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MLS Stadium thread


Macksam

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21 minutes ago, Free kick said:

Speaking of 1970 CFL stadiums.  Here is the autostade in montreal.  Where the allouettes played. Ouch,  cant get more basic than that.  

 

image.jpeg.1f01356444bb21f6a127b79ff4c41d06.jpeg

I’m surprised the CFL actually had a stadium that wasn’t  your basic classic two big grandstands on each end with both end zones open back in the 70’s.   I actually don’t mind that stadium at least it’s more or less fully enclosed.

Edited by SoccMan
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10 minutes ago, SoccMan said:

 I actually don’t mind that stadium at least it’s more or less fully enclosed.

I thought it was the ugliest stadium i ever saw.      🙂
 

but yes,  fully enclosed makes a big difference.

Edited by Free kick
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Just now, Free kick said:

I thought it was the ugliest stadium i ever saw.      🙂

No I can see that lol,  I  just like stadiums that have stands on all sides like that one had . One of the reasons I don’t like BMO it’s just really two big grandstands on each side , yes there is a one level smaller stand in the south end and some even smaller stands in the north end but still the stadium is too open for me. I was at the outdoor NHL game in 2017 at BMO and with the large two temporary stands they built at both the North and South end it definitely changed the look of the stadium definitely for the better for me , the stadium was more enclosed with those added stands . I’m hoping with the 2026 World Cup BMO Field gets new larger stands added similar to the Winter Classic.

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22 hours ago, SoccMan said:

No I can see that lol,  I  just like stadiums that have stands on all sides like that one had . One of the reasons I don’t like BMO it’s just really two big grandstands on each side , yes there is a one level smaller stand in the south end and some even smaller stands in the north end but still the stadium is too open for me. I was at the outdoor NHL game in 2017 at BMO and with the large two temporary stands they built at both the North and South end it definitely changed the look of the stadium definitely for the better for me , the stadium was more enclosed with those added stands . I’m hoping with the 2026 World Cup BMO Field gets new larger stands added similar to the Winter Classic.

Not sure, but I thought they couldn't build permanent stands on the north end cause of CFL, no?

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22 hours ago, Free kick said:

Speaking of 1970 CFL stadiums.  Here is the autostade in montreal.  Where the allouettes played. Ouch,  cant get more basic than that.  

 

image.jpeg.1f01356444bb21f6a127b79ff4c41d06.jpeg

I'm a huge fan of stadiums and history in general, and I've never seen or heard of this place before (born in 73)!  Thanks for the share, i'm gonna have to follow up with my dad for his take.....  

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50 minutes ago, costarg said:

Not sure, but I thought they couldn't build permanent stands on the north end cause of CFL, no?

It would be a matter of building them a bit further back so to allow for the CFL  end zone , so it’s possible.

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58 minutes ago, costarg said:

I'm a huge fan of stadiums and history in general, and I've never seen or heard of this place before (born in 73)!  Thanks for the share, i'm gonna have to follow up with my dad for his take.....  

the Allouettes played there before moving to the Olympic stadium after it opened in 1976.  

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1 hour ago, SoccMan said:

It would be a matter of building them a bit further back so to allow for the CFL  end zone , so it’s possible.

Plus, the CFL has been shrinking it's end zones since BC Place's opening nearly four decades ago.  BMO's end zones are shorter than 20 yards, I believe. 

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5 hours ago, SoccMan said:

It would be a matter of building them a bit further back so to allow for the CFL  end zone , so it’s possible.

Also could build something that moves ... either like the south end now, or perhaps a bigger structure that's all on wheels or rails.

I've no doubt there'll be a large temporary structure there at least, for the World Cup, long with the return of the 200 level for the south end.

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11 hours ago, costarg said:

I'm a huge fan of stadiums and history in general, and I've never seen or heard of this place before (born in 73)!  Thanks for the share, i'm gonna have to follow up with my dad for his take.....  

I remember the Als playing there, I never got a chance to attend a game at The Autostade, I did however watch the Expos at Jarry Park and did a road trip to see the TiCats in Olympic Stadium shortly after the 76 Olympics, IIRC it was a grass pitch!

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The lack of end zone seating in primary CFL venues (Hamilton, Ottawa, Calgary etc.)  is more about economic demand than aesthetics.  The massive end zones mean even the front row is a long way from the action at all times.  Compound that with the nature of the sport being about territorial gains and losses, these are difficult to follow from a long and low viewing angle behind the posts unless you have superhuman depth perception. 

For CFL, every ticket buyer wants an elevated view at the 50 yard line and the prices reflect that.  If you only have 25,000 seats it makes sense to place them in positions where people want to watch the game from.  

I find soccer to be a totally different viewing experience from behind the goals.  The lack of end zones mean you still feel close to the action and the spacing of players makes it easy to follow.

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I'd like to see one stadium in CPL with the corners curved in the form of a complete bowl and the end zones close to the goals. Just one. And steep stands. 

BC Place is properly designed, only the stands are flat and lean away from the action. 

You get the sense sometimes that Canadian engineers did not learn how to design curves or something, what is that anyways? It gets to the point where some details are down out embarrassing. Listening to Simpson of Saskatoon the other day on the Q&A talking about stadiums--he does not get it either and I don't trust these guys to do it right. 

Edited by Unnamed Trialist
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1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

I'd like to see one stadium in CPL with the corners curved in the form of a complete bowl and the end zones close to the goals. Just one. And steep stands. 

BC Place is properly designed, only the stands are flat and lean away from the action. 

You get the sense sometimes that Canadian engineers did not learn how to design curves or something, what is that anyways? It gets to the point where some details are down out embarrassing. Listening to Simpson of Saskatoon the other day on the Q&A talking about stadiums--he does not get it either and I don't trust these guys to do it right. 

 

 

I always thought the gloriously named Tony Macaroni Arena in Livingston Scotland would make the perfect CPL venue.  Only 9500 seats

Livingston's Tony Macaroni Stadium

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7 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Canadian engineers can't do that sort of thing, too complicated, from what it seems. 

Here in Canada these engineers haven’t figured out how to attach all those stands together so there are no open spaces, or how to put a proper roof over the stands that actually covers all the stands , instead you get that joke of a roof you have at BMO Field that doesn’t help when it rains at all you still end up getting soaked . 

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1 hour ago, SoccMan said:

Here in Canada these engineers haven’t figured out how to attach all those stands together so there are no open spaces, or how to put a proper roof over the stands that actually covers all the stands , instead you get that joke of a roof you have at BMO Field that doesn’t help when it rains at all you still end up getting soaked . 

I invite folks to take a good look at Westhills (or whatever it is called now) in Langford. The stands are an abomination. You have the main, and then they proudly added one on each side. The seating goes right across, but there is a gap between the central and side roofs. So when it rains, and I have seen this, an entire swath 2+ metres wide gets wet--and then clears out. 

This is the height of stupidity and shows how dumb clients will frequently get the architecture they deserve. However, it is really poor on those doing those roofs to not point this out to their clients--the main stand roof being higher, could easily have been extended over the side ones. Or the sides tuck in under the main. As they came later, that would have been most obvious. Regardless, it is a fail in user-friendly design and architecture.

Look at the top image here: it is not true that the gap is only over the stairs, and regardless, the stairs on each end are covered.

https://canpl.ca/article/pacific-fc-to-incorporate-vancouver-island-beauty-into-westhills-stadium-renovations

 

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On 3/21/2021 at 9:47 PM, Unnamed Trialist said:

Canadian engineers can't do that sort of thing, too complicated, from what it seems. 

I suspect the snow (and earthquake) load requirements are different in the UK.

Also, the number of rainy days is a lot lower. Gosh, we haven't had a rainy (or snowy) day here in weeks now.

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  • 3 weeks later...

All this talk of Canadian engineers not knowing how to create a good soccer stadium is a little much considering our sample size is quite small. 

The original construction of BMO was done on the cheap and quick to make it in time for the U20 World Cup. An end zone was left open for the possibility of the Argos even if this was not overtly stated at the time. 

BC Place was given a massive roof renovation for the Olympics which was pretty much like putting lipstick on a pig.

Stade Saputo was even cheaper than BMO and the main stand was built on an existing concrete base. Despite its low cost, the stadium does resemble what we consider a traditional, enclosed soccer stadium and the acoustics are nice for what it's worth.

Anyhow, I'm not going to pass any judgement on the country's ability to produce a quality SSS until we get the opportunity to build one like the recent US based MLS projects (Columbus, Cincinnati, etc.), which will most likely occur when MLS 3.0 or 4.0 rolls around, whichever the next one is, I can't remember which version we are on currently. If that SSS gets royally fucked up, then yes, we can critique our "engineers".

Edited by Macksam
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I am a fan of the old stadiums as well as the new soccer specific ones, did anyone watching the TFC match last night notice how steep the stands were and there didn't seem to be railings to hang on to? The stadium was built in 1967 and as they mentioned in the broadcast it hosted Canada vs France in the 1986 World Cup!

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On 4/8/2021 at 6:43 AM, Macksam said:

All this talk of Canadian engineers not knowing how to create a good soccer stadium is a little much considering our sample size is quite small. 

The original construction of BMO was done on the cheap and quick to make it in time for the U20 World Cup. An end zone was left open for the possibility of the Argos even if this was not overtly stated at the time. 

BC Place was given a massive roof renovation for the Olympics which was pretty much like putting lipstick on a pig.

Stade Saputo was even cheaper than BMO and the main stand was built on an existing concrete base. Despite its low cost, the stadium does resemble what we consider a traditional, enclosed soccer stadium and the acoustics are nice for what it's worth.

Anyhow, I'm not going to pass any judgement on the country's ability to produce a quality SSS until we get the opportunity to build one like the recent US based MLS projects (Columbus, Cincinnati, etc.), which will most likely occur when MLS 3.0 or 4.0 rolls around, whichever the next one is, I can't remember which version we are on currently. If that SSS gets royally fucked up, then yes, we can critique our "engineers".

The roof renovation actually happened after the Olympics.

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Having been to a number of stadiums in Europe, many of the lower league ones are just fine for watching the game (not for amenities). Soccer-specific stadia aren't particularly complicated structures, whether the corners are filled in or not. Part of the issue that I see is that the stadiums that were built before were done so by people that had little idea of what a good quality soccer-specific stadium looked like. As @Macksammentioned -- BMO was done quickly and on the cheap. TFC was, in many ways, founded on the idea that they needed some long-term tennant for the stadium. Team and stadium were a mismatch.

The smaller stadiums in Europe have little chance of being used for much else beyond soccer, which allow them to be pretty good (fit for purpose). That's also because many of the grounds are more than 50, 60 or 70 years old when there was no concept of a 'multi-purpose' stadium and they were built by the clubs themselves who were owned by their supporters.

Now -- especially in Canada -- stadia are often funded by some contribution of public funds with an idea that they will serve the most people with the most options. You are more likely to end up with a stadium designed to meet everyone's needs (i.e., CFL football, soccer, rugby etc..) so it serves nobody very well.

What we're seeing in MLS are stadiums that are designed for MLS soccer above all. The new owners are soccer fans and know what good stadium experiences are and that's really a big difference in the design.

 

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