Commerce City – As a sign professional soccer will become a permanent addition to the Denver-area landscape, the Rapids and owner Kroenke Sports Enterprises unveiled the design Wednesday for their ambitious soccer-specific stadium.
A ceremony Wednesday broke ground on the Prairie Gateway sport park, which will become the world’s largest soccer-specific complex when it’s completed in April 2007.
“I think it’s really telling, as far as how far the sport of soccer has come in this country, that the largest soccer complex in the world is going to be in Denver,” Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber said. “It’s a stunning statement.”
Construction will begin immediately. When finished, the multi-use stadium will hold about 20,000, with sightlines and seating designed specifically for the sport. Fans will be closer to the field than they are at Invesco Field at Mile High, and the partial roof over each main seating area will help corral the sound they create.
Surrounding the stadium will be 24 lighted fields, some with artificial turf, for soccer and lacrosse.
The Rapids began playing at Mile High Stadium before moving to Invesco Field, where 20,000 fans for a soccer game seems sparse.
Having played in soccer-mad countries such as England and Germany, Rapids forward Jovan Kirovski said the intimate environment is crucial to the experience.
“I think this is the most important thing,” Kirovski said. “I think every team needs to have this for it to survive and for it to grow.”
For KSE, the 30-foot hole on display Wednesday was more like a massive anchor for one of the smaller-market franchises in MLS.
Rapids general manager Charlie Wright said building a soccer-specific stadium was something KSE envisioned when it acquired the franchise in 2003.
“The only way any financial economics made sense was to have your own stadium,” Wright said. “It’s critically important, both from a scheduling standpoint and from an ancillary revenue standpoint.”
Wright said the days of midweek matches before sparse crowds and Friday playoff games will be over with the Rapids as primary tenants. Economically, KSE will pocket money spent for parking, merchandising and concessions.
The Chicago Fire and the New York City-based MetroStars also are building soccer-specific stadiums, while expansion club Real Salt Lake is working with legislators toward building one.
There are three soccer-specific stadiums in the United States: Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio; Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas; and the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., home to the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA.
Galaxy general manager Doug Hamilton said a soccer-specific stadium is good for attendance because it gives fans a sense of ownership and security.
“Once you invest in brick and mortar, fans see you are here to stay and they can freely invest themselves with the club,” Hamilton said.
Naming rights for the Home Depot Center sold for $70 million over 10 years, and Hamilton estimates the venue holds 100 ticketed events a year and is in use 350 days a year.
KSE will use the sports park to host youth soccer, national or collegiate tournaments, international exhibition matches such as last year’s game between Chivas Guadalajara and Argentine club Boca Juniors, and U.S. Word Cup qualifying and friendly matches.
In Business Complex will have more than just sports. 4C
