Did I read earlier someone claim that a stadium made of brick, with a roof, in the arena distrcit would be a regular sell out for Crew game? Did said person EVERY attend a single Clippers game at their new ballpark last year? How'd that work out for them? I'm glad when I travel for work and miss a whole day on moderating on BigSoccer.
Eh? The Clippers pretty much sold out most games--and at $10+ for most tickets without giving many away--unlike in the Coop where they papered the house more than a wallpaper salesman. Not sure I get your point.
Not to mention that there is very little "science" in COSI and no "industry". I guess we should be glad it's still in Central Ohio, so half the name is correct anyway. I mean coal mines and coal are bad so you have to take out the cola mine, and chemicals hurt people so you have to end the Chem demos--leaving a big statue of Posidon to represent "waters" and a lot of empty space [and the elephant exhibit went to the zoo]. Now the Star Wars exhibit was pretty fun when they had the crew picnic there--but it's not science. Someone should warn these folks about the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide.....
There has been a lot of discussion about CCS and its aesthetics. No one has mentioned the fact that it is a pretty good venue for watching the game. Sure I would rather have more people filling the stands, but there are not too many bad seats. If it were up to me, I would consider moving the stadium before simply building a new one. Eventually you could build a new stand in the on one end to expand the stadium and even add a partial roof.
And this reminds me, would it cost more to add on to the current aesthetics than to build a new one (see the stadia in Germany for examples of modernization)? for example, why can't or won't they build the outer shell around the current skeletal frames? And if this is about a roof, looking at the way the stage is built, couldn't the roof be a continuation?
Speaking of aesthetics, is that all the roof is really for? Sure, it looks awesome at Red Bull Arena. Yeah, it probably keeps some sound in. How many times have you been rained on at Crew Stadium? Once, maybe twice a season. I'm not really against a roof, but I have to say I love the feeling you get during the National Anthem on a warm, summer night at CCS.
I'm all for this. Even if they end up following the Vegas guys plan and just move the damn thing I imagine at that point your in it for so much money there's little sense in not making the aesthetic changes while you're at it.
The new Clipper ballpark is nice to look at, but not so nice to actually use. That thing was clearly shoehorned into that space and I felt a bit of claustrophobia walking around it. It seemed as if every 3 feet I walked I bumped into some little kid running about or someone trying to load up at one of a thousand concession stands. And somebody is going to get killed by a line drive. Only a matter of time.
I like our stadium. It's easy and has plenty of space to get around. Ever try to get to the upper deck @ Toyota Park (most everyone will probably answer no)? It's really stupid, there are two flanking sets of steps only to take you to another set of steps to get to the seats. When you leave, you and 3000 other people can either go left or right. Stupid. At CCS from the mezz level, you go down for 100 level and up at the same place for 200 level. And I agree with Thoma about the "outer shell." It wouldn't really provide much of a function but I think it would look really nice. Do I think this stadium would have been better near Hunt Park (err, Huntington Park)? Hell yes. Neil Avenue Hooligans? Maybe one day. But I;d be ok with it if the Crew are playing there long after Lowes is gone.
Umm, okay. Response: Got to love hating on my best case scenario just because it's my best case scenario. Look, I'm not saying it will sell out every week, never did. But, I think the best chance of ever getting anywhere close to 20 K regularly for the Crew without Beckham is a soccer cathedral downtown instead of our current erector set on the edge of town. I know pretty shocking assertion that a downtown, brand new stadium may attract more interest. Is it really that hard to wrap your head around there? CCS has it's history and all that. But does it mean anything to most Columbus residents? I bet 90% percent of Columbus has no clue who Lamar Hunt is and his history with CCS, that may be generous. And, I'm guessing more of them would be more attracted to the Crew if it was an event downtown, instead of a mud bogging adventure on the edge of town. At least I would hope so or we might not be in Columbus 20 years down the road. Just saying an Arena like Red Bull Arena attracts the curious. The curious observer sees 3,000 people bouncing up and down partying in the Nordecke. They go check it out. They get hooked. They're Crew fans. I just don't think the current setup is attracting many outsiders.
I like Crew Stadium. Love it, actually. No, it's not exactly state-of-the-art, but the field is great, I feel like I'm on top of the game (anyone ever been to RFK?), and I have a lot of wonderful memories that revolve around the place. Also, I've never been one to complain about the lack of the roof. I've never been to a (outdoors) sporting event that had one, so I never lost sleep over not having one. That having been said... if you offered me Crew Stadium and its bleachers and it's grass parking, or a 22,000-seater downtown, with actual seats (provided they make the seats a little wider than say, Nationwide -- sitting there schrunched up for two hours can be a little uncomfortable), concrete ground so as to not get electrocuted during thunderstorms, a roof to block out the rain and the sunshine in the summertime that holds sound in, maybe our own parking garage and a separate parking area for the tailgates, and you can put it in a spot close to say, Mongolian BBQ, and the R-Bar, and anything else you want to put up there that would allow a Massive supporter march down the hill to the stadium pre-match (similar to what Seattle is doing) -- Crew Stadium's nice, but I'll take option B, thank you very much. I don't know how realistic any of this is, but I can't understand why anyone who's a soccer fan would say "I'd rather have CCS in its current state".
...wait for it... This ^^ Crewfighter 2.0 arguing against the stage which was the catalyst to the creation of Nordecke. Without the stage, the Nordecke does not happen in 2008 (maybe not ever, but certainly not so quickly). Classic! I liked it better when you were in hiding with your tail between your legs.
There's also something to be said for it being next to the Ohio Historical Society and what having the first soccer-specific stadium in the country means to Ohio history when soccer gets big in the US. I hope that makes sense.
But that's year one. We're not talking a Dayton Dragons-like run of attendance or anything. I'm curious to see the Clippers attendance over a multi-year period. Let's not forget there was a time when the Blue Jackets sold out every game yet now they're in the bottom five or six in attendance. They're getting around 85% capacity, but still.
Thanks for clarifying for me FF, the travel induced haze didn't allow me to make my point 100% clear but I think you did the case in my brians absense. By the way, don't the tickets at a Clippers game range from $15 per game for Box Seats down to $6 for the General Admission tickets? So the most expensive ticket for a Clippers game is the cheapest ticket for a Crew game...
True--but they are also actually selling them now rather than giving them away as in the past. My buddy was telling me that on the right nights he could get his whole family in for $5--including parking.... There were some nice food deals too--nothing fancy but a dog and a root beer goes a long way with some kids. That's changed--they didn't go at all last season because they could not afford it (5 kids) and the tickets were not available anyway.
looks like there may be nets going around the field...but I'm sure there are quite a few times it does go in the water...
how much would you be willing to pay? in the end, it's coming out of your wallets. edit: wallet sure is a funny looking word.
I'd like the stadium to match the look of the Arena District. From what I remember (I haven't been there since I went to a Destroyers game about 5 years ago), there was a lot of brick. So, I wouldn't like it if the stadium was black and yellow checkered or looked like a space ship.