Atlanta's New Stadium Taking Shape
by Allison Andrews, a-league.com Reporter

19.Mar.2004
The last few years have seen a small boom in soccer-specific facilities in the United States, with new soccer stadiums popping up in Columbus, Ohio; Charleston, South Carolina, Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Carson, California; with stadiums in Rochester, New York; Frisco, Texas; and Bridgeview, Illinois scheduled to open in the next few years.

A close-up of the model of the main stadium

But late in 2003, the A-League's Atlanta Silverbacks also announced that they would be building a new soccer stadium, an announcement that caught the soccer community, and many Atlanta soccer fans, somewhat by surprise. Because the stadium project is privately funded, the project had maintained a low profile. But by the time the project was announced, the stadium site was all ready for groundbreaking, which took place on October 16, 2003.

Located about 15 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta, the Atlanta Silverbacks Park site sits on the east side of the intersection of Interstate 85 and Interstate 285 (which is the perimeter highway around Atlanta), the site having been occupied by a drive-in movie theatre until seven or eight years ago. The site is easily visible from the I-85 and I-285 interchange. "650,000 cars a day pass by the stadium site every day," noted Silverbacks Ticket Sales Manager Kris Johnson, "so the site is perfect."

The Silverbacks offices

Director of Marketing and Event Management John Spear agreed. "While the sight of new soccer fields going up in Atlanta might not catch much attention," he said, referring to the in-progress Phase One of the project, "the sight of the new stadium will" said Spear, pointing to the higher ground where the stadium will sit once Phase Three is complete.

Phase One will involve the construction of three soccer fields, with two of them being Field Turf to not only allow the Silverbacks to practice on a surface that some A-League teams use in their home stadiums, but to also allow for additional parking for larger events at the stadium. The site has been leveled and the lighting has been installed in the past few weeks, with the fields scheduled to be put down sometime in April.

Construction on the stadium site, with the terrace for the main stadium visible in the distance

Phase Two will involve the team offices, clubhouse, restaurant, and tennis courts, which will be placed between the soccer fields on the lower terrace, and the main stadium which will sit about 20-30 feet higher than the lower fields.

Phase Three is the stadium itself, a 5,000 seat soccer stadium with natural grass. Similar in design to Charleston's Blackbaud Stadium, the stadium will allow room for later expansion, and the current plan is to have the stadium ready for the Silverbacks' 2005 home opener.

Looking ahead to the 2005 opening, Spear pointed out that they are also working to re-name the stadium's access road (currently called Northcrest Way) to Silverbacks Way.

I will be in Atlanta again in June when the Timbers make their first visit to Atlanta. I will post a follow-up article as to the progress on Silverbacks Park.

Special thanks to Kris Johnson and John Spear for giving me the tour, and to Muoi Chau for use of the digital camera while mine is in the shop.