Red Bull Arena scheme reaches milestone
Construction work on a new 25,000-seat stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, US, which will provide a new home for New York Red Bulls, has reached a fresh milestone after the final piece of turf was laid.
The Red Bull Arena has been designed by Los Angeles-based Rossetti Architects to be more in line with soccer venues across the world. Supporters will be seated 21ft (6.4m) from the pitch, fully covered by a 120ft (36.6m) part-translucent roof. Hunter Roberts Construction Group was appointed by the club to build the stadium, which is located on a 12.34-acre (5-hectare) site and will also incorporate two retail stores, three stadium clubs and 65 permanent refreshment outlets, as well as media facilities.
The club's managing director, Erik Stover, said: "Installing the last piece of sod today marks the first step in what we hope will be the creation of the best playing surface in MLS. "We recognise that the best soccer facilities in the world have top-notch fields and, in building Red Bull Arena and installing our own pitch, we want to match those standards."
Red Bull has fully funded the construction of the Red Bull Arena, which is expected to open on 27 March 2010 ahead of the new Major League Soccer (MLS) season when New York Red Bulls host Chicago Fire.