Club Comment on that Inside Rapids Twitter Thread: MLS in Dialogue on Colorado Rapids Facility Renovations

Most Colorado Rapids fans have probably seen this Twitter thread from Inside Rapids, an anonymous fan account that’s accurately broken club news several times over the last few years.

On Tuesday, May 30, the account posted about MLS encouraging or even mandating the Colorado Rapids upgrade the infrastructure at DICK’s Sporting Goods Park. Players have potentially filed grievances with the MLS Players Association. The League may have stepped in as a result. Read the entire thread at the link above.

Burgundy Wave reached out to the club regarding these allegations, asking for comment on their legitimacy, whether players have filed any grievances with the MLSPA, what upgrades the club is planning for DSGP and their timelines, as well as the extent of the League’s involvement in said upgrades.

See the full response below:

“We are in the midst of a series of renovations to our team’s facilities at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park. We have replaced both the main stadium field and the first-team training field in 2022, as well as undertaking the expansion of our supporters section and the development of our new matchday experience, North Boundary, this year. Further upgrades and renovations to the facility will be carried out into 2024 and we have engaged external consultants to undertake a feasibility study with the aim of determining the best approach to meet our training and performance needs. We will continue to have ongoing dialogue with the League Office regarding our facility renovations, planned improvements and feasibility study.”

Key Takeaways:

Two things stand out in reading this. Firstly, confirmation that MLS is in communication regarding the Colorado Rapids facility renovations. Whether that’s by choice or by force was not specified.

Secondly, the statement does not address whether grievances were filed to the MLSPA and if so, whether they contributed to the League’s confirmed involvement. If the club knows for a fact that the MLSPA hasn’t received any grievances from Rapids players, it’s in their best interest to say so.

Make no mistake, the statement does not address all the questions that were asked.

The club did replace their two main first team fields last year. To our knowledge, as of last September, the stadium pitch was the original that was installed when DSGP opened in 2007. Every year, a few MLS teams get new stadium pitches. Playing on a pitch that’s 15-years-old is an embarrassment by modern MLS standards.

The statement confirms my reporting from back in March that the club is studying what can be done given the age of the facilities and the environmental realities of being in Colorado. This could result in changes to maintenance activities, subsurface infrastructure, replacement of infrastructure, etc. in 2024.

This work could have started before that time in March where the club sustained a rash of injuries, of which they are still feeling the affects. Aging and outdated infrastructure, plus one of the crazier winters since 1996, plus cold temperatures into late April. Field 20 and the stadium pitch were in preseason form until about a month ago. Sometimes, timing sucks.

Moldy DICK’s:

Colorado’s facilities are outdating in many respects. They’re one of a few clubs to not have a training center separate from their stadium. USL League One’s Northern Colorado Hailstorm have an inflated dome over one of their fields for cold and snowy days. Multiple MLS teams have indoor pitches as well. Rapids Twitter has a running joke about the malfunctioning pixels on the video board and discolored signage.

With the shirt sponsor and broadcast rights deal in place, ownership is investing in the team, support staff, and infrastructure. It’s good the club’s taking action on this, no matter the League’s level of involvement.

It’s disappointing all this didn’t happen sooner. It’s disappointing DSGP has fallen so far behind the rest of the league. It’s disappointing that one of (possibly the primary) reason it got this bad is the lack of funding from KSE.

If MLS has yet to mandate the club address these issues due to a lack of faith that they’ll do so on their own, it would be in the club’s best interest to say so.

For player safety, hopefully this Twitter thread is inaccurate. If it is accurate, hopefully the Rapids take the necessary action to re-instill some faith in the direction of the club.

Burgundy Wave has reached out to the MLSPA for comment. No response was received at the time of publishing.

Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken.

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