Last week, I wrote an article all about NYCFC’s stadium troubles, and how the club has managed to find themselves in their 8th year of MLS play with no stadium plans on the horizon. I can sum it up pretty quickly for you here:
Summary: It sucks that NYCFC still don’t have a stadium, and they probably won’t have their own place for quite some time.
But, this week, I wanted to look into what would happen if all of these problems had magically melted away. Just for fun, lets pretend that the announcement has finally arrived: NYCFC have reached an agreement with the City of New York, a bunch of random investors, and special interest groups to build our very own, state of the art, soccer-specific stadium within the five boroughs. Now it’s our job, as the supporters of the club, to provide input on what we would want our stadium to feature.
An unofficial rendering of what an NYCFC stadium could look like (via 3d Warehouse; U Design)
Some have already gone above and beyond this idea, and created their own 3D renderings of a potential stadium like the one pictured above. You can check it out in more detail here, and I got to say it's pretty sweet.
However, to be abundantly clear, this announcement has not yet been made. But, it's fun to dream, right? So, if NYCFC were to miraculously get granted a stadium today, here are five design elements that I would want to see in the club’s new home.
1. Tributes to Yankee Stadium
I know the fans have, rightfully so, lamented the fact that the club has played their home matched in a baseball stadium for its first seven seasons. But, like it or not, it is part of the club’s DNA at this point. And while it’s constantly ridiculed by opposing fans, Yankee Stadium has been somewhat of a fortress for the Boys in Blue. They’ve had a great home record there over the years, and despite winning most of their playoff games on the road, they managed to lift MLS cup during their tenure at the ballpark. So, rather than trying to wipe it from memory, I think it would be cool to embrace it and involve a handful of tributes to Yankee Stadium in their future permanent home.
First and foremost, I can't get the idea of having foul poles out of my head. It would become a trademark of our stadium, it would be entirely unique, and it would be the ultimate way to pay tribute to our Yankee Stadium era. A not-so-subtle nod to our humble beginnings. And this time, fortunately, we could do it in a way that doesn’t completely obstruct our fans' views. So, if you make them a bit smaller and nestle them in the corners of the stadium between two stands, I think it could look really cool.
The Foul Poles at Yankee Stadium (via The Philly Soccer Page)
Another piece of the club’s current home setup that I would love to see carried over is the smokestacks. They were the first bit of character at Yankee Stadium that felt like it was meant for NYCFC. And to be honest, it ain't much, because they end up looking pretty small when they are settled in the vastness of the oval-shaped outfield. But hey, they're ours. And, they are a nice connection to the city itself.
Also, NYCFC have held a nice tradition in the past where they have a local, NYC celebrity set off the smoke before kickoff to "energize" the crowd. It would be great to see this tradition continue, and hopefully we can keep bringing in bigger and bigger names to bring the smoke.
The NYCFC Smokestacks (via NYCFC)
So, in a soccer-specific NYCFC stadium, I think it would be really cool if they did the smokestacks again, but this time, ramped them up a notch. Keep the five smokestacks with “N” “Y” “C” “F” “C” on them, but make them huge, permanent, and make them produce a hell of a lot of smoke. Cus, why not?
2. “Court-side” seating
I’ll admit, it feels like I’m stealing this from LAFC’s pitch-side seating at the Banc, but here me out. Basketball has always been a huge part of NYC culture. The Knicks have been, well the Knicks, for decades now but that has never once stopped celebrity turnout in court-side seats at Madison Square Garden. Spike Lee has become synonymous with the team and their brand while sitting court-side for pretty much every home game ever for the Kicks. So, wouldn’t it be cool to embrace a bit of that culture with NYCFC?
LAFC's Pitch-side Seating (via SB Nation Angles on Parade)
Putting high profile celebrities pitch-side at the club's home games would be fun to watch for for everyone, and could boost the club’s status around the city. Influential people attending games can only be good for the club, so shoutout to LAFC for being the first to bring that concept to MLS. I would love to shamelessly copy that design feature.
3. Safe-Standing Bleachers for the Supporter’s Section
The bleachers have always been the home to NYCFC’s most passionate fans. Home to multiple supporters groups, the north-end bleachers bring the atmosphere to every game, and set the energy for the rest of the stadium to follow. It would be awesome to try re-create these sections in our own stadium. Long, silver bleachers lining one end of the field, packed with our most boisterous supporter’s, all standing, waving flags and singing songs…that sounds pretty sweet to me.
The Bleachers at Yankee Stadium (via NYCFC)
It would probably be a good idea to add a handrail between each row of bleachers (maybe just for the cupholder?), and that seems to be what most other new clubs have done with “safe-standing” sections. But, I could take it or leave it, there’s just something fun about the bare-bones Yankee Stadium bleachers, and I would love to see something like that in our permanent home.
4. Keep Things Small
While the small pitch at Yankee stadium has lead to endless complaints from opponents, banter from rival supporters, and even conspiracies over whether or not it even reaches regulation size, NYCFC have been always been dominant at home. It truly feels like a fortress for The Pigeons, and their record on the mini pitch speaks for itself. In all home games since 2015, NYCFC have 64 wins, 28 draws and 19 losses. That is not a stat line you want to see as an opponent hitting the road. So, if it ain't broke, don’t fix it…right?
Now I’m not saying it should be as small as it is now, because let’s be honest, it’s pretty ridiculous. But, maybe just something on the small side of average? And think about it - it’s kind of fitting for New York, right? I mean, it’s a huge city, but it's pretty much filled entirely with small spaces. Small apartments, packed bars, and shoulder to shoulder crowds. So, why not keep that vibe? Just another thing that ties the team on the field to the fans in the stands.
Also, while the proposed-stadium size has always been 25,000 seats, I would be okay with shaving a few of those seats off. I think something between 20,000 and 22,000 seats could actually be a better fit for New York. And here’s why:
Once-proposed Pier 40 Stadium Plans (via Gothamist)
First of all, a smaller field size and less seats would surely mean a smaller footprint for the stadium. And, a few thousand less people attending the matches means less parking spaces too. Both of these concepts should, in theory, open up some more potential locations for us to build our home by simply making the whole operation physically smaller. And at this point, we should be looking into absolutely anywhere we could cram-in this stadium - the sooner the better, right?
Secondly, I’ve always felt that atmosphere isn’t created by the number of people at a game, but instead, how full the stadium is. For example, even if we have 25k people at Yankee Stadium (which seats almost 55k), sometimes it doesn’t feel quite as lively as an absolutely packed Children’s Mercy Park, which only seats around 18.5k. Optically, it looks way better for the rest of the league too, since nobody likes seeing empty seats. So, at the risk of looking anything like the Red Bulls’ half empty stadium, I think 20,000-22,000 might just be a smarter size for the club. If we sell it out every week, no one will notice the few thousand seat difference.
5. Skyline View...?
Is this too much to ask? Yeah, probably. Especially if we are in The Bronx next to Yankee stadium where there is no real view to speak of. But, how iconic would our stadium become if it had the most famous skyline in the world visible from one end of the stadium? I remember the renderings from the scrapped (and always far-fetched) Pier 40 stadium plans, and they were truly breathtaking:
Proposed Pier 40 Stadium Plan with View of New York Skyline (via Bleacherreport)
Having that backdrop would instantly throw our stadium into the conversation of the coolest sports venues, not just in MLS, but in the whole country. So yes, it's probably impossible to achieve given the more realistic locations explored by CFG for our stadium, but if we could get it to work…wow. Not a necessity, but it’d be some luxury if we could make it happen.
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