News that the Philadelphia Business Journal reported last week that the Philadelphia Union was working with design firm Gensler on expansion options for Subaru Park continued on June 27, 2010 when Subaru Park (then PPL Park) Since hosting its first game, it has reignited Union fans' favorite pastime. When and how does the union plan to expand Subaru Park?
Less than a year after that first game, Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Jeff Gammage interviewed then-Philadelphia Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz about a proposed expansion plan. Sakiewicz described the original plan to expand the stadium from 18,500 seats to 20,000 seats, with subsequent stages increasing the stadium to 27,000 seats and eventually 30,000 seats.
Sakiewicz pointed to several factors, particularly the economy, that could prevent that plan from becoming a reality. However, as the nation's economy continued to steadily recover from the Great Recession and interest rates remained near zero percent for much of the decade following the story, no effort was made to expand the stadium.
Comparison of Subaru Park with other MLS stadiums
With a typical match capacity of 18,500, Subaru Park is the fourth smallest stadium in MLS. This was surpassed by Sporting Kansas City's Children's Mercy Park (18,467 people), Colorado Rapids Dick's Sporting Goods Park (18,061 people) and San Jose Earthquake's PayPal. Only Park (18,000 people). Inter Miami's Chase Stadium had a seating capacity of 18,000, but with the arrival of Lionel Messi, temporary stands were built to increase the capacity to 21,550; A new venue, Freedom Park, is being built for a reported 5,000 people.
Subaru Park's 18,500 crowd could be boosted further as the club has set new attendance records over the past three years, surpassing that record. 18,575 for the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals against Nashville SC, 19,222 for the 2022 final home game of the regular season against Toronto FC, and 19,535 for the 2023 League Cup semifinals against Inter Miami. These cases require special circumstances, and overage fees often reflect standing room only ticket sales.
The reality of expansion
What does the association need to do to expand Subaru Park to the size of an average MLS stadium in 2024? We need to increase the number by about 4,000 seats. It may not sound like much, but this is equivalent to the total seating capacity of the scoreboard side of the stadium today.
Expansion of that size (or larger) could be accommodated by building a second deck, but Subaru Park's location along the Delaware River and proximity to the Commodore Barry Bridge makes the stadium a true second deck. The ability to add decks is limited. The River End of the stadium is only 40 feet from the river, and the stands closest to the bridge are 90 feet away. The average ground length of the sections in Subaru Park is about 70 feet, and from 2014 to 2015 he said anyone who tried to drive on Route 495 through Wilmington would have to put their weight near the bridge. You know what happens if you overdo it.
The scoreboard end of the stadium presents its own challenges. The scoreboard would have to be removed and installed elsewhere, and stadium clubs could survive by extending stands above it, but those stands would have to be higher than the existing roof height along the stadium. Become. bystander. The support structures behind these stands would also encroach on Seaport Drive, but cannot be moved due to their proximity to the property's railroad tracks.
The plaza side of the stadium is the perfect place to install a true second deck. There is plenty of room to install support structures around the plaza, and the plaza itself could be converted back into the new stadium built by the association if the club wishes to keep it. Changes will need to be made to the stadium's roof structure, and the press box above the suites will pose challenges, but at least there is room for construction.
This type of asymmetrical design is not common in the United States, but St. James Park, where Premier League side Newcastle United FC play, has high stands along one sideline and endline. Argentina's Mendoza Stadium has a bowl-shaped design, but also features an asymmetrical design with more seating along one sideline and more along the other sideline. Given the redesign of the press box, suites, and roof structure along that side of the field, this also seems an unlikely solution to increase capacity.
Subaru Park Expansion Options
Ultimately, the best way for the association to add the seats needed to reach the average size of an MLS soccer-only stadium is to make several small changes throughout the stadium and one major change at River End. I will do it.
Currently, River End is not connected to either sideline, and the stadium is essentially a horseshoe with a cap at the end of the River End section of Sons of Ben. Closing these connections and filling the gaps between sections 140 and 101 and 133 and 134 completes the bowl and adds the opportunity for more seating. To connect the River End with the rest of the stadium, the end stands are needed because the pitch of the River End section is different from the stadium pitch and the gap is not large enough to allow the complete section to slide naturally. will require a complete overhaul. without obstructing the view,
The rebuilding of River End will create a range of new seating opportunities for the club and allow for the modernization and expansion of the facilities currently existing below the stands, including home and visitor locker rooms, equipment maintenance and uniform rooms, and press conferences. Become. Facilities and Tunnel Club.
Anyone who has sat at River End knows that those stands are quite high up. However, the association could also keep the tall stands and open the bottom wall to fill in premium field seats, similar to what has been added to NFL stadiums such as AT&T Stadium. But as photojournalists who spend half of the games there, these suites are the bane of our existence and something we would never want any team to do.
The River End also has the most room to build and maintain a support level comparable to the rest of the stadium without extending too far towards the river. True second height is difficult to achieve, but simply extending River End seating to the same height as the locker room and Tunnel Club's existing footprint would increase the seating capacity in that area to 2. You can double it.
Outside the River End of the stadium, you can get additional seats in the corners of the stadium.
Above Sections 114 and 113 and Sections 120 and 121, additional seating can be installed in largely unused portions of the stadium's upper concourse, adding approximately 300 seats to either side of the scoreboard end of the stadium without obstructing views. It may be possible. A similar corner extension can also be made from the main concourse to the river end connection.
The addition of these corners will add a total of approximately 1,200 seats and connect The River End to the main stadium by an additional 500 seats, increasing the capacity of The River End from approximately 2,300 to 4,000, allowing the Union to effectively It can reach a capacity of 22,000 seats. With additional upgrades to suites and field seating areas, an additional 300 seats, reaching league average, are well within reach.
According to the aforementioned Philadelphia Business Journal article, the club is considering nine different expansion plans. No doubt some of those plans will come at a price that clubs will balk at, but in order for clubs to reach the same capacity as other soccer-only stadiums in the league, they will have to tear them down and start over. There's no need, or even a complete overhaul of the stadium. The qualities that make Subaru Park unique. Clubs could also benefit enormously from denser supporter sections (which look small compared to modern stadiums like BMO Field or City Park), and by enclosing a full concourse they could You can create revenue opportunities.
None of the plans Gensler has been asked to create are expected to be implemented by 2025, but the economics of construction are now more different than they were when expansion was last seriously considered. There should be. It's fun to dream of a bigger, noisier stadium, which is already one of the most difficult stadiums, if not the most difficult, for visiting teams to play in. We've been down this road before, so it might be best to temper your expectations.
*Football First Stadium (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Bank of America Field, Lumen Field, Soldier Field, Gillette Stadium, BC Place) was excluded from this analysis. Although these stadiums reduce the capacity for soccer matches, they can dramatically increase capacity by a large amount. At will. His BMO Field in Toronto is included even though it hosts CFL games because its MLS capacity is greater than its football capacity. Yankee Stadium was excluded because it would still be ridiculous to play in a baseball stadium.