Opening Day: June 27 2010
Capacity: 18,500
Surface: Grass
Current Owner: Delaware County
Team Website: www.philadelphiaunion.com
Team Phone: 610-497-1657
Address: 1 Stadium Drive, Chester, PA 19013
Directions:
From Philadelphia: Follow I-95 and take exit 8 onto Steward Avenue, then follow right onto Route 291 W (2nd Street). Keep following until you see Norris Street on your left, and then follow that to reach Lot A. For all other lots, follow I-95 to Exit 4 and follow the signs to the Chester Waterfront.
From New Jersey: Take the Commodore Barry Bridge into Pennyslvania and go right at the US-13/9th Street exit. Veer left to curve onto Flower Street, follow it, and then make a left onto 2nd Street.
From the West: Follow Route 322 East and merge onto I-95 North. Take Exit 4 and then take the exit for Chester Waterfront.
From Delaware/South: Take I-95 North to Exit 4 and then take the Chester Waterfront exit.
Just next to the Delaware River and the Commodore Barry Bridge, PPL Park is the home stadium for the Philadelphia Union, built expressly for that purpose. Only about 20 miles away from Philadelphia, PPL Park is also the site of the Collegiate Rugby Championship, which occurs in June, which the Park has hosted since 2011, after the Championship moved away from Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
The design of the stadium is meant to incorporate both the views of the Delaware River as well as the Commodore Barry Bridge, letting in natural sunlight. The bleachers along the length of the field have a set of arching roofs to shade them. There are also a section of seats called The River End, reserved for a group of Philadelphia Union supporters known as the Sons of Ben.
Besides the field and stands, PPL Park also includes a restaurant and club above Chester End as well as a concert stage built into The River End. The exterior is predominantly brick and stone, with a range of greens and sidewalk framing the stadium and block off the parking lots. For its design, Mid-Atlantic Construction Magazine named it “Sports/Recreation Project of the Year,” beating out other venues in regions like Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C.