MLS Soccer Stadium

[JFW657]

View from opposite end, inside stadium, looking south towards Church St.

 

[JFW657]

Here's a link to the video of the presentation.

 

The ceremony begins @ 6:30. The speeches end & the actual rendering presentaion begins @ 17:15.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmgJzXusBkQ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ocityst]

Seems like a greatly missed opportunity to build something iconic. Zero wow factor. 

[sunshine]

It has the metal fence look-alike structure on the church street side of the building. It looks like a jail....at least it fits into the neighbourhood...

[jrs2]

^^

WOW!  I'm underWHELMED!

[FLClarkKent]

I'm going to withhold judgement until I see more. To Sunshine's point (regarding the fence at the Church Street entrance): The first rendering shows a fence and a seemingly open area on that side of the stadium, but the second rendering shows a small level of stands. It also seems odd an entire end zone of the stadium would be exposed to the street. An interesting idea, but odd in appearance (at least in this renderiing). And if you block if off with a metal fence, what's from prevention folks from gathering at the fence and watching the game for free?

 

I also want to see renderings of what will be beneath the riseers on the street. Wasn't there supposed to be some street interaction with retail?

 

I do like the angular clam-shell shape of the stadium coverings. That's pretty cool looking.

[jrs2]

If they aren't using the Citrus Bowl, then why is this a "U"?  Why isn't it an enclosed bowl to start with?  What a jip- if that's a word.

[JFW657]

I really do hope that's not a chain-link fence around the outside of it!!!! 

 

In the presentation, Rawlins said that certain elements might be subject to change, but overall, this is what it's going to look like.

 

In the video, he points out all the various amenities.

[UPSDAN]

It's not bad for $100 million. I think it works. The team shop is right there on Church besides the entrance and the field is 12 ft below street level so there are stands on the Church st side.

You don't get iconic for this price.

[jrs2]

And...why are the grandstands separated from each other like a high school stadium and not rounded out at the corners?  Oh yeah, I forgot, this is Orlando, and "round" or "curved" means $$$.  Hence why the original conceptual proposal didn't see the light of day. 

 

I think this is a joke.  They should've stayed at the Citrus Bowl.  And I hope Rawlins and that Brazilian billionaire both read this post.

 

Even though smaller, I thought this was supposed to look better than the Citrus Bowl.  Based on these renderings, this looks like sh*t.

[truebluecfl]

I think it looks great. Love how you can actually tell its a stadium and see the field from Church street.

[UPSDAN]

Those lots across the street from the stadium on church would be perfect for some mid/high rise with balconies looking into the stadium.

[truebluecfl]

And...why are the grandstands separated from each other like a high school stadium and not rounded out at the corners?  Oh yeah, I forgot, this is Orlando, and "round" or "curved" means $$$.  Hence why the original conceptual proposal didn't see the light of day. 

 

I think this is a joke.  They should've stayed at the Citrus Bowl.  And I hope Rawlins and that Brazilian billionaire both read this post.

 

Even though smaller, I thought this was supposed to look better than the Citrus Bowl.  Based on these renderings, this looks like sh*t.

 

The original rendering sucked and was meant for that property by seaworld. But the corners are going connected, its a standing corner similar to the pic below.

Below is a picture of the stadium they based the north end on. It was built the same way and they eventually filled in the corners as you can see.

Plus, we are in MLS not the NFL where they build billion dollar stadiums, the no corners design is VERY common. And if your going to talk about Phil and Flavio like that I think you should just stay home on gameday's and watch baseball. Don't act like you know soccer stadiums if you don't know jack...

Edited June 10, 2014 by truebluecfl

[jrs2]

^^

Are there other renderings or schematics of this stadium that haven't been posted?   If so, post them.  So much emotion.   wow.

[Tim3167]

To be fair, over the top criticism can't be thrown out there and be surprised when a differing opinion also comes back strong.

 

I find it interesting to look on twitter and in some soccer dialogs and see excitement on this design and then to see the underwhelming response on here. I count myself in the group that always wants monuments for the ages in size and scale but I wonder if sometimes that makes us lose sight of the purpose of the structures and who they are for.

 

In this case we seem to have a majority (non scientific I admit) of soccer fans who approve and then this group underwhelmed with the lack of a landmark structure as seen from a blimp.

 

As pointed out here before, the budget was constrained so expectations had to be controlled. I like it.

[JFW657]

^^Are there other renderings or schematics of this stadium that haven't been posted?   If so, post them.  So much emotion.   wow.

Those are all they've released so far.

It seems that if they have renderings, they'd also have elevation drawings.

Those are what I'd really like to see.

[tm68]

The full-roof canopies will make watching the games in central florida climate better for fans.  Not many mls stadiums offer that.

 

It seems to be a user-centric stadium. Give them credit for the effort to create tradition.  Guarantee that the lion will be the most iconic symbol for orlando professional sports and major league soccer for many years to come.  Also like that they are planning for expansion now.  That to me says ambition and an ownership group with desire for growth, which is good for our city and good for downtown.

 

to an urbanista, maybe an "eh" for design.  to sports fans: fenway park vs. marlins park?  overall, good news.

 

guess who's an optimist

[tm68]

oh, one more thing.  

 

you might have heard that miami's beachfront soccer stadium location was rejected by the city.

so, not only has tampa and miami not been able to succeed with mls in the past, but miami is having a hard time today even with superstar and big-money support.

 

orlando has been florida's leader with this sport historically, hosting both world cup and olympic soccer matches, and continues to lead the state with mls.

 

wouldn't it be great to have a Florida soccer hall of fame on church street?  

and for non-sports fans, won't this be a unique concert venue or a very approachable civic venue?

 

as with many things in life, it is by nurturing and supporting our strengths that one can truly take things to the next level and achieve great things.  kudos to the leaders who were instrumental in putting this deal together.

[JFW657]

The full-roof canopies will make watching the games in central florida climate better for fans.  Not many mls stadiums offer that.

 

It seems to be a user-centric stadium. Give them credit for the effort to create tradition.  Guarantee that the lion will be the most iconic symbol for orlando professional sports and major league soccer for many years to come.  Also like that they are planning for expansion now.  That to me says ambition and an ownership group with desire for growth, which is good for our city and good for downtown.

 

to an urbanista, maybe an "eh" for design.  to sports fans: fenway park vs. marlins park?  overall, good news.

 

guess who's an optimist

 

Re: the roof canopy, Rawlins was talking earlier today about the fact that, because they are flat, they will reflect the crowd noise back down into the stadium & make it sound even louder inside.

[jack]

To be fair, over the top criticism can't be thrown out there and be surprised when a differing opinion also comes back strong.

 

I find it interesting to look on twitter and in some soccer dialogs and see excitement on this design and then to see the underwhelming response on here. I count myself in the group that always wants monuments for the ages in size and scale but I wonder if sometimes that makes us lose sight of the purpose of the structures and who they are for.

 

In this case we seem to have a majority (non scientific I admit) of soccer fans who approve and then this group underwhelmed with the lack of a landmark structure as seen from a blimp.

 

As pointed out here before, the budget was constrained so expectations had to be controlled. I like it.

I think the stadium will look like a $100 million project. Everyone has an opinion when it comes to design but I think that there is a disconnect between budget and aspirations. People generally do not have a good understanding what it costs to build iconic structures so it is easy to be disappointed. I feel lucky that we are getting a MLS team with a brand new stadium. And they put it Downtown! It does seem that there is a tremendous focus on the fan which is the most important thing. It bugs me to no end when buildings seem focused on the aerial or blimp shots as opposed to the users.  

[Pete C]

The naysayers are really missing the boat here. First off, like jack said this is a 100M stadium...what on earth were you expecting? Second, we got an all concrete design. It looks almost elegant in comparison to somthing like San Jose's which is a mass of metal beams going everywhere. This looks very clean, and the top of the overhang almost recalls DPAC. Third, the sunken field...how cool is that? From Church St you will have an unobstructed view of the stands rising up...the fans, the noise...it will pour onto the street. You should even be able to see the field from the gate which is really unique and cool IMO. Finally, the western stands concourse will be enclosed with luxurty features. Even in the rendering you can see it is closed on the sides.

[UPSDAN]

I was just hoping we didn't end up with Brighthouse Stadium Soccer Version and we seemed to avoid that. It at least has some character.

Edited June 11, 2014 by UPSDAN

[Alleri459]

oh, one more thing.  

 

you might have heard that miami's beachfront soccer stadium location was rejected by the city.

so, not only has tampa and miami not been able to succeed with mls in the past, but miami is having a hard time today even with superstar and big-money support.

 

orlando has been florida's leader with this sport historically, hosting both world cup and olympic soccer matches, and continues to lead the state with mls.

 

wouldn't it be great to have a Florida soccer hall of fame on church street?  

and for non-sports fans, won't this be a unique concert venue or a very approachable civic venue?

 

as with many things in life, it is by nurturing and supporting our strengths that one can truly take things to the next level and achieve great things.  kudos to the leaders who were instrumental in putting this deal together.

 

Yes, this will certainly be a good concert venue. It's expensive for artists to perform in large arenas, so we might land a few good concerts or touring shows from different artists. 

[Universe_Explorer]

_{Add me to the list of people that think for 100 million dollars this looks great - as I stated earlier, soccer as an overall sport does not lend itself to the types of amenities as slower moving games or those with frequent play stoppages.  The fan experience is meant to be different.  This stadium will put fans right on top of the field, keep noise in, gears itself more than any other to the unique needs of supporter groups (standing rails, capo stands, supporter-specific pubs?!?!).  It already has some "iconic" structure (sunken field open to street, rotating lion statue, purple coloring).} 

 

_{When we think of making the overall building iconic, I'd have to ask, how many sports stadiums are truly iconic (from the outside, on a street level), and what makes them so?  Baseball purists will talk about Wrigley and Fenway, both of which are iconic more for their age, location, and idiosyncricities than being truly beautiful designs.  Lambeau Field? Or on the exact opposite spectrum - the Cowboys new stadium?  Huge lumps of stadium in surrounded by parking lots.  Most "iconic" soccer stadiums of the world (Camp Nou, Old Trafford) are much more revered for what went on inside them versus what they look like from the outside.  We're getting a fan-centric stadium built in the heart of the city with reasonably close transportation and entertainment options. DPAC and the surrounding plaza should be iconic from the street, the most important thing about a soccer stadium is the atmosphere inside}  

[alex]

 

to an urbanista, maybe an "eh" for design. 

 

 

From a transportation perspective, I'm really excited.  First off, they're not building any parking spaces. ("Not even the coach gets one. I told him he gets a SunRail pass," Rawlins said in the video.)  That's a b.f. deal in a project like this.  However, there are 16,000 spaces in Downtown within a 1/2 mile walk.  Speaking of walking, Church Street has been redone and if the Magic get their complex built, Pine Street will be another direct connector that dead-ends in the soccer stadium.

 

On top of that, there's a Lymmo stop right in front of main entrance, along with regular Lynx buses and of course SunRail (which people could use to get there and then Uber back if it's a late game).  All that should make for a pretty active Downtown experience on game days.