Allianz Field is a soccer-specific stadium under construction in Saint Paul, Minnesota for Minnesota United FC of Major League Soccer. On October 23, 2015, team owners announced that Minnesota United would build a stadium on the 35-acre Saint Paul bus barn site. The proposed stadium will seat approximately 19,400, is to be completed in early 2019, and will be privately financed for $200 million.
On November 25, 2015, Minnesota United FC hired Kansas City-based Populous to design the stadium. On December 9, 2015, the team hired Mortensen Construction as part of the stadium construction along with Populous. Mortensen built U.S. Bank Stadium for the Minnesota Vikings in 2014-2016, and worked with Populous on three other Twin Cities sports facilities: Target Field, TCF Bank Stadium, and Xcel Energy Center.
On December 15, 2017, CEO of Minnesota United FC, Chris Wright announced that the stadium will open in March 2019.
Video Allianz Field
Site
The stadium is being built on a 35-acre (14 ha) site on the southeast corner of Snelling Avenue and University Avenue. The location is in Saint Paul's Midway neighborhood, halfway between Minneapolis and Saint Paul downtowns. The site is accessible by transit, through the immediately-adjacent Snelling Avenue Station served by both the METRO Green Line and the A Line. A city environmental assessment predicted in June 2016 that nearly a third of the attendees will arrive on the Green Line.
A masterplan has been drawn up for the redevelopment of the broad area, including the stadium site and adjacent properties owned by RK Midway. This may include building new hotel and office space and the redevelopment of the existing shopping center. The buildings occupied by Rainbow supermarket, Walgreens, Midway Pro Bowl and some adjoining spaces will be torn down. The masterplan calls for the redevelopment to be more pedestrian friendly, to accommodate large numbers of fans walking to and from the transit stations.
The southern half of the site was formerly a bus barn used by Metro Transit until it was demolished in 2002. It was later acquired by the Metropolitan Council, with help from the Federal Transit Administration, after a planned big-box store was not pursued. The stadium itself will primarily sit on this property.
Maps Allianz Field
Design
Stadium
The plans for the stadium include a ring-shaped stadium, with seating for approximately 19,400 in the first phase and 24,474 in a future expansion.
A glass-like polymer mesh oval exterior will provide the stadium with a sleek facade. With an overhang partially covering the field, the facade is expected to soften the noise towards the neighborhood.
Green space
The masterplan is pedestrian-oriented and designates 2.6 acres (1.1 ha) of outdoor gathering spaces. The stadium will be ringed by three grassy plazas and a fourth green space will be placed along University Avenue, near Snelling Avenue Station. Pascal Green will be on the east of the stadium; United Champion Plaza will be on the southwest corner; Victory Plaza will be on the north; and Midway Square will be north of Victory Plaza, along Snelling Avenue. Midway Square and Victory Plaza will express the north-south axis of the stadium.
These green spaces are planned to be progressively introduced in phases as property owner RK Midway waits for existing leases on its current tenants to end. However, the timeline of these phases has not been released to the city or the public, as of July 2016. The project drew criticism as the full realization of the masterplan could take many years.
Construction
The stadium was planned to break ground in June 2016, but was delayed while the team awaited a tax-exemption from the state, similar to ones granted to other recent stadium projects. Despite the stadium construction being privately funded, the franchise owners stated that the tax-exemption is needed for the project's viability.
In addition, because stadium construction would eliminate Rainbow Foods -- an anchor tenant in the Midway Shopping Center -- strip mall owner RK Midway of New York has faced lease complications with its smaller tenants. Industry analysts say intense competition between the grocery company SuperValu (which operates Rainbow within the strip mall) and rivals, primarily Hy-Vee, makes it unlikely that Rainbow will agree to terminate its lease early without a signed guarantee against a competitor moving into the shopping center.
A ceremonial groundbreaking was held on December 12, 2016, and was attended by MLS commissioner Don Garber. Major construction on the site began in June 2017 and is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2019 season. Steel erection began in November 2017 and construction reached a halfway milestone in late April 2018.
Names
On July 25, 2017, Allianz Life was announced as the sponsor for the new stadium. Allianz Life, a subsidiary of German company Allianz, is headquartered in nearby Golden Valley, Minnesota. It is one of eight sports facilities that it sponsor around the world by Allianz or its subsidiaries.
Due to the stadium's resemblance to the floating city on Bespin in the fictional Star Wars universe, the future Minnesota United FC Stadium has gained the nickname "Cloud City."
References
External links
- Official Site
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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