CA
~15,000 Seats
2013*


The teams sharing stadiums are(not counting the Dynamo, and Earthquakes)
New England Revolution(Gillette Stadium, New England Patriots)
DC United(RFK Stadium, built for baseball)
Seattle Sounders(Qwest Field, Seattle Seahawks)
Vancouver Whitecaps(Empire Fields/BC Place, BC Lions)

In 2012, the Montreal Impact will be playing in a Soccer Specific Stadium of their own. They aren't in the league yet, and they built it in 2008, so it goes down here!

Livestrong Sporting Park

Tonight, against the Chicago Fire, Sporting Kansas City(Formerly Kansas City Wizards) opened their new stadium. The 18,500 seat stadium is the first soccer specific one in team's history. KC played in the Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium from 1996-2007, then played at the KC T-Bones' CommunityAmerica Ballpark for 3 seasons. Originally going to be built on the Southeast side of KC, Missouri, but ultimately decided to build it in Kansas. They pretty much gave the stadium name to Livestrong, and donated 7 million to the foundation

The new 160 million dollar stadium opens to a lot of games. Still working on it, Sporting KC played 12 strait road games. Following this one, 13 of 15 will be at home.

Oh, and Chad Ochocinco didn't make the team, so in case you were wondering what he's up to. The team actually renamed their team "Sporting" to, yes, be more European. But they wanted to do something more. Over there, they have whole clubs. FC Barcelona is under a club that has a basketball team, here's David Villa, and Ricky Rubio for examples. The MLS announcer said "looking for a possible Rugby, or Lacrosse team"

How to score a 10 for Atmosphere on a SRC

This is a video from the first MLS home game for the Portland Timbers. They rebuilt the stadium to make it soccer specific, instead of multi use with the Portland Beavers.

They decided to sing the national anthem, as a whole. 20,000+ people singing at the same time. I watched this on ESPN when it was going. The thing is, I had headphones in studying. I watched it, but missed the song. The whole game though, the crowd went wild for the 3 goals I saw, and after each, the official mascot of the Timbers(Timber Joey) would use a chainsaw and cut a piece of a tree off.

Absolutely crazy.

Stadium Report Cards: Wembley Stadium

When I was in England, Ghana and England had a friendly. One of my friends was actually at the game, and we have him to do a report card.

Team: England National Soccer Team
Location: London, ENG, UK
League: UEFA
Built: 2007
Capacity: 90,000
My event: International Friendly, vs Ghana

1. Outdoor Design

Wembley Stadium is one of the most recognizable stadiums in the world. The Old Wembley had the iconic "twin towers", while the New Wembley Stadium has the iconic arch. You see the arch and know you’re at Wembley. Heck, you can even see it from the London Eye miles away.
10/10

2. Indoor Design

While there’s nothing too unique about the interior of Wembley, other than the retractable roof, the bowl design allows for every seat to be facing the center of the pitch, and additionally for there to be no poles blocking the views like in the Old Wembley.
7/10

3. Prices
The prices were actually fantastic, in my opinion. We sat about 35 rows up behind the goal to the side in the lower bowl for only 25 pounds, which is like $40 a ticket. To see an NFL game here in Indy at those same seats, it’d probably cost $150. So compared to everything else in London too, prices get a good score here.
9/10

4. Food
I personally didn’t have anything at the match itself, but there are plenty of different choices for food at Wembley. They have, like, over 600 kiosks in the pace for food, so that’s pretty good as far as most stadiums go.
7/10

5. Staff
The staff was very friendly, and it was nice to see that they let the Ghanan fans that hat tickets in the England sections stay there unless there was an issue. When I toured Wembley, the tour guide was very nice and insightful.
9/10

6. Cleanliness
Wembley Stadium was top-notch as far as cleanliness goes. Felt like I wasn’t in a stadium with how clean it was, to be honest. Really nice, and a deserved really good score here.
10/10

7. Parking
Nobody really parks at Wembley. Of the 80,000 that go to a match at Wembley, I’d say 70,000 at least are taking the Tube (subway) home. The parking is limited, as Wembley’s in a residential area, and those places that you can park are very expensive. Parking is reserved for residents of the area, so everyone drives to a Tube station and takes the Tube to Wembley.
5/10

8. Atmosphere
I’d give this a 20/10 if I could to be honest. The best atmosphere I’ve ever been in at a game, and that includes hockey games in Toronto and Montreal as well as 3 Final Four games. Seriously, if there’s one place you’ve gotta go for a game, it’s Wembley.
10/10

9. Playing Surface
The pitch at Wembley is top-notch. You can’t beat it. Getting close to it on the tour was really cool, and the grass is beautiful.
10/10

10. Scoreboard

The scoreboards at either end of the stadium are just kind of generic, although that’s typical for soccer stadiums, they just tell you the score of the match in essence. But the screens themselves are nice and high quality, just there’s nothing unique about them.
6/10


So if I counted that up right, that gives Wembley Stadium an 83, good for third overall on the rankings. I think that’s a bit deceiving, because of the whole parking thing, but hey that’s just me.

London Soccer

Not sure if I told you, but I'm going to England and Scotland this Wednesday. I'm flying into London. Not sure if you know this either, they like soccer.

Unlike here, where 2 teams per market is the norm, London has 15 teams. Not everyone is huge, but they pretty much half are. When I'm there I will try to snap as many pictures as I can!