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Stade Saputo set for MLS debut

Montreal Impact

MLS's newest soccer-specific stadium is about to be unveiled.

The Montreal Impact are on the brink of officially opening the doors to a renovated Stade Saputo tonight when they host the Seattle Sounders. The stadium can hold more than 20,000 spectators, and each seat is likely to be filled on what should be a memorable night for Montreal fans.

There were concerns as recent as a few weeks ago about the stadium not opening on time due to the field not being laid, but those fears were put to rest after Impact players gave the grass field that was recently inserted positive reviews following a visit to the stadium earlier this week.

Stade Saputo, which now has a roof to make for a more intimate setting, may be opening but it is not yet fully complete. The club, which has played its first six home games of the season at Olympic Stadium, has stated that an additional 910 seats will be added after Stade Saputo reopens on Saturday night.

Still, Saturday should be a great night for everyone involved with the expansion club and MLS. Stade Saputo will be the second soccer-specific stadium to open this season (the Houston Dynamo's BBVA Compass Stadium is the other) and that is just the latest bit of progress for the growing sport and league.

How excited are you by the opening of Stade Saputo? Impressed by it being finished on time? Think the Impact can get a result against the Sounders?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. They are built to expand and we’ll see how that progresses — though the multimillion debt load surely affects how soon one can respond to capacity issues — but with Seattle netting 30K plus, LA with a high 20s capacity in a SSS, and many big games getting in the 20s across the board, I don’t know how 20K-ish is either “ideal” or “perfect for ambience.” Seattle pretty well kicks that notion’s butt.

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  2. MBA malarkey just like people should pay more for subprime mortgages (we all know how that worked out). I see it as artificially “filling the venue for TV,” yes, but also as artificial ticket scarcity. What if 30K only wanted to come see Beckham’s visit, and aren’t “elastic” where they shift over to the next game? What if I want to see the playoff games, or, for example, today’s sold out Houston-FCD contest? Every game is not as good as the next, I have tickets, my interested colleagues at work are stuck fishing for resales.

    I think it’s intended to justify a “full stadium” premium from season to season as opposed to the sort of “if it’s scarce I want to go” bull the MBAs pronounce, particularly if you’re talking about savvy fans who know exactly what they want to see.

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  3. Bcause then you have empty sections that look bad on TV, and more importantly, it decreases demand for tickets, which in turn decreases the buzz in town about the team Everyone wants the hard to get ticket, a d smaller stadiums are proving to have fantastic atmospheres for games.

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