1. Portland Timbers – Providence Park – Portland, OR
Capacity: 25,218
Opened: 1926
Pros: Atmosphere, original design, sightlines, location, covered seating, retrofitted to be soccer-specific
Cons: Artificial surface
Just because the Portland Timbers have played just one home match this year due to ongoing expansion of Providence Park doesn’t mean you’ve been forgotten about, Portland. Providence Park is the best stadium in MLS. Thanks to the Timbers Army, it’s always rocking. It has a unique design due to an incredibly diverse list of tenants over the years and the new stand looks unbelievable. While the supporter section isn’t safe-standing per se, it looks like it goes forever on match days. The ivy covering the outer facade of the building also adds to the mystique of the venue, giving it the old-world, established feel that a 93-year-old venue should have. The grand majority of the seats are covered to protect the fans from the wet climate of the Pacific Northwest and keep the flares from going out (unless they’re on the roof). In the best way possible, there is no other venue like it in MLS. Better than all of that, however, is Providence Park’s location. With easy highway, public transit and neighbourhood access, along with a plethora of watering holes and restaurants to choose from in the vicinity, Portland on a match day is an experience like no other.
Here’s to 93 more years of Providence Park, and Major League Soccer.