Tonight the U.S. Nation Team takes on Trinidad & Tobago at LP Field in Nashville.
Almost 20,000 tickets have been sold for the match, and a strong walk-up crowd is expected.
If things go well, and game time demand is strong, there could be as many as 26,000 thousand people in the stands, most of the cheering on the Americans in their quest for another World Cup berth.
26,000 is a great number for a sport that gets no mainstream love. It's great for a qualifier taking place in a town with no professional soccer franchise. It's great for a match against an opponent that lacks built-in rivalry, as exists with Mexico.
But it's not so great when the stadium in which the match is taking place holds 68,000 people. It's not great when the venue will be more than sixty percent empty. It's not great when the atmosphere those 26,000 might produce is sucked away by 42,000 unoccupied seats.
More after the jump.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there are any answers, or that US Soccer completely fouled up by placing the match in Nashville. I realize that many factors go into the selection of the sites for these matches, and that stadium capacity is perhaps the least of concerns. But shouldn't a nation like the U.S., one without a overwhelming soccer history or guarantee of fan support, take advantage of smaller venues that might maximize the passion those fans who do buy tickets have to offer?
The hexagonal home date with Mexico was placed in Columbus for many reasons, not the least of which involved American fans, and the ability to fill that stadium to the brim. Financial concerns we seemingly left at the door, as the USSF obviously placed greater importance on creating the most advantageous environment possible for the Americans.
Apparently those concerns don't apply for "lowly" Trinidad & Tobago. Instead of a venue like Crew Stadium, one with the proper capacity for the level of interest, the powers-that-be have instead seen fit to bow to those same financial concerns they so rightly ignored the first time around by choosing a massive stadium that was never in danger of being filled.
I wish I was in Nashville, and I'm sure that those fans that are attending the game won't care a lick about all of those empty seats. But for those of us watching on TV, and for the players on the pitch who deserve to be properly supported by a full stadium, the choice of LP Field is a supreme disappointment.
Just as an addendum here, I want to make a note about the stadium situation as it exists in the U.S.:
MLS is focusing efforts on building soccer-specific stadiums that are correctly sized for the league. That's a good thing, though it means that none of those stadiums are likely to seat more than 25,000 people or so (with a few exceptions).
This means that the National Team is limited to these smaller venues, or must play in over sized stadiums. Though they might generate enough interest in some cities to sell out a 30-40k seat stadium, there a very few that are that size, in a reasonable soccer market, and have a field that could be configured for soccer (without being a joke, that is). In fact, there may be none
I encourage you to look at this wikipedia list of American stadiums with capacities of 30k+ and find one between 30,000 and 40,000 that makes sense as a potential USMNT venue. I know I couldn't find one.
In a better economic climate, I might even suggest that USSF find a way to convince a city to build a National Stadium. I know that it wouldn't be too popular with a lot of fans who like the rotation policy, but it might finally give our team the type of atmosphere they both deserve and need.
