Where The New Republic Stadium Stands Amidst Other Soccer Specific Grounds In The US
Old Trafford, San Siro, The Maracana, Camp Nou,… Scott’s MiracleGro Field?
Forgiving the badly played out intro, while none will be as legendary as the first few grounds named, and as the game of soccer continues to grow in the United States, teams and communities are creating stadiums to host clubs, concerts, and other events. With yesterday’s exciting announcement regarding our beloved team’s ambitious new home design, I thought we would take a look at how it compares to other soccer specific stadiums.
New Republic Stadium Basics
20K seats for soccer, and 27K for concerts and other events
1,500 safe standing supporter section
More than 3,000 square feet of retail space for a dedicated team store
Full-roof canopy for shade
A dynamic concourse experience with local offerings
Photo Courtesy of Sacramento Republic FC & MANICA
Comparing Stadium Between Leagues
Maybe the least surprising sentence in this whole development, MLS has more soccer specific’s for a stadium than USL. Try to hold in your shock. Currently, in the USL, there are six other than Republic’s current home at Heart Health Park. Louisville’s Lynn Family Stadium is largest of the group, holding more than 15,000 fans on game days. Rhode Island FC’s new home is absolutely lovely, and should be seen as a one of the league’s crown jewels.
Republic’s stadium would dwarf all current options in the USL should the team make the jump to USL Premier in 2028, but, with the expansion, everyone’s favorite three-letter soccer league is back on the menu. There has been, and will continue to be more discussions on what league they play in, but for the sake of this article, let’s assume Republic make the move to MLS. The new stadium dimensions would make it larger than six MLS clubs, including San Jose and Minnesota. They would have the same amount of seats as DC United’s Audi Field but on a larger plot of land.
More important than stadium size is what many hope it symbolizes further. City and Team officials have been quoted calling the New Republic Stadium (NRS) as an anchor to further Wilton Rancheria’s ambitions in the area, and the centerpiece of a larger development full of housing, retail, entertainment, restaurants, and transit.
What will separate NRS from other stadiums will be the fan atmosphere. Columbus, Nashville, and Cincinnati all have new stadiums that MLS hang their hat on, but Providence Park in Portland is consistently revered as one of the best because of atmosphere the Timber’s Army brings to game days, well before the gates open, and well after those gates are closed.