Why do American and European stadiums look so different?
Soccer 101
TSS
4.9 • 822 Ratings
🗓️ 20 November 2025
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Why do American sports teams constantly build shiny new stadiums while many European clubs play in the same grounds that their supporters grandparents' attended? In this episode, we dig into the cultural, economic, and fan-experience factors that explain why stadium life looks so different on each side of the Atlantic. We explore whether U.S. fans secretly wish their venues had more European-style permanence, why European clubs are suddenly embracing American design trends, and what’s driving the wave of mega-renovations across the continent.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome everybody to Soccer 101. My name is Taylor Rockwell, and we've got a good, if offbeat one for you this week. |
| 0:22.6 | Today's episode dives into one of soccer's biggest off-field contrast, why American sports teams treat stadiums like smartphones, constantly upgrading, renovating, and rebuilding, while many European clubs hang on to their historic grounds. |
| 0:34.8 | For generations, we'll get to the cultural differences behind that divide. |
| 0:38.7 | Try to figure out whether fans on either side would like to swap approaches. And we'll look at how |
| 0:43.3 | stadiums are trending in different directions is Europe borrowing ideas from American arenas, |
| 0:48.7 | thinking mega projects like the new Berda Bao, Barcelona's Camp New Rebuild, Tottenham's NFL-friendly spaceship, the Etteyes expansion, Old Trafford's Looming Overhaul, the Will They Won't They of the San Siro Project, many, many, many Stadia projects to get to Graham. |
| 1:03.8 | A thing that, as I understand it, is something you quite enjoy. |
| 1:08.0 | I do indeed. Just first of all, the European fan sounds a lot like my dad who likes to |
| 1:11.6 | pretend that his phone, which is like a 20-year-old Motorola, it works perfectly in 2025. There's |
| 1:17.7 | nothing wrong with that screen as he can't read the messages on it because it's smashed to smithereens. |
| 1:24.6 | Oh, it's not even the small print print it's that it's actually smashed. |
| 1:28.9 | No, it's completely smashed. |
| 1:31.1 | Like buttons are taped on. |
| 1:32.6 | It is unreal. |
| 1:34.6 | But yes, it sounds a lot like my dad. |
| 1:38.2 | This is a bit of a specialist interest for me. Just in general, I find stadiums, football stadiums, fascinating as environments to visit, to go in person. I try and |
| 1:46.1 | tick off as many stadiums as I can. I am one away from completing the 42 in Scotland. I've |
| 1:52.3 | been to a whole bunch in England as well and I've been fortunate enough to go to a bunch in the US |
| 1:56.7 | and throughout Europe as well. So very much something I'm interested in, but also just like reading about stadiums, |
| 2:03.5 | stadium redevelopment projects. |
| 2:05.2 | I find that interesting as well. |
| 2:06.5 | I've got a bunch of sort of coffee table books around the house, |
... |
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