Some random nuggets of United States stadium news:
First of all, Columbus Crew president Mark McCullers has stated that the time has come for Crew owners Hunt Sports Group to consider building a new stadium or redeveloping Crew Stadium. This is what he said:
“The stadium is 15 years old now. We don’t want to throw good money after bad. We need to start having the discussions about a longer term facility solution for us and that could take a variety of forms.”
“We always want to stay competitive. We don’t want to give anybody any opportunity to think that USA-Mexico should be anywhere but our stadium for any reason,” he added. “That would be a return on an investment to do some things to make sure we continue to be the frontrunner for this match.”
Columbus Crew Stadium was the first soccer-specific stadium to be built in the MLS era, but is a relatively basic structure in comparison to more recently built stadiums.
It has traditionally hosted the USA vs Mexico clashes due to its US-friendly crowd and intimidating atmosphere, but competition to host these matches has now arrived from the likes of Livestrong Sporting Park.
Next, Los Angeles venue The Home Depot Center will be renamed Stubhub Center as of June 2013:
StubHub, one of the nation’s largest ticketing companies, has entered into an agreement with AEG that will make it the new naming rights partner of The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills. The 125-acre multi-sport facility will become StubHub Center in June, with the first official game at the renamed stadium being the LA Galaxy’s home match against the Portland Timbers on June 19.
The 27,000-seat Home Depot Center, the home of both the Galaxy and Chivas USA, was opened in 2003 and has hosted five MLS Cups. The final match scheduled to be played in the Home Depot Center will be on May 26 when the Galaxy host the Seattle Sounders.
Financial details of the multi-year agreement were not disclosed.
Finally, rendering have appeared of the proposed new soccer-specific stadium in the New York borough Queens:
Renderings of a proposed Major League Soccer stadium in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park have been leaked online, after a presentation at Columbia University by the plan’s developers was recorded, according to reports.
At a Feb. 1 presentation, Gregg Pasquarelli of SHoP Architects spoke to Columbia students about the design and development of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, according to reports.
But SHoP is also the architecture firm hired by MLS to create the proposed soccer stadium, according to reports, and at one point during the presentation, renderings for the stadium appear to flash across the screen, according to the blog Empire of Soccer.
[…]The stadium, according to Pasquarelli’s reported comments, would have “no walls.” Rather, the stadium would be surrounded by a see-through skeletal structure, according to the renderings.
