The top 10 Major League Soccer stadiums to visit

In my 20 years covering Major League Soccer, I’ve had the privilege of seeing the sport grow in all kinds of ways. One has involved bricks and mortar: the construction of amazing new soccer stadiums across the United States and Canada.

Here are 10 of my favorite venues I’ve been to. They’re just about ranked in order, though I probably could have had a lot of ties along the way.

I easily could have gone with Seattle or Atlanta’s NFL stadiums here, with their glitzy architecture and huge crowds. They both have great downtown locations, too. But I give Vancouver the edge here for practical and sentimental reasons.

Start with the curtain setup that hides the upper deck during Whitecaps games, making the atmosphere feel more intimate whether the retractable roof is open or closed. Though the modern-day Whitecaps often have been subpar (on the field and in the front office), the city’s passion for the sport means that any time the team is good, fans flock to watch.

Then there’s the fact that you can take not just the subway to the stadium, but a boat: the little ferries that cross False Creek from Granville Island’s great restaurants. There also are many bars next to the stadium’s north side.

And if you get there early enough, you might hear the echoes of the tens of thousands of U.S. national team fans who flooded Vancouver in 2015 to watch Carli Lloyd carry the country to a women’s World Cup title.

Not many soccer stadiums show themselves off as well on TV as they do in person. This one does. It’s big, bold, very green, and very loud. Though it’s not near Austin’s downtown, it’s easy to get to. And as you’d expect from a culinary hotbed, the food is elite: tacos, barbecue, local beers, and more.

It’s three miles south of downtown’s country music shrines, and the trip can be a little frustrating. The parking situation isn’t ideal, and there’s no public transit. But the stadium itself is spectacular: brightly colored, atmospheric, and full of great food. It’s also impressively compact for having 30,000 seats.

(Stadiums with good public transit get high marks here. But if you’re a Union fan reading this, you know how much Subaru Park is missing it.)

» READ MORE: The Union's Mikael Uhre scored the first goal at GEODIS Park

If you’ve ever known Cincinnati only for the Reds and the Bengals, you’re in for a surprise. Things are different now in the Queen City, and this 26,000-seat futuristic steel fortress is why.

Walk through downtown and across picturesque Washington Park to get there and spend the pregame in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood’s bars. Walk a few more blocks to get to Findlay Market, the city’s equivalent of Reading Terminal. Then watch the light show on the stadium’s exterior beams as the sun sets, and head inside for a game.

Head south out of downtown Salt Lake City, and the skyscrapers turn from buildings to mountains. The Wasatch range serves as a stunning backdrop to this 20,000-seat venue. While it’s not the biggest city, being in a smaller market creates a real community feel among the RSL fans. The NWSL’s Utah Royals will return to action there next year after a four-year hiatus.

» READ MORE: The Sixers’ Daryl Morey and David Blitzer helped bring the NWSL back to Salt Lake City

It’s a house of horrors for Union fans, but it’s also a gorgeous stadium. Nestled in Exhibition Park next to the famed Coliseum, LAFC’s home has all kinds of glitzy touches for the Hollywood stars in its suites — there’s even a pool by one of the bars.

But you don’t have to be a celebrity to feel welcome there. All the seats have great views, whether from the raucous “3252″ supporters’ end or the other side that looks toward the L.A. skyline. There are roofs over the stands, too, to trap the noise and ease the summer heat.

MLS’s newest home shot straight up the charts when the league’s newest team kicked off this year. It’s got 22,500-seats, a lot of them close to the field, and a flat roof traps the noise. The stadium is on the western edge of downtown, with public transit and lots of bars nearby, and a view of the Gateway Arch from some of the stands.

The clincher is St. Louis’ century of American soccer history, producing legendary players from Harry Keough and Frank Borghi to Tim Ream and Becky Sauerbrunn. Few American cities can match that, and the team and the stadium aren’t shy about celebrating it. As they should.

If you’ve been there only for Union road games in recent years, you’ve noticed the thousands of empty seats all around you. Union goals have been greeted by cheers so loud that they’ve drowned out the home crowd.

There’s no doubt that the Red Bulls have been mediocre in recent years. Their fans will be the first to tell you. Until they get good again, to really feel the place, go when the U.S. women’s team plays there. They’ve sold out their last six visits to the 25,500-seat venue.

As last November’s 2-1 comeback win over Germany showed, when those fans show up, it feels like the whole stadium is leaning in on you — and the noise is deafening. Thirteen years after Red Bull Arena brought new life to a then-lowly North Jersey train station, it’s still elite.

When it comes to the league’s most authentic atmosphere and history, there’s only one choice. There has been a stadium at SW 18th and Morrison Streets for nearly a century, and soccer has been played there for almost the entire time.

The stands are packed for every game, especially in the horseshoe-shaped end zone that used to be the base of a baseball diamond. Now it’s a soccer-only shrine, and the new east-side stand is a towering monument to the sport’s popularity in the Rose City.

It’s boisterous, even when the fans are protesting owner Merritt Paulson — which they’re never shy about doing. But when Cascadia Cup rivals from Seattle and Vancouver visit, the atmosphere goes up another level. And be sure to go to a Thorns NWSL game while you’re in town. No other club team in women’s soccer has a fan base as big, passionate, and loyal.

» READ MORE: A history of soccer in Soccer City, USA

Step off the light rail at Snelling Avenue, and it looks like a Star Wars ship landed in a parking lot. Walk in the gates, and you immediately see something special.

The 2,920-capacity, standing-only “Wonderwall” supporters’ section brings the noise, and the hand-operated scoreboard above a beer hall across the field brings the charm. And the fact that each side of the stands looks different adds bonus points.

» READ MORE: Carli Lloyd played her last U.S. national team game at Allianz Field

The top place I haven’t been to yet is Columbus’ new Lower.com Field. I’ve heard it’s great. And the top place I’ll never get to again is Washington’s old RFK Stadium, a fortress of a building. I grew up there, and, like generations of fans, learned to love soccer in the lower deck’s bouncing bleachers. It was falling apart for years and will be demolished soon. But in its heyday, it was home to D.C. United, the U.S. national teams, and Johan Cruyff’s NASL-era Washington Diplomats.