Don Garber wants to expand Allianz Field after its debut
There's no doubt Allianz Field is a state-of-the-art stadium, but for the MLS Commissioner its capacity is still too low, and he's hoping for an expansion in the near future.
Allianz Field opened its doors to the world on Saturday, April 13 for the match between Minnesota United and New York City that ended in a 3-3 draw and although the fans were astonished by both the beauty of the sports venue and its technological capabilities, MLS Commissioner Don Garber, doesn't seem to be satisfied with one specific feature: its capacity.
The Commissioner made several compliments of the state-of-the-art stadium, but despite these, he seems less than pleased at the "little" number of fans the venue holds for professional United States league matches, saying he felt that it should be bigger than the 19,400 seats on offer.
"I wish the stadium wasn’t 19,000 and that it was 27,000 because I think at some point we are going to be thinking of how do we make the stadium bigger, I think we are going to be dealing with that in a number of different markets," Don Garber said.
With its current design Minnesota United's new home can only increase its capacity by approximately 6,000 seats, with an additional 1,500 or more in each of the four corners, but this would cost around 40 million dollars. But with venue only debuting this weekend it appears it's far too early to be discussing this possibility.
Minnesota's excellent assistance
The 'Loons' had one of the best five average attendances at TCF Bank Stadium last year, with a 23,902 per game, in its last game there, Minnesota United played in front of a 52,242 crowd.
At present Minnesota has 14,500 season-ticket holders with some 5,000 on the waiting list.