June 29, 2013
PPL Park (Capacity: 18,500)
Chester, PA
Philadelphia Union vs FC Dallas
Final Score: 2 – 2
* The stadium was renamed Subaru Stadium
** The stadium was revisited for a game on June 6, 2015
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As MLS continued to grow and expand during the 2000s, it became apparent for the need of soccer in the country’s fifth largest city. Thanks in part to efforts from a dedicated fan base and a supporters group already in place, the Philadelphia Union were born in 2008 and began play two years later. Terrific detail went into the team nickname, colors and logo as the squad made sure to emphasize the city’s history. Despite Philadelphia being the focus, their home stadium was built in Chester, a city of 33,000 along the Delaware River ten miles to the southwest of Philly. The site of a former shipyard, I found Chester to be a decayed and depressed city with boarded-up buildings and uninviting areas. The Union made the playoffs in their second year (a loss to Houston). PPL Park also arrived in 2010 and it is a terrific soccer-specific stadium, an impeccably clean venue with a backdrop that is unmatched in MLS.
Prestige Ranking: 4.5 out of 5
Location
Chester is a place just to drive right thru and head to the game. With the exception of a smoky Harrah’s Racino, there’s really nothing to see here. Same goes for the area near the park, where a planned urban renewal project is absent with little near the stadium (the lone exception is the renovated historic power plant building, now used as office space). More on the scenic nearby riverfront and bridge later. Philly is about a half an hour away.
Location Ranking: 2.5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Road infrastructure was changed to create an exit for the stadium off of US-322, which is a minute away from I-95. The Commodore Barry Bridge brings in people from New Jersey. While both official stadium lots and surrounding cheaper private areas provide enough parking to satisfy capacity, it can be a struggle to find the best lot for price and traffic flow. As fans tailgate well before the game incoming traffic is not horrible, while the departure is a mixed bag as some personnel and police help to exit traffic. A few unlucky lots will suffer a painstaking 30-45 minutes to reach US-322. Given the relatively new stadium construction, I was surprised they didn’t pave some of the PPL lots. There is public transit, but the situation is not particularly ideal as fans have to use a shuttle to and from the Chester Transportation Center, which is on the Newark/Wilmington line of SEPTA regional rail (about 25 minutes from Center City).
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 5.5 out of 8
Exterior
With little to work with from mainland Chester, designers took full advantage of their terrific location on the Delaware River and underneath the Commodore Barry Bridge. Views are prominent while walking up to the stadium, along with newly created benches and walkways along the river to beautify the area. They also added a lot of greenspace, where fans can play soccer, eat, hang out or walk to music along the Fan Zone. The exterior of the building features many logos and player pictures to go along with team color paint, while the material used is mostly red brick. A lighter colored stone (something I would like to see more of) is also used at the main front entrance, which has a good look and includes the stadium name logo. The whole picture is a little convoluted but still a decent exterior.
Exterior Ranking: 7 out of 10
Concourse
The concourse still has a newness to it with clean floors and relatively fresh-painted walls, which are in varying light colors, not just those of the Union’s. Sitting right at field/ground level, the concourse goes around the entire stadium and is enclosed and covered by the seating above. It is more narrow than you would expect for the stadium footprint and it gets quite congested at halftime. Opening things up at the goal ends would have helped. Bathrooms also were not smartly set-up, as they had one door for in and out. Philadelphian’s just could not grasp that concept.
Concourse Ranking: 2.5 out of 5
Food
Food is pretty good with the options plentiful. The “Philly” stand specializes in cheese steaks and I had one that was big and good (there were four other types including the standard). Along with variations on the hot dog and burger, I also saw different types of Mac & Cheese, including one in bite form with lobster cream sauce. Local favorite Chickies and Pete’s were on hand, as was Turkey Hill ice cream and soft pretzels with a Union twist. They even threw Jersey a bone by offering Pork Roll and Cheese. Lastly was a barbeque stand featuring pulled pork and brisket. Beer came in several varieties, including nearby Victory and Dogfish Head.
Food Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Interior
By far the best part of the experience is the one that matters most in my eyes, the inside design. As the bridge towers over the east side of the stadium with the river visibly passing underneath, fans are treated to a spectacular setting. The west stands feature the best view, most shade and a look across to the other stands that spell out “Union” in white, outlined by gold. The rest of the blue seating bowl is in a block O shape, with the exception of the river end, where there is a little gap between the end seats and main bowl. This is where the supporters reside and light blue bucket seats are there for the rare time they do sit down. The Stadium is very intimate with seats remarkably close to the pitch and in fact there are field level seats that are right near the sideline. A high canopy extends over much of the sideline, while underneath and above the sitting sections are suites. On the west side, an open-air (but still covered) party deck sandwiches the middle two-level box which includes suites and press. There is also a building above the north end which contains a club restaurant. Only the lack of an upper-deck and a wide front-row for specialty chairs (not the bowl), hinder this stadium.
Interior Ranking: 12.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
The scoreboard above the north end is completely comprised of video and the screen is very sharp, though not overly large. That may have been done so as not to block the beginning skyway of Route 322 which leads into the bridge. Two large ads flank both sides of the video, which would be better if the video size increased and replaced those dumb ads. During the game, operators will put a small display of the score and time above the video, while ribbon boards on the walls of the sideline suites include the same. I would have liked to seen more replays during the game, but maybe MLS restricts them. Above the main scoreboard are the letterings for PPL Park, which sit on a white, bridge-like arc.
Scoreboard Ranking: 3 out of 4
Displays
I always wish to give a franchise time to establish itself before grading displays, but sometimes that is not always feasible. Teams can get creative by highlighting moments from the start-up or a city’s sport history, but the Union don’t do that much. The lack of displays doesn’t take away from the park though as the wall colorings brighten things up. The lone display I did see was a good one: framed jerseys for all of the high school soccer teams in the region.
Displays Ranking: 2 out of 6
Cost
The secondary prices are what really hamper PPL Park as parking and concession prices are almost worse than the tickets. It costs $20 to park, which is ridiculous and the team tries to play the safety card on their website by steering you to their lots. An alternative is the scattered private parking spots that can be found in Chester either closer or within the same distance as the stadium. These can be had for $10. Food prices are terrible too with $5 hot dogs, $5 peanuts and $9.50 for a large draft beer (bottles are $7.50). At least ticket prices aren’t bad as they are $25 (ends), $30 (corner), $40 (sidelines) or $50 (middle three sections). These are slightly cheaper than East Coast foes DC and NYRB but a bit more expensive than the average league price.
Cost Ranking: 5.5 out of 8
Fan Support
Sellouts were frequent throughout the first couple years, though attendance has dropped a bit lately. Aside from Cup games, contests with weather issues and games going against other local pro sports, PPL Park is mainly packed. I would estimate a crowd of about 15,000 for the first game I went to. In their first playoff game a few years back, the team drew an over-capacity crowd of 18,539. When I returned in 2015, there was a noticeable drop in attendance. Open rows were aplenty if it was not a mid-Summer Saturday Night game. I know it would be tough for the support to continue past the initial honeymoon phase. This is especially true given that the team is #5 behind Philly’s sporting pecking order. I still think there is staying power though given the local passion and am curious to see how it looks down the road.
Fan Support Ranking: 6 out of 8
Atmosphere
The Sons of Ben support group fills up a good chunk of the River End. They do a nice job of keeping the noise going thru the game and some favorite songs/chants include “Come on the U”, “Four Leaf Clover” (sung at the 20:10 mark for their inaugural year), “Just Can’t Get Enough” and “Philadelphia”. The latter two get the rest of the crowd clapping and the other fans are excellent. Most can be seen wearing Union apparel and these fans are attentively into their team. Knowledgeable and passionate, several times they got on their feet throughout the match. Encouraging beckons take place throughout the match and the roar of a goal is something special as the crowd claps and chants along afterwards to their celebratory “Doop” song.
Atmosphere Ranking: 10.5 out of 14
Other Stuff
I mentioned the attention put into the team fabric and all of it honors Philadelphia’s rich history. The nickname refers to the “Union” of the 13 colonies when the city became capital of the United States in the 1700s. Additionally, the team’s kit would be my favorite in the league if they didn’t have that silly “Bimbo” sponsor with clashing colors on the front…..This was the first tie game I have seen in 136 stadium visits…..Another first for me: I had a media credential which allowed me to sit in the Press Box. I’ve always wanted to be with the fans in the seating bowl and this solidified that feeling as I did not particularly enjoy being stuck up in the box…..Despite a schedule start of 5:30 PM, the game began at 5:55 PM. Not sure what the issues was…..The crowd sang the National Anthem, but the Sons of Ben were quite off making for a very strange version.
Game (Initial Visit)
The game was thrilling, but not one that ended well for the home side as boos reigned down from people familiar with supplying them. The Union struck first as a long throw in from Sheanon Williams was headed home by Amobi Okugo in the 20th minute. FC Dallas had the equalizer a few minutes later and they went to the break 1-1. In the 68th minute, JeVaughn Watson was sent off and Philly spent the late minutes trying to win. Finally, a cross was finished off by sub Aaron Wheeler and the Union were poised to win with just minutes left. In the 90th minute, FC Dallas was pressing and Williams cleared the line to save the game. It wasn’t until I got home that I saw the replay and it looked to have been a goal. It wasn’t over however as in the dying moments, Dallas was awarded a free kick from midfield. Goalie Zac MacMath attempted a catch on the long ball, lost control and the scramble went Blas Perez’s way who tied the game remarkably in the 95th minute. The Union had one more chance at the end, but failed and the game ended in a 2-2 tie that felt like a loss.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
