- kickball: sorry (not sorry), SF... Archived Message
Posted by pdxillini
on March 17, 2017, 13:19:11
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http://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/features/20-best-soccer-stadiums-usa-5-1?page=0%2C4 FourFourTwo's 20 best stadiums for soccer in the U.S. March 16, 2017 1. PROVIDENCE PARK (PORTLAND, OREGON) This is not about architecture. For all the work that has gone into upgrading Providence Park, the physical structure can’t compare to Children’s Mercy Park, Red Bull Arena, or Orlando City Stadium. There’s no way to get around it: This is a former minor league baseball stadium, and while it has ably served several versions of the Portland Timbers, it is still, at its heart, not a soccer-specific stadium. But there is way more to the stadium experience than architecture. And those who dwell on such things ignore the votes which soccer fans continue casting with their feet. No doubt, glistening soccer-specific stadiums in a number of markets have helped draw fans to the MLS experience, but in other places, fans have always been there. Year over year, they’ve stayed and built on atmospheres that have helped promote MLS across the globe. Portland is the league’s best example. With an MLS sellout string extending back to the team’s first league game, and NWSL attendance records that grow each season, Timbers and Thorns fans have spoken of their love for Providence Park. The Timbers’ season-ticket waiting list still extends into the five digits, with the atmosphere and camaraderie in Portland’s Goose Hollow home often as alluring as the soccer itself. That atmosphere, supplied by the north end’s legions of green and gold, has become the measuring stick for other renown crowds, like those at CenturyLink Field or Children’s Mercy. The tifo the Timbers’ Independent Supporters Trust members (107ists) unleash three, four times a season? They’re the artistic standard for the league. And the 90-minutes of unwavering songs sent from beneath the field’s wooden roof careen off the concrete at the south end Multnomah Athletic Club, fueling an atmosphere to match any television producer’s dreams. The likes of ESPN and FOX Sports don’t keep coming back to Portland because the team is a titan, or because the market is large. They come because Providence Park is the best atmosphere in Major League Soccer and the National Women’s Soccer League. Had it the same depth of history, it would be U.S. soccer’s Fenway Park. Even without, the easiest parallel is the Boston Red Sox’ iconic confines, a venue whose character has withstood time to become a landmark for Major League Baseball. That’s what Providence Park can be. That’s why, instead of seeking its own shiny soccer-specific venue, the Timbers are talking expansion, so some of the estimated 15,000-plus on the waiting list can get through the door. That’s why every highlight package promoting MLSr features the sounds of a Portland home game. And that’s why, if you’re a soccer fan from Portland, everybody speaks to you with envy about the experience at the Timbers’ downtown-adjacent park. Yeah, it’s an old baseball stadium. It has turf. The amenities? Fine. Nothing to hold over other venues, though. But as Providence Park tells us, a soccer experience goes beyond the numbers of bars, or the architectural’ tricks that make for good promotional material. Sometimes, the experience is the best promotion. And no experience matches Providence Park’s.  |
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