Final Project Stage 2 – Evan Murphy

My project will focus on the question; How has soccer as a sport grown throughout the United States as marked by the presence of soccer stadiums with over 10,000 in capacity? When did notable increases take place and what cities have created soccer specific stadiums? What other large stadiums are used to play soccer but not only soccer? Has the number of multi-purpose stadiums increased or reduced over time (a reduction would display more soccer specific stadiums)? For the purpose of this question, stadiums will be mapped going back to 1968, as that was the inaugural year of the NASL. For the purpose of this project only professional and semi professional stadiums will be considered. Professional and semi professional will include the NASL (1968-1984), APSL, USL Championship, MLS, A-League, USL League 1, USL League 2, NASL (2011-2017), NISA, and NWSL. Collegiate stadiums will not be included as the largest soccer specific collegiate stadium, Creighton’s Morrison Stadium, only seats 7,500. Stadiums that have hosted a match for the world cup in the past as well as stadiums that will host the 2024 Copa America in the US or the 2026 World Cup in the US will also be included. 

The project will be presented as many maps, one that focuses on soccer specific stadiums only and one that focuses on multi-purpose stadiums, as well as a map predating MLS from 1995 and before and one from 2024 that will display the growth of the beautiful game in the US by comparison. The project will also consider what parts of the country do not have a soccer specific stadium and what may have led to that absence. Understanding the growth of soccer in the United States over the past 30 years in specific can increase understanding of how the game may grow in the future.