Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
Major League Soccer (MLS) has reached a new era, with massive investment and increasing fame. In recent years, heavyweight names such as Ricardo Kaká, Andrea Pirlo, Gonzalo HiguaÃn, Steven Gerrard, Nani, and David Villa, have attracted more and more spectators to the main league of the United States and Canada with attendance numbers increasing exponentially.
As a result, many teams have invested in new and improved stadiums to hold big football events and cater to the growing crowd numbers. In this article, we'll look at some of the best stadiums in the MLS.
Home to the Seattle Sounders, Lumen Field is Seattle's largest stadium. Its construction was completed in 2002 with an overall cost of $360 million.
The northern end of the stadium is partially open, revealing the landscape of surrounding neighbourhoods. The vast majority of seats (about 70%) are placed along the field and covered by a ceiling supported by two large arches, while the facades are almost entirely covered with bricks. The regular capacity for football matches is 38,500. However, if there's higher demand, other sections of the stadium can be made available, seating up to 68,740 people.
In 2019, the stadium held the MLS Cup Final, which saw the home team win their second MLS title in front of 69,274 fans. In fact, The Sounders came close to reclaiming their title last year but were outplayed by underdogs Columbus Crew SC in a one-off "MLS Is Back" tournament in Florida.
The 2021 season promises to be equally nerve-racking. Currently, soccer betting experts at WSN.com, and pundits consider the Seattle Sounders the odds-on favourites to win the MLS Cup with odds of 7/1, followed closely by New England Revolution, who are priced at 5/1. However, at this stage, it's all to play for and punters can only wait and watch to see who edges their way to victory.
Inspired by the Roman Pantheon, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium is home to Atlanta United. Inaugurated in August 2017, the successor of the Georgia Dome has a variable capacity according to different events. However, for regular MLS matches, it can allocate 42,500 fans (expandable to 75,000 for events such as the Super Bowl).
It features a retractable octagonal ceiling, which weighs 27,500 tons and is designed to open and close in 12 minutes. Among the architectural highlights, we should also mention the huge 16-story ETFE-covered window in the east part of the venue, offering fans a view of downtown Atlanta. Moreover, just below the roof, another striking feature can be found: the largest LED screen in any stadium around the world, with a total surface of 5,793 m2 (62,350 square feet) and 37 million LEDs.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium is also MLS's and NFL's most sustainable venue, with a LEED Platinum certification. It had a reported cost of $1.6 billion.
Construction began in 2015 and was completed in time for the MLS 2017 season, which started in February that year. This soccer-specific stadium was designed with a capacity of 19,000 people. But the popularity of Orlando City during their first season in the MLS (in which they temporarily played in the Camping World Stadium, with a capacity of 65,000) resulted in the instant expansion of the stands by adding three corner sections and a top layer in the south of the building. This raised capacity to 25,500, with the cost increasing from $110 million to $155 million. The arrangement of the seats is quite typical, with a slightly sunken field (2.5 metres below the average street level). This created enough space to build 12 lines in a continuous bottom ring, accessible directly from street level.
Some of its main features include natural grass, an intimate design that keeps fans close to the players, and an innovative safe-standing area. This 3,811-capacity section was named The Wall, paying tribute to Borussia Dortmund's Yellow Wall.
In recent decades, due to the increase in viewership and the ease of access with which fans can stream live matches or attend games at stadiums, there have been substantial changes in the world of MLS. Soccer continues its meteoric rise in the US and it's almost certain that the sport will remain a popular fan-favourite in the years to come.
All good things have to come to an end, and the same unfortunately has to be said for football stadiums too. This article looks at the grounds which are soon to host their last match, the stadiums whose days are numbered and where fans will be watching their football from next.
An in-depth look at the biggest football attendances ever recorded, from the 1950 World Cup to pre-season friendlies in the States and the Scottish ground with dozens of 100,000+ attendances
Taking my son to his first football match was one of the best experiences I've had as a father so far. I've written this article for Alex to read when he gets older.
The 91 biggest football stadiums in Europe. From Manchester to Munich, Villa Park to Valencia - each one with a capacity over 40,000
