The First Soccer-Specific Stadium in America

In 1922, a visionary tycoon evaded the law to build the first soccer stadium in the US, right in Rhode Island. This week, we look back at the spectacular story of that pioneering stadium, and prepare for the opening of a brand new one in Rhode Island over a century later. Plus, we examine the tragic case of the Maryland Mania, dive into Uma Thurman’s MLS movie, and much more.

This week’s stories:

• 🌀 The Tragic Maryland Mania

• 🍿 Uma Thurman’s MLS Movie

• 🏟️ The First Soccer-Specific Stadium in America

• 📈 Premier League Bound?

• 🗳️ Poll + Last Week’s Answers

• ➡️ And More

OUR HISTORY
The Tragic Maryland Mania

One of the worst teams of all time debuted on a day like today in 1999. I’m talking about the long-forgotten Maryland Mania from the A-League (2nd division in the US at the time).

They kicked off their season with a 2-0 loss against Raleigh Capital Express on April 29, 1999, and they wouldn’t stop losing until the end of the year. They finished with a 3-25 record and promptly folded.

Their disastrous campaign, though, was overshadowed by a series of tragic off-field events, including arrest warrants, dodgy investors, and the untimely passing of Justin Fashanu, a soccer star whose life and legacy were as complex as they were impactful.

ENTERTAINMENT
Uma Thurman’s MLS Movie

It’s Uma Thurman’s birthday today, making it the perfect occasion revisit the time she featured in a movie made for American soccer sickos + Hallmark rom-com enjoyers.

The film follows the story of George Dryer (Gerard Butler), a washed-up soccer player who once played for the likes for Celtic, Liverpool, and the mighty DC United. Now finding himself in a Virginia suburb, he winds up coaching a youth soccer team, aims to patch things up with his young son, and catches the eye of multiple soccer moms in the area—one of them played by the great Uma Thurman.

The movie name-drops Charlie Davies, Bill Hamid, and pulls every single rom-com trope imaginable. It’s a fever dream. Here’s a complete breakdown from Matchday Matinee.

COVER STORY
The First Soccer-Specific Stadium in America

It’s a special week in the Ocean State as Rhode Island FC gears up to open up their brand-new stadium this Saturday. But did you know, over 100 years ago, Rhode Island actually had the privilege of unveiling the first-ever soccer-specific stadium in the entire country?

It all came to fruition thanks to Fall River Marksmen owner Sam Mark, who bought this iconic Massachusetts-based club in 1922. His first order of business was to build a stadium for his new team, but unfortunately, under his state’s strict blue laws, he wouldn’t have been allowed to charge for tickets on Sundays.

So, to get around this snag, he decided to build “Mark’s Stadium” in North Tiverton, RI, just a few hundred yards away from the border with Massachusetts. Problem solved.

And what a sight to behold that stadium was. It had a capacity for 15,000 fans (bigger than Centreville Bank Stadium set to open this weekend), and it held many sold-out matches throughout its lifetime. Although there were a couple of significantly smaller grounds that might have had a tenuous claim at being the first soccer-specific “stadium” in America, many historians see Mark’s Stadium as the first one due to its sheer size, popularity, and clear-cut purpose from the start.

The stadium is said to have survived until the 1950s, when it was eventually torn down and turned into a drive-in movie theater. Today, it’s simply a large open field sitting between a sports bar and an upscaled luxury apartment building. You can find the abandoned grounds here. 

On such a special week for soccer in Rhode Island, it’s important to remember the pioneers who came before us all. There’s something comforting about knowing that people 100 years ago felt the same excitement for the growth of soccer as most of us do today. I’ll be in Rhode Island’s new stadium on Saturday thinking about how Marksmen fans outdrew us in attendance a century ago—of course, we’ll make sure to toast to them and celebrate that we get to continue their legacy today.

BUSINESS
Premier League Bound?

Three promotions in three years. Unreal stuff from Wrexham since Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney stepped in as owners.

After climbing from the fifth tier of English soccer to the Championship (second division), Wrexham are just one step away from making it to the Premier League. What once seemed like a joke is actually within the realm of possibility.

What do you think? Can they do it?

CLUBELEVEN
The Supporters Section

Predictions—my favorite type of poll. Let us know why or why not you think Wrexham can achieve promotion within the next five years. We’ll highlight your best answers next week!

CLUBELEVEN
Aggregates

Park the Bus: After finally letting the dust settle from our first six outings on the bus, we’d like to thank PARK for generously providing us with soccer balls + apparel for our road-trip! Their support has helped make each stop more impactful for all the communities we’ve visited so far… and we can’t wait for more to come!

20k: She’s the first player in NWSL history to reach 20,000 minutes played. And she did it with just one team. Can you guess who it is?

Go Home, You’re Drunk: Mix Jägermeister with Florida and you get this. There’s no rational explanation for what happened in this game.

Hamdi x CFS: We’re suckers for last-minute, pop-up events. This one in NYC looked unreal.

NWSL Strikes Back: No one is immune to the soccer warz! Right when WPSL Pro announced they were going to start a professional second division for women’s soccer, NWSL came out with this news. All soccer warz jokes aside, this is great for the game.

TRAVEL
How to Plan the Perfect World Cup Trip

The World Cup is about 400 days away. It’s basically right around the corner, and now is probably the right time to start planning how you’ll make it the most memorable month of your life.

Thankfully, we have Danny Navarro (@TravelFutbolFan) to help all of us out.

This Washington D.C.-based civil rights advocate, youth coach, and travel expert sat down with Where Is Football last week to dish out some fantastic tips.

ARTS
Midge Purce’s Broadway Debut

Is there anything she can’t do?

Harvard graduate, NWSL Champion, advocate, entrepreneur, and now Broadway star.

Here are all the details regarding her upcoming performance. One night only!

CLUBELEVEN
Your Takes 🗯️ 

Last week, we asked you: What pro soccer team has/had the best space-themed name? Here are some of your answers:

• “Any team named in honor of Carl Sagan wins a space-themed contest every time.” J. Rizzotti

• “Technically not a pro team but Minnesota Aurora is pretty cool.” - RFA

• “Bring back the Cosmos!” - Steve N.

• “LA Galaxy, surely. Only team still alive. Most recognizable brand in MLS before Messi came. One of the best if not the best badge in the league as well.” - Dario

It’s a tough one because both the Galaxy and Cosmos are just so iconic. But I have to concur with J. Rizzotti, though, a team tangentially linked to Carl Sagan is just too cool (even if there isn’t concrete evidence for it, I choose to make it canon in my head). For how legendary they are, Cosmos is my pick. And an honorable mention for Minnesota Aurora too! As a DC United fan I’m also obligated to hate the Galaxy so that one probably drops to third in my personal ranking.

In the poll, “New York Cosmos” came in first with 58% of the vote, while “LA Galaxy” and “Atlanta Apollos” tied for second with 16% of the vote each.

UP NEXT
Warm Up the Engines

The soccer bus lives on! Woody’s a tough cookie. After giving us a bit of a scare up in Louisville and Indy, it seems the show will roll on. We’ll take it easy for this next round, but we already have a few faraway destinations planned to kick off the summer. Keep an eye out as we announce our upcoming stop for next week here. 

Enjoying This?

Make sure to forward this email to a friend and help us spread the soccer gospel far and wide! We’ll see you next week with even more untold stories of soccer.

Have a great Tuesday!

Pablo