December 1, 2009 BUILDING A BEAT Atlanta WPS team announces stadium plans
By Charles Cuttone Executive Editor
Artist’s rendering of the Atlanta Beat Stadium Courtesy of Atlanta Beat
Major League Soccer has seen the financial fortunes of its teams turn with the construction of its own purpose build soccer stadiums. Now the fledgling Women’s Professional Soccer is getting into the act as well, with the announcement that the expansion Atlanta Beat will be constructing an $16.5 million, 8,300-seat soccer stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia in partnership with Kennesaw State University.
The stadium, located on a 21-acre parcel of land, lies between George Busbee Parkway and the I-575 overpass on Big Shanty Road. It will be home to both the Beat and the KSU Owls women’s soccer program.
“This stadium will be the only women’s soccer-specific stadium of its kind in the world,” said Beat Owner T. Fitz Johnson. “I think this partnership is a great match between KSU and the Atlanta Beat.”
The Beat, who will play their first season in WPS in 2010, hope to have the stadium ready in time for its inaugural season.
Funding for the facility is coming from an anonymous private donor, the KSU Foundation and from the Beat ownership.
“KSU was already going to build a soccer stadium for its program,” said Beat General Manager Shawn McGee. “We wanted to be a part of that.”
The Beat will manage the day to day operations of the stadium and hopes to be able to sell naming rights. Other events, including US National Team soccer games, the NCAA College Cup, international friendlies and concerts are part of the planned scheduling for the facility.
McGee says controlling its own stadium was an important part of the business equation for the Beat. “We think its vital,” said McGee, pointing to how important stadium development has been to the growth and financial success of MLS. “Look at what Lamar hunt did in Columbus. Once one of the dominoes fell, you had LA, Dallas, Denver, Real Salt Lake and of course next year Philadelphia and New York.”
The stadium will function primarily for soccer events with sideline, family section, on-field and suite level seating. However, it also accommodates up to 16,000 patrons as a concert venue.
“it’s very important that you are an entertainment company,” said McGee. You need to find other sources of revenue.”
The actual groundbreaking for the stadium took place in August, and work is already underway, but the various parties were not ready to announce the details until Tuesday.
McGee says the team is interested in host the WPS All Star Game next year, but has not made a final determination on whether it will submit a bid for it.
Two of the teams in the WPS play in MLS operated soccer stadiums, Chicago (Toyota Park) and Los Angeles (Home Depot Center), three play in college facilities Boston (Harvard Stadium), Sky Blue FC (Rutgers’ Yurcak Field) and Bay Area (Santa Clara’s Buck Shaw Stadium), while St. Louis (Soccer Park) and Washington (Maryland SoccerPlex) play in smaller community soccer facilities. The Philadelphia Independence, who like Atlanta begin play in 2010 have not announced where they will play next season.
Unlike MLS, the WPS does not have a league-wide blue print at this time for stadium development, but Atlanta’s commitment is potentially a first step in that direction.
“To have an owner with a vision for a new facility specifically to feature a WPS team is an exciting development for the Atlanta Beat and our league,” said WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci. “Compact, accessible and family-friendly stadiums with great atmospheres bring together key aspects of our league model and it’s fantastic to see that Atlanta will have the perfect stadium in place during its debut season.”
