Soccer-specific stadium
A soccer-specific stadium, mainly in the United States and Canada, is a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi-purpose stadium which is for a variety of sports. A soccer-specific stadium may host other sporting events and concerts, but the design and purpose of a soccer-specific stadium is primarily for soccer. Some facilities have a permanent stage at one end of the stadium used for staging concerts.
A soccer-specific stadium typically has amenities, dimensions and scale suitable for soccer in North America, including a scoreboard, video screen, luxury suites and possibly a roof. The field dimensions are within the range found optimal by FIFA: long by wide. These soccer field dimensions are wider than the regulation American football field width of, or the width of a Canadian football field. The playing surface typically consists of grass as opposed to artificial turf, as the latter is generally disfavored for soccer matches since players are more susceptible to injuries. However, some soccer-specific stadiums, such as Portland's Providence Park and Creighton University's Morrison Stadium, do have artificial turf.
The seating capacity is generally between 18,000 and 30,000 for a Major League Soccer franchise, or smaller for college or minor league soccer teams. This is in comparison to the much larger American football stadiums that mostly range between 60,000 and 80,000 in which the original North American Soccer League teams played and most MLS teams occupied during the league's inception. As opposed to gridiron-style football stadiums, where the front row of seats is elevated several feet above the field of play to allow spectators to see over the heads of substitute players and coaches on the sidelines, soccer-specific venues typically have the front row closer to the level of the pitch.
History
In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, first-division professional soccer leagues in the United States, such as the North American Soccer League and Major League Soccer, primarily used American football stadiums, many of which were oversized in terms of seating capacity and undersized in terms of the width of the soccer field; they often used artificial turf. Although many of the baseball parks had smaller capacities, natural grass, and a wider field, these parks were generally in use during summer, when North American–based soccer leagues, such as Major League Soccer, also hold their seasons, and the irregular field dimensions and sightlines were often considered undesirable.Soccer-specific stadiums first came into use in the 1990s, after the multi-purpose stadium era.
The term "soccer-specific stadium" was coined by Lamar Hunt, who financed the construction of Columbus Crew Stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium constructed specifically for Major League Soccer. In the 2000s, other Major League Soccer teams in the United States began constructing their own stadiums. Canada's first soccer-specific stadium was BMO Field in Toronto, home to Toronto FC. This stadium was renovated to accommodate Canadian football for the 2016 and subsequent seasons. The distinction is less prominent in Canada, where MLS's attendance figures are comparable to those of the domestic Canadian Football League, and the CFL's wider field means fewer compromises must be made to accommodate both; Tim Hortons Field was built purposely to both soccer specifications and CFL regulations. Of the three Canadian cities that host both MLS and CFL teams, only one has separate stadiums for each.
Major League Soccer (MLS)
Current MLS soccer-specific stadiums
Under construction
Proposed MLS soccer-specific stadiums
National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Current NWSL soccer-specific stadiums
United Soccer League (USL)
Current USL Pro soccer-specific stadiums
All USL Championship teams and USL League One teams have been required to play in self-owned, soccer-specific stadiums by the 2025 season. The following is a list of current USL stadiums, including the women's professional league USL Super League, that are soccer-specific stadiums:| Stadium | Club | City | Capacity | Opened |
| Al Lang Stadium | Tampa Bay Rowdies | St. Petersburg, Florida | 7,227 | 1947 |
| American Legion Memorial Stadium | Carolina Ascent FC, Charlotte Independence | Charlotte, North Carolina | 10,500 | 1934 |
| Breese Stevens Field | Forward Madison FC | Madison, Wisconsin | 5,000 | 1926 |
| Cardinale Stadium | Monterey Bay FC | Seaside, California | 6,000 | 2022 |
| Cashman Field | Las Vegas Lights FC | Las Vegas, Nevada | 9,334 | 1983 |
| Centreville Bank Stadium | Rhode Island FC | Pawtucket, Rhode Island | 10,500 | 2025 |
| Championship Soccer Stadium | Orange County SC | Irvine, California | 5,000 | 2017 |
| CHI Memorial Stadium | Chattanooga Red Wolves SC | Chattanooga, Tennessee | 5,500 | 2020 |
| Heart Health Park | Sacramento Republic FC | Sacramento, California | 11,242 | 2014 |
| Highmark Stadium | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 5,000 | 2013 |
| Lancaster Municipal Stadium | AV Alta FC | Lancaster, California | 5,300 | 1996 |
| Lexington SC Stadium | Lexington SC | Lexington, Kentucky | 7,500 | 2024 |
| Lynn Family Stadium | Louisville City FC | Louisville, Kentucky | 11,700 | 2020 |
| One Spokane Stadium | Spokane Velocity, Spokane Zephyr FC | Spokane, Washington | 5,000 | 2023 |
| Optim Health System Field | South Georgia Tormenta FC | Statesboro, Georgia | 5,300 | 2022 |
| Patriots Point Soccer Complex | Charleston Battery | Mount Pleasant, South Carolina | 3,500 | 2000 |
| Phoenix Rising Soccer Stadium | Phoenix Rising FC | Phoenix, Arizona | 10,000 | 2023 |
| Riverfront Stadium | Tampa Bay Sun FC | Tampa, Florida | 5,000 | 2025 |
| Segra Field | Loudoun United FC | Leesburg, Virginia | 5,000 | 2019 |
| Tormenta Stadium | South Georgia Tormenta FC | Statesboro, Georgia | 5,300 | 2022 |
| Toyota Field | San Antonio FC | San Antonio, Texas | 8,296 | 2013 |
| Trinity Health Stadium | Hartford Athletic | Hartford, Connecticut | 5,500 | 1960 |
| WakeMed Soccer Park | North Carolina FC | Cary, North Carolina | 10,000 | 2002 |
| Weidner Field | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | Colorado Springs, Colorado | 8,000 | 2021 |
Stadiums under construction
Proposed USL soccer-specific stadiums
NCAA (Division I)
| Stadium | Team | City | Capacity | Opened |
| Albert-Daly Field | William & Mary Tribe | Williamsburg, Virginia | 1,000 | 2004 |
| Ambrose Urbanic Field | Pittsburgh Panthers | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 735 | 2011 |
| BBVA Field | UAB Blazers | Birmingham, Alabama | 5,000 | 2015 |
| Belson Stadium | St. John's Red Storm | Queens, New York | 2,600 | 2001 |
| Bill Armstrong Stadium | Indiana Hoosiers | Bloomington, Indiana | 6,500 | 1981 |
| Columbia Soccer Stadium | Columbia Lions | Manhattan, New York | 3,500 | 1985 |
| Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium | West Virginia Mountaineers | Morgantown, West Virginia | 1,600 | 2004 |
| Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium | Louisville Cardinals | Louisville, Kentucky | 5,300 | 2014 |
| Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium | Minnesota Golden Gophers | Falcon Heights, Minnesota | 1,000 | 1999 |
| Ellis Field | Texas A&M Aggies | College Station, Texas | 3,500 | 1994 |
| Eugene E. Stone III Stadium | South Carolina Gamecocks | Columbia, South Carolina | 5,000 | 1981 |
| Razorback Field | Arkansas Razorbacks | Fayetteville, AR | 1,500 | 1992 |
| Eugene E. Stone III Stadium | Furman Paladins | Greenville, South Carolina | 3,000 | 1995 |
| Harder Stadium | UC Santa Barbara Gauchos | Santa Barbara, California | 17,000 | 1966 |
| Hermann Stadium | Saint Louis Billikens | St. Louis, Missouri | 6,050 | 1999 |
| Hofstra University Soccer Stadium | Hofstra Pride | Hempstead, New York | 1,600 | 2003 |
| Hurricane Soccer & Track Stadium | Tulsa Golden Hurricane | Tulsa, Oklahoma | 2,000 | 2003 |
| John Crain Field | Oklahoma Sooners | Norman, Oklahoma | 3,500 | 2000 |
| Lamar Soccer Complex | Lamar Lady Cardinals | Beaumont, Texas | 500 | 2009 |
| Mazzella Field | Iona Gaels | New Rochelle, New York | 2,400 | 1989 |
| Mean Green Village | North Texas Mean Green | Denton, Texas | 1,000 | 2006 |
| Merlo Field | Portland Pilots | Portland, Oregon | 4,892 | 1990 |
| Mike Rose Soccer Complex | Memphis Tigers | Memphis, Tennessee | 2,500 | 2001 |
| Morrison Stadium | Creighton Bluejays | Omaha, Nebraska | 6,000 | 2003 |
| Morrone Stadium | UConn Huskies | Storrs, Connecticut | 5,100 | 1969 |
| Nicholls Soccer Complex | Nicholls State Colonels | Thibodaux, Louisiana | 1,000 | 1998 |
| Old Dominion Soccer Complex | Old Dominion Monarchs and Lady Monarchs | Norfolk, Virginia | 4,000 | 1990 |
| Riggs Field | Clemson Tigers | Clemson, South Carolina | 6,500 | 1915 |
| Roberts Stadium | Princeton Tigers | Princeton, New Jersey | 2,356 | 2008 |
| SU Soccer Stadium | Syracuse Orange | Syracuse, New York | 1,500 | 1996 |
| University of Denver Soccer Stadium | Denver Pioneers | Denver, Colorado | 2,000 | 2009 |
| UNCG Soccer Stadium | University of North Carolina at Greensboro | Greensboro, North Carolina | 3,540 | 1990 |
| Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex | Marshall Thundering Herd | Huntington, West Virginia | 1,006 | 2013 |
| Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium | Hawaii Rainbow Wahine | Waipio, Hawaii | 4,500 | 2000 |
| Yurcak Field | Rutgers Scarlet Knights | Piscataway, New Jersey | 5,000 | 1994 |
| Ole Miss Soccer Stadium | Ole Miss Rebels | Oxford, Mississippi | 1,500 | 1997 |