Subaru Park is a soccer-specific stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania, located next to Commodore Barry Bridge on the waterfront along the Delaware River.
[8] Subaru Park was designed as an initial step for economic development on the waterfront, with additional plans calling for a river walk and other entertainment, retail, and residential projects.
"[10] Initially, Major League Soccer was interested in a site in the borough of Bristol, about 23 miles (37 km) north of Center City Philadelphia.
In late 2006, a group of investors led by longtime MLS executive Nick Sakiewicz initiated the planning for a soccer-specific stadium in Chester after the funding for the Rowan project failed to pass the New Jersey legislature.
On January 31, 2008, Pennsylvania's state government unveiled a combined soccer stadium and economic revitalization package for Chester.
[15] Construction delays led to the Philadelphia Union's decision to play their inaugural home game at Lincoln Financial Field instead of Subaru Park.
The stadium's record attendance was achieved on December 5, 2021, for the 2021 Eastern Conference Final when the Union were defeated by New York City FC 2–1 in front of 19,487 fans.
[17] Due to consistently high attendance and ticket sales, in 2011 the Philadelphia Union expressed interest in expanding the capacity of the stadium.
[19] The first college football game played at Subaru Park was the Battle of the Blue on November 19, 2011, in which Delaware beat Villanova to earn the trophy for the first time.
[23] It was announced on May 17, 2017, that English side Newcastle Falcons would play their home Premiership Rugby game against Saracens at the stadium on September 16, 2017.
Subaru Park hosted its first rugby union international on November 9, 2013, when the Maori All Blacks squared off against the United States.
[30] After Hurricane Sandy, the 2012 Big East Men's Soccer Tournament was moved to Subaru Park from Red Bull Arena.
Given its ability to be used as a football field, Subaru Park has recently been used as an annual site for the Drum Corps International Summer Competition Tour.
[2] In February 2020, as part of Subaru of America becoming the naming rights holder for the stadium, the Union replaced the previous video board above the Chester End with a new 3,440 sq ft (320 m2) high dynamic range (HDR) video board that was the first of its kind in an MLS soccer-specific stadium.
[38] On February 25, 2010, the Philadelphia Union announced that the Allentown-based PPL Corporation purchased the naming rights to its home venue for $20 million over 11 years.
[41] On February 18, 2020, Subaru of America, whose headquarters are in Philadelphia's neighboring city Camden, New Jersey, was announced as the new naming rights holder for the stadium.
It is approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) from the Chester Transportation Center SEPTA station, where shuttle service is provided from four hours prior to kickoff and from full-time until the park is empty.