We♥Sports: MN United FC – Allianz Field open house, St. Paul (March 2019)
Minnesota United FC Regular Season Schedule
04/06 Minnesota United at New York Red Bulls Red Bull Arena
04/13 Home Opener: MNUFC vs. NYCFC Allianz Field
04/19 Minnesota United at Toronto FC BMO Field
04/24 Minnesota United vs. LA Galaxy Allianz Field
04/28 Minnesota United vs. DC United Allianz Field
05/04 Minnesota United vs. Seattle Sounders Allianz Field
05/11 Minnesota United at Chicago Fire SeatGeek Stadium
05/18 Minnesota United vs. Columbus Crew Allianz Field
05/25 Minnesota United vs. Houston Dynamo Allianz Field
05/29 Minnesota United at Atlanta United Mercedes-Benz Stadium
06/02 Minnesota United vs. Philadelphia Union Allianz field
06/08 Minnesota United at Colorado Rapids Dick’s Sporting Goods
06/29 Minnesota United vs. FC Cincinnati Allianz Field
07/03 Minnesota United Vs. San Jose Earthquakes Allianz Field
07/06 Minnesota United at Montreal Impact Saputo Stadium
07/13 Minnesota United vs. FC Dallas Allianz Field
07/20 Minnesota United at Real Salt Lake Rio Tinto Stadium
07/27 Minnesota United vs. Vancouver Whitecaps Allianz Field
08/04 Minnesota United vs. Portland Timbers Allianz Field
08/10 Minnesota United at FC Dallas Toyota Stadium
08/14 Minnesota United vs. Colorado Rapids Allianz Field
08/17 Minnesota United vs. Orlando SC Allianz Field
08/22 Minnesota United at Sporting Kansas City Children’s Mercy
09/01 Minnesota United at LAFC Banc of California Stadium
09/11 Minnesota United at Houston Dynamo BBVA Compass Stadium
09/15 Minnesota United vs. Real Salt Lake Allianz Field
09/22 Minnesota United at Portland Timbers Providence Park
09/25 Minnesota United vs. Sporting Kansas City Allianz Field
09/29 Minnesota United vs. LAFC Allianz Field
10/06 Minnesota United at Seattle Sounders CenturyLink Field
The Loons finally have a new roost they can call their own home—
Major League Soccer becomes a true reality in the Twin Cities as Minnesota United FC is about to debut their brand-new soccer-specific stadium, Allianz Field in St. Paul.
The team’s home opener is not until April 13 vs. NYCFC , but we got an early look at the gleaming new facility. On October 23, 2015, team owners announced that the team would build a new privately-funded stadium on the thirty-five acre Midway area that mostly housed a former city bus barn.
Kansas City-based Populous was to design the stadium with Mortensen Construction hired as part of the stadium construction along with Populous. Mortensen also recently built U.S. Bank Stadium and worked with Populous on three other main Twin Cities sports stadiums: Target Field, TCF Bank Stadium, and Xcel Energy Center.
The stadium is ring-shaped with seating for 19,400, expected to grow to 24,474 with a future expansion. A glass-like polymer mesh oval exterior gives the outside a sleek facade and it is open air. Color-changing LEDs light the exterior mesh, similar to Allianz Arena in Munich and MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
Major construction on the site began in June 2017 and construction on the stadium was completed on February 27, 2019, after 20 months of work. Final cost was $250 million with the field being natural grass and measuring 120 x 75 yards.
Additionally, the US Men’s national soccer team‘s opening game of the 2019 Gold Cup will be held at Allianz Field on June 18.
Some facts:
Design Features:
88,000 square feet of translucent PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) stadium skin
1,700 emotive LED lights embedded into the exterior
360-degree canopy
Electronic playing surface heating
Street level design with exterior materials Minnesota-sourced Mesabi Black granite, metal panel, textured concrete and glass
Sustainably-designed to minimize environmental impact
Fan Amenities:
125 feet separate the back row and 15 feet from the first row to the pitch
17 different types of seat and service offerings
One of three current MLS safe-standing sections, featuring a 2,920-seat, pyramid-shaped supporters’ section
Four premium hospitality clubs
2,300-square-foot retail store
Bike parking for 400 bikes
ADA & companion capacity: 280
Technology:
22×116′ videoboard
Distributed antenna system for enhanced cell phone coverage
High-density wifi for mobile device coverage
Landscape Design:
28,000-square-foot great lawn acts as the stadium’s front yard and year-round green space
Projected 2 million gallons of rainwater recycled each year
Native trees strategically placed to maximize shade
The Good and The Bad:
At first visit (the field was not painted and still being worked on, among other things), this is an impressive world-class facility and surprisingly intimate for being a 20,000 seat stadium. Hopefully, concerts and other public events will eventually be hosted here.
A Brew Hall is located just inside the main entrance and plans to be open year-round, with a giant selection of on-tap choices and upgraded bar-style food. However, $6 bottled water and most beers priced in the $10-13 range, make this an eat-and-drink-before-you-go destination for a lot of us.
Sightlines are generally good and every seat seems like a reasonably wide and unobstructed view.
Tickets will probably be scarce for this first season in the new stadium, as everyone is curious and wants to experience a match there early on.
Parking is very limited on-site and in the immediate area- highly suggest taking light rail (which stops just across the street), or Uber/Lyft/taxi, to save any grief and exorbitant expected parking costs.
The team is still finding its way as far as being truly competitive, finishing 9th in its conference and 17th overall last season, and its owner has had some dubious history but having a brand-new impressive stadium, may change some things for the better.
Allianz Field is a winner (mostly), we’ll have to see how much the team
itself can be during this season.
(click on any photo below to enlarge and see full image)
