October 29, 2024
Georgia Soares/Sipa USA
The Philadelphia Union will create new premium club seats and two bars at Subaru Park next season.
The Philadelphia Union plan to increase premium seating at Subaru Park and open two bars at the soccer stadium in Chester in the coming year.
The MLS team's multimillion dollar expansion at the 18,500-seat stadium will boost capacity at what is currently one of the smallest venues in the league. Subaru Park opened along the Delaware River waterfront in 2010, when the Union were an expansion team.
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The stadium long operated with only one premium area, the 250-seat Primepoint Club at midfield that includes a buffet and full-service bar for members. In 2019, the Union opened the VIP Tunnel Club next to the team's locker room. That premium option seats up to 150 fans and offers exclusive game day experiences.
Mark Evans, the Union's vice president of season ticket and premium sales, told the Sports Business Journal the team sold out its premium options last year.
“(E)verything we’ve seen in the last few years in MLS is adding premium spaces," he said.
One of the new options will be nine on-field loge boxes that each have room for four to eight people, increasing the team's field level capacity to 76. These sections will have padded chairs, mini-fridges, in-seat service and TVs. Fans in the loge boxes will have access to a speakeasy-style bar called 2010 North that's behind a hidden door. That package will cost $5,800 per season.
Another premium option will be two rows of upgraded, cushioned seats at the opposite end of the stadium. Fans in these seats will have access to a new British-style pub called the Commodore, which is replacing an area now used for maintenance and storage. That part of the plan includes 152 more premium seats that will be sold for $5,000 per year.
The team also will add two suites on the stadium's deck overlooking the Delaware River and Commodore Barry Bridge. The suites will each have room for 30 people and will be ticketed for individual games. Pricing hasn't been set for these seats.
All three of the new options are expected to be finished by next spring. Evans said the team expects the additional club seating will generate about $1.2 million in new ticketing revenue. In addition to soccer matches, Subaru Park hosts concerts and other live entertainment with a larger capacity of 26,000.
The upgrades at Subaru Park are part of a larger investment the team has made in its campus along the waterfront. The Union are also building out the WSFS Bank Sportsplex, a $55 million project that covers 32 acres and includes indoor and outdoor athletic fields.
The team already has completed seven outdoor soccer fields, including some that will double as lacrosse and field hockey facilities. The indoor portion of the project, still in development, will have an indoor gym, two multi-sport courts and a performance center. The Sportsplex also will serve the Union's professional and academy teams, community organizations and Chester youth programs.
