Breakers Stadium Situation (for next year)

Discussion in 'Boston Breakers' started by holden, Jun 17, 2013.

  1. holden

    holden Member+

    Dundee FC, Yeovil Town LFC, Girondins de Bordeaux
    Oct 20, 2009
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Dundee FC
    So, this started in another thread, but I didn't want to take that thread too far off topic, and figured I'd start a new thread here.


    So with the problems they're having with the new seating at Dilboy, would it make sense to pursue a different stadium for next year? There are some other options, that I can think of, although maybe some of you will know why they don't/won't work as I hadn't previously been following the Breakers stadium situation closely.

    First off is Nickerson Field at BU.
    [​IMG]
    It seats 10,000 (so maybe too large/expensive), but has no gridiron lines and is close to the T.

    Another option would be Soldiers Field Soccer Stadium at Harvard
    [​IMG]
    According to their website, it has a capacity up to 2,500 but only 1,000 in permanent seating. So it's too small as-is, but then so is Dilboy. And it does seem like there is plenty of space that they could add aditional temporary seating to get it up to 3,500. Plus there's no running track around it.

    There's also Ohiri field at Harvard.
    [​IMG]
    It was were the Harvard Soccer teams played before moving to Soldiers Field Soccer Stadium. Natural grass, no track, and seats 1,500 with plenty of room for expansion.

    In regards to the last two, I'm sure some are wondering, "Why would you play at these rinky-dink places, when Harvard Stadium is right next door?" And that's because the NWSL teams are looking for cheaper places to play than the WPS teams used.
     
  2. JenM9

    JenM9 Member

    Oct 11, 2002
    MA
    Club:
    Boston Breakers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The Breakers used to use Nickerson Field in the WUSA and I really enjoyed going to games there. I absolutely hate the gridiron stuff and haven't been to a Breakers game yet this year because of how annoying they were to me at the WPS games - but I guess that's okay because it's not like they'd have a place to put me anyway with the seating situation ;)

    In all seriousness though, while I would love for there to be a change of venue, I doubt very much that they would put all that effort/money into seat expansion at Dilboy if they planned to pack up shop before the thing even gets a season worth of use.
     
  3. holden

    holden Member+

    Dundee FC, Yeovil Town LFC, Girondins de Bordeaux
    Oct 20, 2009
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Dundee FC
    I was under the impression that it was just temporary seating and would be removed at the end of the NWSL season (and then if they stayed at Dilboy it would be reinstalled for the start of next season)? But if I'm mistaken about that, I believe it could be dismantled and reassembled at another location if they were to move to one of the smaller stadiums I mentioned so it wouldn't be a total loss.
     
  4. holden

    holden Member+

    Dundee FC, Yeovil Town LFC, Girondins de Bordeaux
    Oct 20, 2009
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Dundee FC
    Found another posible stadium option: White Stadium
    [​IMG]
    Positives: Natural grass, seats 10,000, close to the T (not as close as Nickerson, though).
    Downsides: Has a track and looks like the field would be very narrow.
     
  5. holden

    holden Member+

    Dundee FC, Yeovil Town LFC, Girondins de Bordeaux
    Oct 20, 2009
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Dundee FC

    Looks like I'm wrong about that, I found another thread where BostonRed said:
    Though it really doesn't look like it in this pic:
    [​IMG]
     
    mskenny repped this.
  6. pressurecooker

    Feb 22, 2009
    Boston
    Club:
    Boston Breakers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well now that the season is over I will talk about the Dilboy situation. Dilboy stadium from an operations stand point on game days has been extremely frustrating. Parking being the worst of these issues. The Breakers have to share parking with the townspeople and Social Boston Sports club so when the pool is open or a softball tournament is going on they lose approximately 30% of their parking spots. The Breakers staff and volunteers did their best to offer alternatives to the fans through out the season but the fans, owners and players were often left frustrated. One game was so bad that a player and the team doctor were forced to park in the fire lane and the Dilboy staff were demanding they moved their cars during the game. Luckily early in the season a supermarket was under construction and the lot was empty so fans were able to sneak in there and 2 locations gave their lots as an option for the last 4 games at a cost of $5 per spot. I don't think that the Breakers lost any fans but I think that some fans will stay away until they find a new stadium.

    Just to review a few of the otheroptions mentioned here.

    Nickerson Field would be an ideal stadium for the Breakers to grow into except for parking. I think the surrounding lots would charge more than the cost of a ticket just to park (at least $20). The T is a nice option there but if the Red Sox are playing on the same day parking at Riverside and Woodland is usually taken.

    White Stadium is the least likely. It is in a tough neigbborhood. The stadium needs updating. Parking would be shared with Franklin Park Zoo.

    I think the most likely move is back to Harvard or a major high school. I think it would be ideal if the Breakers wind up being able to install the temporary stands on one of Harvards smaller fields. The players still practice there, from an operations stand point it always worked for the staff, parking and proximity to the T are not a problem. The major issue would be the press box and ability to provide a webcast of the games. I don't like the idea of Harvard stadium though, simply because it is too big for the Breakers and the start of football training camp was always an issue every year.

    Hopefully the Breakers owners and staff are able to find a suitable longterm venue for the team in the near future. They have a solid core of loyal fans at every game, they need a comfortable venue to keep fans coming back. The most encouraging sign this year was being able to talk to passerbys at games walking down the street or leaving the Somerville pool who stopped to watch the game for a minute outside the fence. All of them were impressed by the level of play and were interested in attending a game at some point. The fans are willing to buy the NWSL product in Boston, just need to be able to get the fans to the stadium.
     
  7. BostonRed

    BostonRed Member+

    Oct 9, 2011
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    There are a number of decent high school stadiums around, but they all have football lines (and I'm pretty sure they are all turf). For the purists (and the TV crowd), that is a non-starter.
     
  8. BostonRed

    BostonRed Member+

    Oct 9, 2011
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    New England Soccer Journal has a new issue up with a recap of the season:

    http://digital.nesoccerjournal.com/nxtbooks/seamans/nesoccerj_201309/#/12

    I can't seem to copy & paste from this, but here are some key points about the stadium situation:

    * Permitting problems prevented the club from using the 1000 extra seats more than once.

    * Lee Ballard: "We have the numbers to state that we could fit more people in, so we're looking at it. We may need to look for a bigger location, but we'll see what we can do at Dilboy first. I wish there was a smaller version of Gillette (Stadium) in the middle of Boston, but there's not. So we will look at it a little bit more, but our options are definitely limited."
     
  9. New Engalnd Nellie

    Mar 6, 2008
    Playing at Harvard Stadium again. Definately an improvement over Dilboy.
     
  10. weelilbit

    weelilbit Member

    Nov 14, 2013
    And thank goodness for that!

    Now, to see about some form of Supporters Section, to find out the actual parameters of the tailgating/alcohol rules, and to see about those gridiron lines!

    So excited we're both gone from Dilboy AND going to Harvard!
     

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