Old Trafford, San Siro and Anfield, are all world-renowned stadiums in soccer whose history tends to precede them. Anfield was built in the 19th century, Old Trafford came about in 1910, and San Siro in 1926. Each stadium has since housed some of the most prestigious, and elite soccer clubs in the world.
Across the pond, City Stadium, the home of the Richmond Kickers, was built shortly after those hallowed grounds in 1929. The prominent history of the stadium stands as a home for fans, players, and memories alike.
From 1964 through 1967, the stadium hosted games for the Richmond Rebels of the Atlantic Coast Football League and the Continental Football League. The venue was known as City Stadium until 1983 when it would be regarded as University of Richmond Stadium and would later serve as the site of the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship from 1995 to 1998.
For a brief moment in history, the stadium also hosted Virginia’s high school football state championship games. Then later in 2010, its name would revert to City Stadium, as we know it today.
The Richmond Kickers are the oldest club in the USL, or the then USISL (United States Interregional Soccer League), founded in 1993. But the rich history of the Kickers goes hand-in-hand with that of City Stadium. City Stadium is and has been the Kicker’s official stadium since 1995. From 1993 up until a portion of 1995 the Kickers played at the University of Richmond, which is ironic considering the University of Richmond football team played at the stadium dating back to the year it was built.
City Stadium would go on to host a FIFA World Cup Qualifying match for the United States Men’s National Team against Trinidad and Tobago in 1998 and draw in a crowd of nearly 20,000. Later in 2003, City Stadium would be the host for yet another USMNT match, this time a friendly against New Zealand. The stadium would also host matches for the United States Women’s National Team on three separate occasions, the first being a 1998 win over Brazil, another being a 2006 last-minute win over Iceland, and finally a 2008 match against South Korea.
Apart from Forward Madison’s Breese Stevens Field, no other USL League One team has a stadium with such an expansive, rich history like City Stadium, which pairs well with the Richmond Kickers being one of the oldest teams in USL history. But with an old stadium comes caveats such as old infrastructure and older technology.
Rob Ukrop, a Kickers’ legend as a player and current chairman of the Richmond Kickers, has been with the club since its origins. He has seen firsthand the history that took place throughout the years of City Stadium, from its use by the University of Richmond to its current state as the home stadium for the Kickers.
Despite hanging up his boots years ago, Ukrop is still very involved with the organization. Being a former professional player. he knows firsthand how important it is to have a field or stadium that you call home, that players and fans alike can be proud of and celebrate just like some of the top tier teams in the world of soccer have.
On top of its heavy affiliation with sports, whether it be football or soccer, City Stadium has a history of hosting events such as “Midget Car Racing” and even the infamous Cherry Blossom Rock Festival in 1974 that featured bands such as the Steve Miller Band and Kool and the Gang.
Ukrop spoke about some of his older memories at City Stadium that date back to his childhood in the 1970s watching football games with his parents when the field was still astroturf. Ukrop cherishes the many memories he has of City Stadium watching all sorts of different teams and athletes perform in the very same field he put his heart out onto.
“I think probably the best team ever to play there was the 1996 Italian Olympic team,” Ukrop said.
The 1996 Italian Olympic team had a roster containing some of the most renowned names in the world of soccer, let alone in Italy. The likes of legendary keeper Gianluca Pagliuca, as well as some of the greatest defenders to ever grace the sport in Alessandro Nesta and Fabio Cannavaro, both in their very early 20s and an 18-year-old Gianluigi Buffon, who is currently still playing for Parma after playing his final season at Juventus during 2020-21.
Ukrop subscribes to the idea that the history behind some stadiums adds another level of “charm” to what some might just consider another venue.
“Some of these old stadiums just have so many stories, then people like to upgrade, they build all these fancy new things, but City Stadium just has this vintage charm to it,” Ukrop said. “I think the best memories I had at City Stadium — it wasn’t anything I played in — it was sitting there with my mom and my dad when I was probably eight or nine years old. Getting a Pronto pop or some cotton candy and just sitting in the stands and watching a football game with my dad.”
In Richmond, Ukrop and the Kickers embrace their motif of Joyful. Authentic. United. The stadium, Ukrop says, is one of the ways to bring people together and bond, especially after the past year.
“The vision for City Stadium is a place where people can come together from different walks of life, and sometimes vastly different opinions, and they can come up there and just share an experience and have a thoughtful conversation about, ‘hey, here’s how I feel’ and you walk away and you shake hands, and you try and make your community a little bit better,” Ukrop said.
In 2016, Richmond City Council approved an agreement for the team to lease City Stadium for 40 years with the stipulation that the club put $20 million worth of upgrades into the venue. Irrigation, parking lot upgrades, landscaping, additional seating, and press box renovations have been in the works and will continue to be upgraded throughout a phased approach up until 2050. In regards to the future of City Stadium, there is still much to come.
The club invested $1.5 million into the stadium last year, but unfortunately, like the rest of the world, had to navigate through the pandemic last season, unable to fill all the seats available due to COVID-19 restrictions. But that hasn’t stopped renovations to the stadium which include new stadium lights, a sound system, and a new mural that reads RVA is United which is a visual representation of how Rob Ukrop and the rest of the Richmond Kickers want to proceed in creating a safe, fun venue to create lasting memories in.
