[news] MetroStars plan Harrison soccer stadium

[Regs]

MetroStars plan Harrison soccer stadium (28 July 2004)

Major League Soccer team, the 'MetroStars', have announced plans for a new 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium near New York in the USA. It will be built in partnership with the City of Harrison and construction is expected to begin later this year. Its projected opening date is set in 2006 and it is budgeted to cost $100million.

As well as a new stadium, surrounding areas in Harrison will gain new office spaces, retail units and apartments. When complete, the stadium development will be owned by the city council and, importantly, should enable the MetroStars to stay within the New York area.

Harrison will join Los Angeles, Columbus, Dallas and Chicago, all cities that have recently benefited from soccer-specific stadiums. Such stadium developments are proving to be a cost effective way of providing venues for MLS games, though many teams still have to play their matches in huge NFL stadiums they can never fill anywhere near to capacity.

The MetroStars currently play in the New York ‘Giants’ stadium and pay more than $200,000 per game in rent, though they average only 15,000 spectators in a stadium that can hold 77,000. The NJSEA, the group that operates the stadium, has also recently withdrawn any rights the team had to revenue generated by parking and retail sales...