This morning, the Montreal Impact showed us a glimpse of what Saputo Stadium will look like when we'll join the MLS next year.
Designed by Provencher, Roy & Associés, the stadium capacity will increase from the current 13,034 to 20,341, making way for an additionnal 7,000 seats.
A new 3500-seat grandstand will be built on the West side and an additional 1,000 seats will be added to both the North and South stands. Add another 1,250 seats to the new Southeast and Southwest areas.
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Joey Saputo unveils the new and improved Saputo Stadium
A tunnel leading to the players rooms will be built underneath the West grandstand which should eliminate the annoying traffic on the North Stand before and after games. (Fans had to wait for the players to go through before leaving the stadium.)
The Stadium will boast a roof on all four stands, which will, according to executive VP Richar Legendre, cover more than 30 per cent (6,948 seats exactly) of the crowd, which will represent the 9 or 10 highest rows of each stand (expect the season tickets to be relatively high for those covered sections).
Speaking of ticket prices, both Joey Saputo and Legendre stressed the importance of keeping the stadium 'accessible' to all fans.
'A team exists solely because of its fans', Joey Saputo stated before explaining that all level of fans would be satisfied with Saputo Stadium 2.0. 'Everyone will be happy, going from the hardcore fans, to the families and the corporations.'
The details of season tickets have not been released but Legendre mentionned that they would range from $250 to $1,250. In comparison, current season tickets go from $160 to $1,400$ For the business side of things, up to 30 corporate boxes will be added to the current 16 and will be located all around the stadium.
As for the financial details, the renovations will cost an extra 23 millions, which will be financed by the Quebec government. A synthetic training ground will also be built next to the stadium and will be covered by the amount financed by Quebec.
Photo : Impact de Montréal / Pépé
Vidéo : Le 12e joueur