News: Revs, Revere "in final stages" of talks on Wonderland Stadium

Well, it's that time of year again. season is in the shitter; moral is low; fans are irate; season ticket renewals are under threat....

Stadium news "leak" time!!!!!!!!!

You suckers

 

And with these new fashioned interstate highways what we've got, Foxboro is a a breeze to get to from anywhere. It's really in a dream location.

 

Sure, a dream location would be the Seaport district, but you and I know that isn't happening. So, what are your ideas for realistic locations?

 

One that is easily accessible by the mbta

 

This Revere site is perhaps not as "hip" a spot as Somerville, but it's only a couple blocks from the beach! Somerville can't offer that. In any case, it's infinitely preferable to Foxboro. And a SSS in Revere and an idiotic casino in East Boston may prod the government to do something about Bell Circle, which seems to be the biggest bottleneck for traffic here.

 

This Revere site is perhaps not as "hip" a spot as Somerville, but it's only a couple blocks from the beach! Somerville can't offer that. In any case, it's infinitely preferable to Foxboro. And a SSS in Revere and an idiotic casino in East Boston may prod the government to do something about Bell Circle, which seems to be the biggest bottleneck for traffic here.

 

Whatever you may think of this particular news flash, or non-news flash, as the case may be, there is a lot about Wonderland that feels inevitable to me. I see it as the most plausible, buildable site on the horizon. It's on the T, minutes from Boston, the site is currently idle, but was once used for sporting contests, blah, blah, blah.

And hey, what better a place for the Revolution to play than a town named for Paul Revere?

 

The only inevitability is that the Revs will conveniently leak information about a potential stadium every September-October.

 

Either way, it will take a decade to have it get planned, constructed, and finished. They have to get started now!

 

The key word is if. I agree, that would be huge for a lot of north shore people who won't have to fight the traffic.

This stadium definitely benefits people in the city and north. Revere is inconvenient from many parts of the south shore, metro west and points west unless you're driving, in which case it's farther than Gillette.

40-80 minutes for a revs game is a lot considering it's 25 minutes now to Gillette. Better off to just drive from where I live so I hope there's ample parking.

I'm sure this stadium will attract new people but it's also going to make it more painful to get to for a lot as well. I guess you can only please some of the people, but never all the people. An inconvenient SSS is better than no SSS, (as long as they fix the product on the field).

 

Far more than any other fan segment, the Revs have chosen to cast their lot with the Youth Soccer population.

Moving to the north side of the city adds travel complexity to Youth Soccer outing planners from the south side of the city -- a level of complexity they do not have to concern themselves with now.

I suspect that at any average game, the higher proportion of Youth Soccer groups attending Revs game come from areas closer to Foxboro (like south of the city) than from north of the city. (A matter of proximity/simplicity.)

So, should this move to Revere come to pass, there is some likelihood the Revs will need to rebuild a chunk of their fanbase that get left behind on the South Shore - Youth Soccer orgs from the vicinity of Foxboro may choose to head to the Revs on a different frequency - most likely less often. Many Youth Soccer orgs are run strictly by volunteers, and dealing with the new travel complexity will add effort to an outing that they will embrace less frequently than they do now.

Of course, the Revs will pick up more Youth Soccer traffic from North Shore towns, replacing those whose attendance declines immediately. But that growth will likely take a little time - it won't be instantaneous.

 

If this location were to ever have a stadium (and IF is once again the key word, because this is all just a pipe dream for now), it would have many things going for it. There is a built in population in Revere and the surrounding towns like Malden, Medford, etc. that would be likely to support a team if the product was improved on the field. It isn't a bad drive from the North Shore, and road improvements and a commuter rail stop would make it even better (again, this is a flight of fancy, so let's pretend that everything is the best case scenario. Travel via the T could be longer or shorter depending on what part of the city you'd be in, but the site is still directly on the Blue Line, so that is a big plus for people who don't have a car or want to get sauced up. Yes, for people on the South Shore, Metro West and other parts of the state/region, it isn't convenient, but it isn't that far from Route 1 if you chose to drive (taking advantage again of the wonderfully redesigned roads), or you could drive to a commuter rail/T stop location and take public transit from there. Hell, it is even conceivable that people from the South Shore/Cape could take a boat and walk from a dock.

If this ever were to come to fruition and all the stars were to align in terms of amenities, on field and off, it would fundamentally alter the path that this franchise is on. Until and unless anything tangible actually occurs, this is all an exercise in mental masturbation, and I remain skeptical that it will ever happen.

 

Your in good company struggling to understand how things line up in the greater Boston region.
I think you need to be born here or have gone to school here to really understand the mess of farms and cow paths from Revolutionary days that have morphed into the mess of psychotically evolved roadways and villages in the region. To me it's all Boston and best avoided unless someone else whose a local does the driving Fortunately my wife was born in Revere

 

I don't buy this. I you live along route 3, the drive to Revere is equal to the drive to Gillette.

And if the MBTA ever electrifies the commuter train network (think 10-30 years down the road), then commute times will be even quicker.

Gillette is only more convenient for those that live south of I90, 128, and west of Routh 3. That's probably about 2.5 million people (including Providence). The other 5 million people live within 128, or north of I90 and Revere is easier to get to.

 

I've been on record here of defending the Krafts rather tepid support of the team with advertising et al as a reflction of the realization that the only way this franchise was going to truly prosper was for them to have a small, properly located SSS at which time they fill rebrand and pull out the stops. I agree-- IF--this project comes to pass IMO it will be a game changer for this franchise.

 

Other than the major urban area located between So. Shore and Revere. I know, it's a Minor Detail.

 

I join you in that hope.

But that would take change; I think all of their "change energy" will be consumed by the stadium itself, leaving very little for "changing" their demographic. That would be a 180 degree change in direction, I don't think they'll be positioned to tackle that right away.

Logical that they should be thinking in other/additional directions, at some point. But they haven't shown that recently, nor in years.

 

What does Boston have to do with anything. It's a 40-50 minute ride from anywhere east of route 3 to Revere AND Gillette. The time difference is minimal.

 

No city congestion between S Shore and Gillette -- especially for those further south on Rte 3. Lots of folks use Rte 44 to 495 to 95.

City is often congested. Sat afternoon is no exception. Chews up time, often starting near Neponset on 93. Once traffic slows, that's all she wrote.

That is what Boston (and all of 93N) has to do with it.

 

I was kinda focusing on an event horizon somewhere within my lifespan. Admittedly, a selfish perspective.

30 years from now is even odds that I, among other fans, will be ashes, or at least severely stooping towards it.

But yes, it is possible that commute times will improve over a multi-decade period.

 

Wonderland is only 20 minutes from Cambridge, as I drive that way daily. No idea where 40 minutes came from are you saying by train?

 

Somerville is probably as close to a sure thing for attendence success that there is for the Revs. It would likely have a feel much like the Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins. It would be an old time urban experience full of irish pubs and sports bars. I think Revere Beach is a little more risky but could be a venue unlike any other in New England sports.

I see going to a Revs game as a warm beachside experience with a bit of a Latin vibe. I am not sure how that plays out at the beginning and end of the season, but I would be very curious to see it. I do think that if the stadium does work out it could really be a catalyst for future development at Revere Beach and perhaps turn it more into a year round or 3 season entertainment destination. Assembly Square or Brickbottom may not need a stadium for such a catalyst.

If Revere Beach does transform does a stadium there give foreign players a different view of playing for the Revs? Would anyone say, "I'm taking my talents to Revere Beach"?

 

I don't want to discredit your observations, but Google has years of traffic data to work with. On average, there isn't traffic on 93 north after about 4pm on a Saturday. There also isn't any traffic south bound at 9:30pm.

 

Tailgating is at least 50% of the reason I attend games, if not more, so with everyone talking about the blue line, is this SSS in Revere the death of the pre game tailgate ?