We rank the stadiums for the Major League Soccer season. Obviously, this list is just my opinion. So by all means, leave your ranking in the comments below. Thanks for watching!
There will be more and more MLS teams in the future. I know the MLS has looked at Las Vegas, San Diego, Sacramento, Phoenix, Albuquerque, San Antonio, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Charlotte. And there are other cities that could follow them. The biggest problem is that there could end up being to many teams. The MLS will not ever have teams go down to the championship division, hell they have to many teams already. They do not have stadiums big enough to have MLS games. In fact the championship division has a lot of the MLS Academy teams in it already.
the crazy thing is you say that, even if it's probably inflated a little bit by teams like the Fire, NYCFC, Nashville, Atlanta, and the Revs are playing in NFL/MLB stadiums that they don't use the full capacity for, the average capacity for an MLS Stadium is around 22,500 seats. Which I think would be about average size for a La Liga stadium and around the lower end of a Premier League stadium. In fact only 6 of the 27 MLS teams have a stadium capacity under 20k.
MLS Stadiums are a decent size. More than half the teams in LA LIGA, LIGUE1, and SERIA A have a smaller avg attendance than the MLS average (21,300 for 2019).
A lot of MLS stadiums built in the 2000s were built with large canopies behind the goals to make the stadium more attractive for concerts. In some cases these are the only areas of the stadium with a canopy/roof. That's why Houston has that weird roof on their stadium. You can also see similar stage roofs in FC Dallas's stadium and the old Columbus Crew stadium
KC really nailed it. They were sorta the first of the modern soccer specific stadiums in MLS, but even 10 years later it's still fantastic. Only downside is now MLS has grown a lot so the capacity is a tad small.
@@begley9 I’m not sure why they haven’t expanded though yet. Haven’t they like sold out like every game for the past few years. Without standing room I think it only holds like 19k seated.
@@cristiancardenas2493 but they’ve sold out for years? No ones saying increase it by 10k, but it’s simple supply and demand. If you’re selling out then you need to adjust your supply to met a higher demand.
@@-raid-5945 Even if i grant you that getting more money from UEFA wasn't an important factor what the "fans have saved" is this lopsided system in which you have fulham spending £19M on player wages and Man. United spending £177M million on wages and all of the top 6 in England spending north of £130M....but money doesn't already run the sport and the current system is fair and equitable right? Europeans are so used to this system and so faithful to the false notion that football is about the "little guy" they can't see how deeply flawed the current system it. There needs to be a higher league because domestic leagues are top heavy and lower clubs have no real chance to compete. The proposed super league isn't the answer because I think it was never meant to be a real thing it was just a negotiation tactic to get more money but a higher league is called for.
@@stevenygabbyperez695 Florentino Perez seems to think that this Superleague thing should be taken seriously and isn't a bargaining chip... Of course I think he's insane... It's a disgusting idea designed to pretty much pocket as much money as possible to cover their irresponsible debts... that's what happens when you spend 9 digits on flops like Hazard. It would execute European football... part of the reason why European football is so attractive is incoming talents out of clubs like Ajax, Dortmund, Atalanta, Leipzig, Lyon, Celtic, Sevilla etc... you take money from those clubs, you start taking opportunities from future potential superstars.. the 'big' clubs aren't all that great at producing talent.. they just hoard them from feeder clubs.
I can’t fully explain how awesome Mercedes-Benz Stadium is. The crews make it feel like a soccer stadium every time with maybe one or two hints of the Falcons playing there when a soccer game is going on. The seats themselves are fairly decent for the standard seats, and the club ones are comfy. They even have TVs in the concourses and restrooms so you don’t miss much if you need to leave your seat. Oh yeah, also cheap concessions for everything.
@@AdricBraithwaite Natural grass field would have easily worked. The climate is about the best in the world for turfgrass and the roof is large enough to cover each corner, it was more the Falcons and the overall number of events that left them to decide to go with turf. There is drainage built into the field level in case it ever is changed to grass, and if/when it is part of the 2026 World Cup.
@@robmason5 from the AJC: “Falcons officials initially hoped to have natural grass in their new stadium, but decided in 2013 that the building instead would have artificial turf. The stadium’s lead architect, Bill Johnson, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the time that a detailed “sun study analysis” ruled out natural grass for the retractable-roof stadium because the field wouldn’t get enough sun light to grow the grass. McKay told the AJC at the time that the multi-purpose nature of the building complicated the idea of natural grass.” I would provide the link to the article but RU-vid auto-deletes comments with URL’s in them.
Watching this video actually makes me realize how many great locations there are in the US/Canada to watch a match. I am a MLS Lover and its great to see all these different locations and how they have tried to make something special for their fans and teams.
Portland's Providence Park was originally the home of various incarnations of the Portland Beavers/Mavericks baseball teams that played in the AAA or AA leagues. The original Timbers and the newer Timbers shared the stadium with those baseball teams, so it was much like Yankee Stadium with soccer being played on a baseball diamond. A few years ago, the stadium was redeveloped as soccer & football only facility with additional stands and some changes to the original bowl, but you can still tell that it once was a baseball stadium by the large curve in the northeast corner where home plate and the team dugouts used to be. Ironically, the plan was for the Timbers to share the stadium with the Portland State University football team, but the Vikings have recently started playing their games about 15 miles west at the smaller Hillsboro Stadium, a high school football stadium with a capacity of around 7,000, so for now the Timbers are the sole occupant of Providence Park.
Most of the MLS teams also leave open space for potential expansions in the future. I think technically all the Stadiums can potentially be expanded to 25,000 - 30,000 if the time to expand ever comes present.
expanding exploria stadium would take a miracle. yeah they could fill in that one corner with more seats but any higher stands constructed in the future would have to be like 40 degrees steep massive safety hazard, one wrong step and you're tumbling all the way down the stairs 😂
Not sure about this. I know TQL Stadium (home of FC Cincinnati) is not expandable -- the owners originally wanted to have that option, but it would have cost more to design it with expansion in mind, and they just couldn't afford it.
When they put tarps on the upper decks due to poor attendance in 2019, Red Bull tried to hinting that it was really because they were adding a lounge/deck area. RBNY being RBNY, nobody held them accountable for the BS.
Children's Mercy Park in KC is a great great ground. Very modern, looks great, great amenities, and when you're inside you feel like this is a very nice ground.
Only one that truly encompasses Euro style/influence with the American touch imo. Still looks modern even after it being a number of years old. Word on the street is they are going to remodel it in the next couple of years. So hopefully itll look better than it already did
As much as I love a good skyline, bridge, and airport tarmac view, it's hard to beat Rio Tinto's view of the Wasatch Mountains from the west stands or the beautiful sunsets from the east.
I think audi field is one of the prettiest field ever, the location right on the Potomac, next to the new bridge being built. Next to national park.If you’re on the dc United lettering side of the stand, you get a perfect view of the capital building. The color scheme is nice and it’s a very modern looking stadium. Oh and the Heineken lounge is pretty awesome to be.
I'm a long time DCU season ticket holder and appreciate your comment and the ranking, I thought we'd be much lower. I give the team a lot of credit for the sightlines inside the stadium given the very small footprint they had to work with. One thing though, that's the Anacostia River near by, a few hundred yards east of where it meets the Potomac.
I love the look of the stadium but sadly I haven’t been to a game in it yet I really want to try next season. It looks amazing from pictures of the inside
Very poor planning unfortunately. Too small for the DC market and it is tough to get there as it is pretty far from subway, no parking and boxed in by the river and a military compound
BMO Field at the beginning had a very beautiful view from the west side seats where you could see the whole Toronto skyline. Seat and roof expansions have obscured it but you can still see a glimpse of it.
The weird roof on one end of the field, like at BBVA stadium are for concerts. A few of these stadium, notably Toyota stadium and Columbus’ stadium host music festivals or concerts at their stadiums. The weird roof is there so they can use it for rigging the lights and stuff and so they don’t have to build a temporary roof every time
That being said, BBVA hasn't hosted concerts in forever. Even before 2020. I bet if it was built today, they would have done the canopy all the way around.
Here's the thing though... He didn't even put Mapfre Stadium, the very first soccer specific stadium in the MLS, in the list, lol... he only mentioned the new Crew Stadium at the end of the video.
Who fucking cares!! Publicity stunt. Do you think those rich bigwigs in suits give two shits about those people. Plus it just says to half the fan base we we don’t like your social views and to the 2-3% queer population look youre an extremely small minority but we are going to exploit that so we can make money money money! Gay and straight we are all the human race, brothers and sisters. Not one group should ever be exploited for money no matter how big or small and certainly not due to a tragedy being the reason. Just make a nice long banner to go across the retainer on the loft seating that says something Dedicated to the tragic death of 49 individuals. All taken too soon each one loved and special to this world. The ruling class despises everyone so they divide us with labels. So next time you call someone a racist, faggot, black, white, white trash, liberal, conservative, etc. start looking at them as your brother or sister. Think of their place in life. No one says you have to agree on issues you can disagree and still find a friend to console in. Bottom line is that the elites stay in power by pitting middle class against lower class which makes both classes poorer and the wealthy become extremely wealthy and insulated from the real world. Today go out and find someone with different skin or religion and just say hi and shake their hand. Help them carry a grocery bag to the car. You could be straight and go to a gay club for the evening make some friends, learn about them. Start small start somewhere and guess what, we will find we have way more in common than what govt and the media tell us we do!!! Peace and Love my Brothers and Sisters!!!!!
@@xeverettx2564 this was the most unnecessary and bizarre rant i've ever come across on youtube. You've somehow managed to get triggered by an MLS team deciding to honor 49 people who were murdered in their community. They're in no way "exploiting" those people's families. Give your head a wobble, you absolute melt.
Living in Atlanta and having been to Mercedes Benz Stadiun multiple times (Falcons and UTD) I can confirm it deserves to be number 1. It’s absolutely stunning.
I’m a Galaxy fan and agree mostly more or less with his rankings. I personally dislike Seattle’s stadium because the way the turf looks, however Portland’s turf is fine for me. MLS has definitely made some great looking stadiums the last ten years or so!
@@keynesianeconomics4113 I looked into the backstory, the owners of Real Salt Lake asked Real Madrid if they could use their name. Real Madrid obliged and David Beckham came out and cut the ribbon as a representative from Real Madrid right before signing with LA Galaxy. www.rsl.com/news/historical-perspective-real-salt-lake
Glad Lumen field wasn't put ay the bottom for not being soccer-specific. It's a great place to watch a match, especially with a sell-out crowd of nearly 70,000 the atmosphere is incredible. Watching the Sounders win their second MLS Cup there was an amazing experience
The Q2 stadium (Austin) is amazing. Had it landed amongst the rankings I’d put it top 3. Also, I live in Dallas and the FC Dallas stadium is in fact horrible. Time for a major remodel.
4:10 funny you mention a stadium falling from the sky onto soldier field. I'm from Chicago and jokingly call the new part of soldier field "The UFO" that landed on top of the old stadium
It is nice to see MLS is putting in more soccer-specific stadiums. Seems more and more are starting to practice the sport also with more money going into the youth-sector, so maybe in the near future, we will start to see better results from the USA and Canada national-teams on the big scenes!
4:46 If I remember correctly it because there was an agreement with RSL and Real Madrid to use the name in return for future association with Real Madrid but due to complication the deal broke off but RSL get to keep the name and Real Madrid does not seem to care about using the name. Also personally I don't like the name either.
I know the origin, but still granting yourself a honorific title bestowed by an foreign monarchy is a truly bizarre thing to do. Real Madrid can't bestow the "Real" title in Spain, only the King can do so. There aren't any laws of course stopping anyone from doing so in the US, but it seems ridiculous. MLS teams should embrace the fact that they are from the US (or Canada) and not try to be faux-European. (For the record, I fully support the name Internacional Miami being in Spanish, it is the main language of the city so it actually makes sense).
One thing MLS and MLS teams have going for it are its soccer stadiums and infrastructure (training grounds, academies) as well as a good standard of living for its players. Fast forward thirty years from now and I think that MLS will be a dominant league in world soccer, behind The Premier League, the Bundesliga, La Liga, and Serie A. My goal for next year is to follow the Seattle Sounders to all of their away games and enjoy the cities and stadiums.
Fun fact that I think you'll enjoy then. In the past world Cup the MLS sent the 6th most players to the tournament behind ligue 1 in addition to those you listed.
Went to a game between Houston Dynamo and LA Galaxy at BBVA Stadium last year before everything shut down, and the visiting Galaxy fans were louder than the Houston fans in their own home. They may be the best travelling fanbase in MLS.
The MLS Is one of the most underrated unsung heroes of professional sports around the world‼️ I promise that the MLS will produce an American male football club that will win the World Cup in the future, Mark my words you heard it here first‼️
I believe Antifa has declared Lumen Field an autonomous zone. They have dubbed it "The Lume". Mayor Durkan and Governor Inslee have already declared it "The Summer of Love"..
I’m from philly area, love the union stadium but it’s actually in an awful area. I have gone to PayPal park quite a few times, super nice stadium Open end has a massive bar under the scoreboard and the giant grass area is for fun and games. They also have food trucks. It’s a good spot for general admission people to hang.
Surprised that a soccer-specific stadium wasn't built where all the others are (being from Dallas we're supposed to hate Philly, but the arrangement of having all your sports facilities in one area is a great idea -- maybe the Mavericks and Stars will move to Arlington some day)
Lumen Field is the LOUDEST stadium. When Seattle Sounders FC scored 3 goals in their CONCACAF Champions League win over Mexico's UNAM Pumas seismometers registered the earth shaking.
What an insane game that was. I've been thinking, they should have let us watch the announcement of world cup host cities from Lumen Field, bet the same thing would have happened lol. Would have been just as loud, if not louder.
Quirky and historic, for sure. Bench seating in the old upper tier and narrow concourses make it a tad frustrating, yet lends an old-school charm, nonetheless.
they've done a really nice job with the renovations to make it an awesome venue. Not easy converting an old baseball stadium into a soccer/football specific stadium, but they managed to do it. The atmosphere on matchday is second to none, especially during big matches.
Interesting tidbit: Dick's Sporting Goods Stadium in suburban Denver (Commerce City) is on the former site of the US Army's Rocky Mountain Arsenal base. That facility was the home of the Army's chemical weapons program before those weapons began to be phased out beginning in the late 1970s, and was finally decommissioned in the late 1990s/early 2000s. The Army still maintains two parts of the former base: one parcel serves as a wildlife refuge, while the other serves as storage for building materials that were not safe for disposing in conventional landfills or recycling, while the remainder was turned over to Commerce City for redevelopment.
I’m from Columbus myself, and am quite exited that we are finally getting anew stadium, although MAPFRE has history, the negatives out way the positives. It is located about 1/2 a mile from arguably the worst hood in Columbus, and is beginning to show its age.
Personally I'm thrilled that Red Bull Arena beat Philly lol. Nothing against their stadium, I just hate the Union because I'm a salty New York sports fan and 2019 was a disaster.
I really gotta hand it to Red Bull Arena. Before it came along, MLS stadiums were very cookie cutter and bland. Red Bull was the first MLS stadium in my opinion that was very beautiful and European looking. It really inspired the beautiful stadiums that came after it. It really showed America and the MLS that yes we can have beautiful world class soccer stadiums here.
Could not agree more with your assumptions. Splendid video as always. CM Park is the best soccer-specific stadium in MLS, but no one can deny how amazing Mercedes-Benz looks.
About the only drawback MBS has is the seats start a good 15 or so feet above the pitch. It causes minor sight line problems on corners and whether the damn ball went in if you’re close to the field. But it’s really minor and the goodies it has are crazy.
Canadian here from Vancouver. I too am surprised where our stadium (BC Place) was ranked. I knew it was not going to be ranked high but still higher than I expected and ahead of 3 that were purpose built for the MLS 😅 And yes Dallas can have our tarps, as they obviously need them more than we do 🤣now could you please do a video on either NFL or CFL stadiums? 😉
@@MikeySlou Obviously you are a Torontonian not a Vancouverite like me. #1 BC place underwent a half billion dollar renovation a decade and has already hosted numberous world class events before and since the renovation including opening and closing cermonies of Expo 86, Winter Olympics and the Women's World Cup Finals. #2 if we are indeed the worst stadium in MLS, then why are we even a host city for the 2026 world cup. #3 and even after the renovations BMO field needs to make it meet world cup 2026 standards, it will still be smaller than BC place, Commonwealth Stadium and Olympic Stadium in Montreal, which really begs the question who really does have the inferior stadium after all
@@jasonyau326 the roof doesn’t even open. The women’s World Cup doesn’t count. Many cities didn’t want to host the mens world Cup. Toronto also has the much newer rogers Center that just got renovated, a mlb team, the much nicer Scotiabank arena with a NBA team. By far a much better sports city with better venues. You guys have the whitecaps playing in a stadium 🏟 bigger than needed with tarps. BMO field has a relatively big soccer specific stadium relative to North American standards. Expo 86? 🥱
@@MikeySlou the roof does opens just not in the rain and as for many cities did not want to host the world cup, obviously you did pay not attention to the selection process as many US cities threw their hat in the ring but only ones giving away tax breaks got chosen as host cities IE Arrowhead stadium in Kansas City over US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis
Providence Park is a really cool place. One problem is that it's kinda like a heat bowl with tall sides and a turf field in the middle of a city. Also, when I stood outside Allianz Field, it felt like a stadium fell from the sky into the parking lot of the local mall.
I'm obviously partial to Allianz Field as a Loons fan. But I attended an away match at Houston's BBVA Stadium just recently and came away impressed. It's really too bad they don't draw because it's a hidden gem.
my hometown (sacramento) is joining the mls in 2023 and are building a new stadium called “railyard stadium” the plans look amazing, the community out here is pretty hyped.
BMO field is actually right by Toronto island's Billy Bishop Airport, featured in one of the missions/tutorials for Microsoft flight sim. I sit in the open end all the time because i love to see the little cessnas and Beechcraft aircraft in the background.
with MLS stadiums, something I like is a center field tunnel for player entrance and a dugout that is built into the grandstand...example is RedBull Arena
There is an airport near BMO but it's on an island in the lake in the other direction. The stadium used to have stands on all four sides but the north stand was torn down to force a CFL team in.
The open end at San Jose Earthquakes' PayPal Park actually houses 'North America's largest outdoor bar', or at least it was the largest when it was built. Which I think bumps it up a few places.
I think it’s funny that more high school stadiums in Texas are more nice then Toyota stadium in frisco, I’ll never understand why it’s so small. Could look so much better, Austin fc hit it out of the park
You should rank the Premier Lacrosse League stadiums for 2021. the league only has 8 teams and it actually travels across the country and there are a lot of very nice small stadiums that they will play at. (you can see all their stadiums for this year on their ticket website)
I know a lot of these venues were built around the mid 2000’s when MLS was still an afterthought in the US. The newer ones were built with less of a cookie-cutter soccer specific design.
Been to the Benz many times and it’s a fantastic experience: you’re in and you’re out driving up (they control traffic about a billion light years ahead of Bayern Munich, trust me, I know)….and same thing, the delicious gourmet offerings are purchased cashless and you’re in quickly and through, same thing for the gates, there’s flow and the prices for concessions are guaranteed lowest.
Went there for the US-Qatar Gold Cup semi. Very nice stadium and love the views to the pitch. Biggest drawback is that the turf needs to be broken in and the seats are uncomfortably small. We had a few thunderstorms around before game time and the convective bridges moved from southwest to northeast perfectly. Seemed like it dropped the temperature about 15 degrees F just before the 6:30 kickoff.
