July 14, 2012
Providence Park (Capacity: 18,086)
Commerce City, CO
Colorado Rapids vs FC Dallas
Final Score: 1 – 2
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Our vacation to Colorado began with some time spent in the Denver area. All five major pro sports leagues have a team playing here and we started with a visit to see the Colorado Rapids of the MLS. They actually don’t play in Denver, but rather in Commerce City, a mixed residential and industrial suburb about 15 minutes to the northeast. The town has not always been home to the Rapids, as this original MLS team first played in the Broncos’ football stadium before moving to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in 2007. Colorado has perpetually been a .500ish team, however in 2010 they made a terrific run and won the MLS Cup (they were also finalists in 1999, along with being US Open Cup finalist that year). DSG Park has made a nice home for the Rapids and while the atmosphere could be improved, the inside and especially the concourses of the stadium are pretty good.
Prestige Ranking: 3 out of 5
Location
There is not much to do in Commerce City, especially around the DSG Park complex, as it takes up a whopping 66 acres. Just north of the complex is the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, which houses a National Wildlife Refuge. Visitors can hike and watch wildlife, otherwise the area helps to make up the prairie like scenery around the stadium. On the plus side, Denver has the usual big city offerings and driving around the area is straight-forward. Downtown is a 20 minute drive, depending on time of day.
Location Ranking: 3.5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Getting to DSG Park is very simple as Quebec Street is right off of both I-70 and I-270. There are three entrances into the complex and parking surrounds it, so no problem there. The multitude of exits help to pretty much eliminate any traffic issues. It only gets a little dicey for those leaving to get back to I-70 West as there is not a lot of time to get over with another street merging in from the right. Public Transit is the only piece missing.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Exterior
The main entrance is somewhat small and outlined by light gray walls with occasional glass windows. A stadium name sits atop the entranceway with the “Dick’s” logo and “Sporting Goods Park” following that. Fans can also see the unique roof as they approach (more on the roof later). The other three sides feature gates, however the design is understated and not really built up.
Exterior Ranking: 6 out of 10
Concourse
Concourses are great here as they are wide and easy to maneuver. Right past the main entrance is the concourse with seating and the pitch below. Throughout the entire way is an open view of the field along with plenty of places to stand and watch the game. The ends are open, with one of those ends having a nice bridge-like elevated walkway that provides a decent view. Each sideline is covered, but they differ in feel and design.
Concourse Ranking: 5 out of 5
Food
A decent array of food options grace the menu here. The most popular item that I saw was the Nachos Deluxe Platter, which was absolutely loaded. Alongside the usuals, beef cheese steaks, pulled pork and Margo’s Pizza were available. One stand had all donuts, which were quite tempting. Even more impressive was the alcohol selection as it wasn’t just beer. Mixed drinks, wine, cider, even shots of liquor should fulfill anyone’s drinking needs. Beer selection was varied and highlighted by nearby Coors. The stadium does also have its own restaurant as the Cantina is nicely decorated, complete with TVs, bar and full menu. It’s open for all before, during and after games.
Food Ranking: 6.5 out of 8
Interior
Dick’s Sporting Goods Park has one level of seating that is U-shaped with the corners angled towards the field. The open end feels a bit cheapened in that there are just two sections of standalone bleachers, followed by a lot of open space. A building for the locker rooms lies behind the open space. Seats are bleachered in the corners before getting to regular gray-colored chairbacks for most of the sidelines. In the two-level box above the West sidelines are the 21 luxury suites and press box. Above that is the stadium’s signature: a multi-paneled roof that waves and follows slightly different paths. I wasn’t a fan, but after learning that the roof was designed like that to emulate tectonic plates and the flow of the Rocky Mountains, I can appreciate it a bit more. One prominent soccer feature that I do love is the spelling of the team name in the seats, which is done here as Colorado is done in white on both sides. Much of the stadium is closed off from an outside view, but in the east corners, the Rockies can be seen way in the distance.
Interior Ranking: 8.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
The scoreboard on the south end has a parallelogram shape with a green background. A clear video screen takes up most of the board and during the game is split into score/game info and video replays. Ads surround the screen and at the top is the stadium name. A much smaller scoreboard is located at the south end. Partial dot matrix boards are located above the seating on all four sides.
Scoreboard Ranking: 3 out of 4
Displays
The Rapids start off on the right foot as most teams should follow what they do. Just past the main entrance and before turning in to the concourse is a large space with a display featuring three trophies. In the center, is the highlight as the beautiful 2010 MLS Cup shines. With team pictures in the background and a story on the window of their championship, this is a great intro to the franchise and stadium. Other displays inside are mostly on the south end wall, where along with a small MLS Cup Champions banner is the Gallery of Honor. Four players, including US National Marcelo Balboa are featured and I’m sure current long-time stars Maestroeni, Casey and Cummings will be up there in the future.
Displays Ranking: 4 out of 6
Cost
Tickets range from $22 to $45 which is quite reasonable. Don’t cheap out like I did and go for the lower-priced corners. The midfield seats are worth the $10 – $20 increase in price. It’s not impossible to move to better seats, but it’s risky, especially with the ushers keeping a close eye. Much appreciated is that the parking fee is included in the ticket price, so you don’t even see that charge. Concessions are moderately high with a “stadium” dog going for $4.50, a bottled water at $3.50 and a domestic draft at a pricey $7.
Cost Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Fan Support
The crowd filled about half the stadium on a mid-summer Saturday Evening and they were quite slow to arrive. People casually came in from the first whistle to the 25th minute (and difficulties getting to the game can’t be an excuse here). Then through the match, many fans got up and down for concessions, which was very distracting trying to watch the game. I thought it might be because of my cheap seat, but even watching the middle sections this happened to a lesser extent. Regarding attendance rank when comparing the rest of the MLS, Colorado has been in the lower half of the table. Their playoff games in 2011 also drew a paltry 16,404 combined over two games, which was smaller than three other teams had in one game.
Fan Support Ranking: 3 out of 8
Atmosphere
With visits to MLS stadiums, I always hope for a loud, boisterous and great atmosphere. Unfortunately, I walked away disappointed here. The whole vibe felt more minor league baseball than professional soccer. Fans did get into it at least on set pieces as a few stood and clapped, while a good majority stood and celebrated after a Rapids goal as a cannon goes off. The main supporters clubs for Colorado are the PID Army and Bulldog Supporters Club. They didn’t arrive until about 15 minutes before the start of the game and only consisted of a handful as they filled maybe a third of the small end zone bleachers. Constant chanting though was maintained which was good to see and such popular songs included “Glory Glory Colorado”.
Atmosphere Ranking: 5.5 out of 14
Other Stuff
DSG Park is the largest soccer complex in the country as there is an astounding 24 soccer fields to go along with the main stadium…..The Rapids’ main rival is Real Salt Lake and the winner of the season series between them is for the Rocky Mountain Cup. This is one of the more heated rivalries in MLS and since 2007 there have been some incidents on the field and even off it between the fans…..Drinking Fountains were warm inside the park, which was not enjoyable on a hot evening.
Game
It was a really good match that featured numerous chances in the first half for Colorado. They just couldn’t convert and were lucky to avoid a goal on Dallas’ only chance, which Brek Shea missed point blank. In the second half, Conor Casey found Omar Cummings streaking down the right side and he finished for a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately for the home side, shoddy defense led to a comeback by FC Dallas and Fabian Castrillo banged home a rebound in the 81st minute.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
