The Sweeper: Is Red Bull Arena the Perfect Major League Soccer Stadium?
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To describe Grant Wahl’s review of his tour at Red Bull Arena, the new home of Red Bull New York, as gushing would be something of an understatement. Indeed, he even describes himself as “breathless” over it.
Wahl emphasises that Red Bull Arena is a “soccer stadium”, not a multi-purpose venue like so many other MLS stadiums:
Unlike so many other MLS buildings, which have a stage at one end and double as concert venues, Red Bull Arena is built for fútbol. Not one of the 25,000 seats — and they’re all seats; no benches here — has a bad view. The front row is a mere 21 feet from the sidelines and 27 feet from the endlines, the better for Juan Pablo Ángel to make a quick run and Lambeau Leap over the short retaining wall after scoring a goal.
This emphasis on the soccer won’t stop rugby tearing up the turf this summer, but Wahl’s point is well-made. The stadium is an exact copy of a Euro 2008 venue from Austria, and it shows.
Wahl waxes about the location (an improvement on the team’s former home in the Meadowlands, New Jersey); the “hip surroundings” (umm, “restaurants, retail stores and condominiums”?) and the “little things” (not so little “giant HD video boards”).
I’m trying hard, and perhaps failing, not to mock Wahl’s enthusiasm for the stadium. It’s a big moment in American soccer in some ways, and Wahl is right to emphasise the quality of the arena. It does look like it will surpass anything in MLS quite comfortably as a facility. Am I jealous of it as a Fire fan? Well, yes…aside from those giant Red Bull logos, of course.
And that’s the catch: it’s surprising that Wahl doesn’t delve into some of the deeper issues the Red Bulls still need to prove they have overcome. He mentions the problem of the quality of the team briefly at the end of his pieces, but refuses to open the can of worms surrounding the many years of Metro and Red Bull failure on and off the field.
But we will say it: this is, after all, Red Bull Arena.
Maybe our old friend the Metrologist will pop-up to remind Grant of that, if he still frequents these parts. A week tomorrow will mark the fourth anniversary of the rebranding (renaming doesn’t do it justice) of the MetroStars as Red Bull.
Three years ago, on a blog I miss, the Metrologist wrote the following:
Who can scream out Red Bull songs with a straight face? Unintentional self-parody at its worst.
Today, March 9 2007, marks the one year anniversary of the conversion of Metro into the Red Bulls, and this string of discussions is its legacy – the magic candles flickering on the taurine-soaked birthday cake. They always re-ignite. They still vastly overshadow the actual job of supporting this team. They always will, until the last of the dyed-in-the-wool Metro traditionalists give up and find something else to do. Make a wish!
Red Bull, the corporation and its fans who have embraced the new branding (it’s not an identity, folks), will say those dyed-in-the-wool folks are past worrying about at this point, and they’ll criticise this blog for even bringing up that ghost. They like to laugh at the Metrologist, now. They wish his kind gone and maybe they are, maybe the opening of the new arena does draw a line under that era. Maybe even the Metrologist doesn’t care anymore that Red Bull took his team’s identity away from him. Maybe this doesn’t matter anymore two years further on:
What today also marks is the the ticking-over of the worst year of being a Metro fan ever. While the organization itself has been jarred, and I don’t think anyone can say for the better overall (more on that in a coming post), I think what remains of the already-tortured diehard Metro crowd has only been further alienated, divided, and turned against one another. I’ve been a part of that, on a personal level, more than I’d like to admit. What used to be a pretty cooperative community, especially online at least on the surface, now has serious lines drawn through it.
I’m not qualified to offer an opinion one way or the other on the state of New York’s culture of fan support as we approach the opening of Red Bull Arena, though I’m hoping to be there at the inaugural MLS game against the Fire on March 27th. Perhaps it is all rosy and 25,000 rabid Red Bulls fans will arise from the nation’s largest metropolis to support the team they’ve had such a problem with since 1996. That capacity is over double the Red Bulls average attendance at Giants Stadium last year, 12,491. There’s absolutely no doubt that will be improved upon at the new stadium.
But I do think there’s a little more to be said about it all than Wahl’s breathless review of the arena covers; it’s still Red Bull, as the stadium itself can’t stop reminding us, and there will still be some who will question how attached a community can become to such a recently re-branded team. It’s a discussion Red Bulls fans don’t want to have, I’m sure; the proof will be in the pudding over the next decade one way or another as we’ll find out if supporters do come out to consistently fill what Wahl calls “a truly edifying edifice” once the shine has worn off.
Quick Hits
- The “Red Knights” making their moves towards a takeover of Manchester United are calling on fans to boycott season ticket purchases to pressure the Glazers to sell.
- The spotlight has been off Newcastle United in recent times; in The Times, George Caulkin says the pressure is still on Mike Ashley to put back together the club he broke. “Football, like heat, can generate mirages. How else, with March upon us, can we contextualise a club which, until Portsmouth nabbed their title, was widely recognised as the most gloriously demented in England, but which now resembles the very model of stability? How else to explain the otherwise inexplicable – that Mike Ashley no longer appears the battiest of owners.”
- Ridge Mahoney looks at the latest in the MLS labour dispute, edging towards the position of the players as he wonders if MLS couldn’t work out a model of free agency: “Other leagues have formulated tiers of free agency; while MLS is different in that it is a single-entity enterprise, one can’t blame the players for fighting to get at least some independence beyond the very narrow boundaries of MLS. While it follows complex formulas to calculate and stay within its salary budget, MLS can suppress salaries since there’s no real competition. It can’t match the salaries even Scandinavian teams give to young players, so it just ignores any aspect of the market except itself.”
The Sweeper appears daily. For more rambling and links throughout the day every day, follow your editor Tom Dunmore @pitchinvasion on Twitter.
Not an exact copy – Red Bull Salzburg has FieldTurf.
But it’s not based on Red Bull Salzburg’s field, MrT. It’s based on the Hypo-Arena, home of SK Austria Kärnten, which does have grass. Though you’re right in another way, “exact copy” is obviously stretching it.
Great article. The branding issue has been rehashed a million times over the years, but it is worth remembering that:
1. MetroStars was a corporate name to begin with, however less obvious
2. The history of the team is certainly not glorious and was never really accepted by the New York/New Jersey community; the team didn’t lose attendance in any obvious numbers due to the rebranding, and average attendance has been roughly commesurate with performance (including last year, during one of the worst seasons of any MLS team in history)
I don’t think anyone at all would want the team to be called the Red Bulls. Can you imagine any soccer fan thinking that this would be a good idea? However, it is what it is. This is the team in New York. This is our local club. This is the brand new stadium financed by the owners of the team. The options are to reject the concept entirely and avoid the team (which plenty of soccer fans do to all MLS teams across the league), or to accept it for being a fait accompli, and enjoy the new stadium. Even if the team draws crowds equal to what it was averaging for most of its history, it will be a much better experience for fans than Giants Stadium.
I have to say I don’t like the Red Bulls name at all, I thought the Metrostars was perfect, and it is a tad bit annoying being named after some energy drink. But at least I can say that no taxpayer money was stolen to fund my team’s stadium. I will be singing for the Metro, but I still have to thank Red Bull for putting together a beautiful stadium, considering what the initial renditions were.
As for those MLS multi-purpose stadiums, I like how — after a few years — the Fire finally hit on the idea of using the Toyota Park stage as a de facto terrace with a bar. I’ve never watched a match from there, but it always looks full and everyone there seems to be having a great time. They’ve made lemonade out of a bit of lemon.
Now if we could just do something about Bridgeview….
Ugh – more of this branding crap. It is as irrelevant as whatever Metrologist has to say, as he is no longer a fan of the club.
Giant turd in a punchbowl of an article.
Soccer stadia rely on the top 3 rules of real estate:
Location
Location
Location
Only time will tell if they built RBA in the right spot. I hope that they did as the picks are sweeeet.
A correction: A week tomorrow will mark the FOURTH anniversary of the rebranding. This happened in 2006. Also, this issue has been beaten to death over the last 4 years and it really only affects a very small minority, although they’ll tell you otherwise. The overwhelming amount of fans in this area refer to the team as The Red Bulls and don’t care about “branding” issues. If they put a good team out there, it will be embraced.
Concerning the title of this article, I’d say RBA could be the perfect MLS Stadium. I toured the arena during the club’s seat relocation event back in October. While there was only one section of seats installed and the turf wasn’t laid down, you could tell that this place could be something special.
The truth is, we won’t be able to answer this question until well into the season. There’s the soft opening on the 13th, the friendly against Santos on the 20th and the home opener on the 27th against the Fire. Kinks will have to be worked out and RBNY will have to be playing some exciting and winning soccer. A building can only do but so much. That being said, the sight lines, the intimate setting, proximity to local bars, restaurants and mass transit will make the MLS experience a positive one.
Ultimately, time will tell.
Every MLS club and supporter should be thankful to the Redbull organization for building what will be the best soccer stadium in this country. Its a major step forward for the MLS and local NYC soccer to have this project completed. The area where it is build might look like nothing now but when all the construction around it is finished it will be an amazing destination. Harrison has always had a strong soccer community so it makes perfect sense to build it there. Its easy to forget that it is impossible to build a stadium within any of the five borough’s of NYC so Harrison is actually a perfect location for NYC.
Yes the team is still far from being a championship winning team, but again the Redbull organization has stepped up its involvement this year and its turning things around slowly. Does this mean New York will make the playoffs? No, even I don’t think so but that is not important right now. The important thing is that New York now has the best stadium in America, a stadium where players want to play and want to play well. A stadium were fans want to go to and cheer for the Redbulls or the other team. That is what is important here. This stadium has put the bar higher for MLS teams and its fans and for that I want to thank the Redbull organization.
Thanks,
Erik V
Thanks Miguel, for some reason it was still 2009 in my head when I was counting.
Matt, thanks for your thoughtful contribution as well. Good points, and well-made.
Shame on The Sweeper for a misleading headline title that was nothing but a ploy to launch into an anti-RBNY rant. Stay on point, friend, and the jealousy wouldn’t sting as much.
For argument’s sake, let’s say you fronted $200 million into a state-of-the-art soccer complex. You’re telling me that you WOULDN’T brand it? Bit naive, eh?
I detect a note of sarcasm. Sorry for my extreme reaction, but you need to understand that as Miguel said this issue has been hashed out to death on fan message boards for the past four years. IMO the last thing we need right now is for all of this to be dragged out and discussed to death again. It never results in anything constructive and people’s positions just become more extreme and hardened. The team is called the New York Red Bulls for now and the foreseeable future, however much people like Metrologist would like it to not be so.
As for the logos on the stadium, am I to be led to believe that Toyota has not plastered its name all over the place in Bridgeview? FWIW the RB advertising in Harrison is remarkably understated, with the exception of the seat mosaic.
There will always be those who can’t get over the name. Heck, the ESC still sings plenty of songs about “Metro.” The fact remains that without Herr Mateschitz, the club would still be playing in Giants Stadium.
Yes, Metrologist is unhappy with the rebranding. He (and many others) have chosen to lump it. I’m living with it.
Matt — thanks for the comment (sincerely this time). Yes, it is an old issue. Yes, I agree with everyone it has been hashed and rehashed and rerehashed to death. But, this was a response to Grant Wahl’s piece; I found it a concern that an article about Red Bull Arena refused to acknowledge the elephant still lurking somewhere in the vicinity of the room, even if it’s the skeleton of one at this point. Whitewashed PR puff pieces don’t do a lot for me, even though I have great respect for Wahl’s work in general, so felt it was indeed worth raising once more in this context.
As for Toyota Park: indeed. But the team isn’t called Toyota Chicago. Thankfully for me and all other Fire fans.
Wes — if you think this post was a rant, wow. Welcome to the internet.
Yes, RB have every right to brand it and I’m not sure I’ve suggested they shouldn’t have. I’m just raising some points I felt Wahl was wrong to entirely neglect (see comment above).
Red Bulls fans should remember that what is ingrained as old news to them isn’t something every fan of world soccer who reads Wahl in Sports Illustrated is going to think of.
It’s do or die for NJRB supporters. No one (NYC peeps included) will have the excuse about the location. It’s a short walk from the Harrison PATH stop. It’s also walkable from the Ironbound neighborhood in Newark so they may be able to draw the Brazilian/Portuguese/Central American crowd now. I’m pumped up for the match on 3/27. Of course, the NJRB supporters will leave with a loss but at least they’ll have a good home.
As one of those ESC founders who “chose to lump it” (I would argue that the team lumped me by changing their colors, name, emblem, and putative location) I wish the New Jersey Red Bulls supporters joy and luck in this beautiful new home. It’s a beautiful site as well, midst Harrison and the Ironbound of Newark. But folks can’t pretend that rupture isn’t one of the defining elements of their club and this stadium. I still have the glossy gatefold prospectus for “Metro Park” somewhere in my New York City home. More importantly, it’s also a dream still to be realized for literally thousands of New York soccer fans. NJ fans should enjoy their club, but we’re still waiting for ours. US fans elsewhere should take this as a cautionary tale of how quickly “your” club can be taken away.
BTW pitchinvasion, keep up you great reporting on African football!
Tommy Miles,
Spare me. You have fun waiting around for the second NY market team, or some bizarre resurrection of the Cosmos. In the meantime, I’ll be happily going to Red Bull Arena and cheering on my team in a world class stadium.
This is all so much BS. The Metros were what they were, and Red Bulls are what they are. Either you support your local team or you don’t. But to sit around wishing for something more pure to come along while quality soccer is being played in a quality stadium within spitting distance is cutting your nose off to spite your face.
Some points I’ve reflected upon:
1. An MLS team in NYC will not and should not happen.
2. We can all agree that a team called the “Red Bulls” is stupid and almost embarrassing. (I have season tickets and am part of the ESC…I, along with many other supporters, have the right to criticize my club.)
3a. Many do not understand why Red Bull had to brand EVERYTHING (crest/colors/name/etc) by owning the club.
3b. Why couldn’t they at least name the club ‘RB Metro’ or something… Keep the name the same – more people would have been OK with the change. Clubs around the world go by their CITY (Obviously there are many more sports teams here in each city) and not by a NICKNAME. This could have been a nice alternative in so many ways.
4. We can all agree that RBA is amazing.
5. We can all hope that RED BULL is not plastered in every square inch of this stadium. In the end, we came for soccer.
Four years have passed, and this issue hasn’t really died down … says something doesn’t it?
Yes, it says that some people can’t move on. I really don’t see the point in discussing this over and over when it’s clear as day that RB is not selling the team anytime soon. So ponder on it all you want I guess but I’ve got better things to do.
Steve Hoff: I do in fact hope you enjoy Red Bull New Jersey. But I’m not a fan or supporter of them.
Sorry if this angers or offends you, but that’s your problem. And if you knew me as you presume to, you would know I’m not waiting for something “pure” or the Cosmos. I dragged my arse out to Downing stadium for every damn NY Centaurs game back in 95, hocking fanzines, for a club that won ONE match. I literally bought the first block of ESC tickets, showing up by bus from Brooklyn the one rainy night a week before the first Metro match ever played, wandering around a corporate office park in Rutherford. I’ve paid my dues and I don’t need attitude from you.
But if a club some of us spent years building up (literally: sewing banners, booking buses, spending hours commuting to the middle of nowhere) just decides it wants to dump the identity we invested in, I think we have a right — at very least — to say no thanks.
To pretend that the club doesn’t have a badly fractured history that turned off permanently a portion of their already small fan base, or that “Red Bull New Jersey” doesn’t still look like a sad joke to many other soccer fans, is as mystifying in the article cited above as is your assumption that you can insult other into supporting you. That’s at very least a counterproductive advertisement for US soccer.
The thing is that most current supporters of the club couldn’t care less if some people abandoned the team as a result of the ownership change. It’s the people who decided to leave who can’t stop going on about it. They never tire of letting everyone know that they are morally pure and the rest of us are sellouts. Whatever.
@Matt and his ilk: though New Yorkers (and New York fans) love to believe the rest of the world thinks about New York as much as you do, that just ain’t the case. The topic may have been discussed ad nauseam on some message boards over the years, but not all of us frequent New York message boards or click on NY-specific threads on general message boards. This is not a NY-specific site, and its audience is larger than message-board junkies.
Nice piece, Tom. Thanks.
I’m also getting tired of people bashing the name. Do people forget that Metrostars was a corporate name as well?
If you don’t like the change and refuse to support the team, that’s cool. All good. But every time there is any news about RBNY (the Giants and Jets play in NJ.. are they the NJ Giants or NJ Jets?) there are tons of posters who do not really add anything to the conversation and instead just complain about the same old thing.
It’s your right and your option not to support a team, for whatever reason. But please stop posting the same old thing over and over. It’s getting to be really tiring and really monotonous. You’re not going to convince anyone anymore.
Personally, I thought that RBNY should have not changed their names to Red Bulls, but I also hated the name Metrostars (reminded me too much of the Mets, who suck). I’m just happy that RB the company is investing to make the team better.
Someone should tell Grant Wahl (and I love his book, “The Beckham Experiment,” btw) the reason RBA doesn’t have a stage: It doesn’t need one. All the other soccer-specific stadia in this country are owned either by groups that need to make extra money off their stadia or by groups (specifically, AEG) that want to gouge the consumer for every last red cent available. Red Bull’s enterprises are successful enough not to warrant turning a soccer stadium into an all-purpose venue. Besides, Metropolitan NYC has so many venues for so many events that another all-purpose venue would be superfluous.
In addition, Red Bull is perhaps the only ownership group in MLS that has a specifically European idea about what a stadium should look like (and I don’t count poseurs like Leiweke at AEG).