Looks like Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston and the Virginia Beach Sportsplex both hosted their first games the same day, April 24, 1999, about three weeks before Columbus Crew Stadium did. Just for the sake of thoroughness.
True. It's harder to gauge what is actually "soccer specific" at the lower levels. But at least NSC Soccer Stadium, Blackbaud and the Virginia Sportsplex all predated that rendering.
The Atlanta Beat and WPS kept touting KSU Soccer Stadium (an absolutely awesome facility, by the way) as the first SSS built for women's soccer until I pointed out that WakeMed (nee SAS) Stadium opened in 2002. I had always been told it was 7,200 seats. It turns out the actual seat count was closer to 6,800. They are expanding the stadium this summer to 10k, adding a bunch of locker rooms and suites, too in order to bring back the NCAA College Cups. Looking at the Flash Stadium. If that had been built, there's no doubt in my mind that the NCAAs would've been there every year or every other year since.
They (or someone, I wish I could remember who, should have saved it) also said KSU's stadium would "change women's soccer." Okay, then.
It's by far the best sub-MLS SSS facility I've been to, and I've been to most of them. I wish every stadium had a Three Lions Pub like Blackbaud, but KSU is really well designed operationally.
Yet its transformative abilities seem to have been overstated. And yes on Blackbaud. Single greatest soccer thing I've ever seen.
Best soccer facility in the US? Over Livestrong? (Not arguing - asking. Unfortunately, I haven't been to either....)
I was only referring to sub-MLS stadia. Livestrong and RBA are a whole new level. I haven't made it to BBVA, yet.
Not facility. Thing. Blackbaud isn't the best soccer facility in the US. But the Three Lions Pub is the single greatest soccer thing I've ever seen in this country and if we had one like it here, I'd eat there three times a week.
Absolutely. The Three Lions Pub isn't just a bar or a meeting room in a stadium. It's way beyond that. It's Tony Bakker's heart and soul.
He having a roof back then was an ambitious idea considering it was in the pre-HDC days. The only SSSs built to that point if I'm not mistaken were all topless.
Clent just posted this on the Flash FB page. Apparently Escondido is looking into building an SSS since El Paso got the baseball team Escondido wanted... http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/e...cle_23d2f8c1-4fe0-5cd1-8375-fd99a9bdcee4.html
"But he added that it could take years for either proposal to come together unless the economy picks up quickly."
Sounds like typical government caution talk to me. Fact is, if the city isn't paying for it but rather a private entity is the stadium can be built at any time after the proper city and CEQA approvals are met. But of course either private developer might be cautious with the economy still shaky. Lew Wolff sure was up in San Jose in a similar private stadium situation.
Which takes no time at all. And they're supposed to move in for the start of the 2014 season. Or nearly eight years after the announcement of his agreement to buy the 'Quakes and four and a half years after he unveiled the plans for the stadium.
Does anyone know what happened to the proposed minor league baseball stadium in Escondido? If that wasn't approved I doubt this will either (unless there is private money involved).
The AAA ballpark collapsed when the state shut down redevelopment agencies and took their assets to help balance the state's woeful management of their budget. The $50 million ballpark was being funded almost entirely by Escondido's public redevelopment agency. This soccer stadium plan sounds like it would be a privately funded venue not dependent on city funds. So it's an apples/oranges comparison. As for city approvals and CEQA kenn, both could be completed easily in less than a year. Even with NIMBY's and others working to block it. Any real slowdown would come on the developers willingness or unwillingness to start the stadium sooner rather than later given the current state of the economy as was the case in San Jose. What we don't know is how willing these developers are to start now. Wolff (the SJ owner) is not necessarily a great measuring stick as he's notoriously cautious and frugal.
This may have already been posted, but I just put it in the other forum. Someone asked SD Flash's FB about the meeting with Downs and this was the response: "Our CEO spoke with David Downs. It was agreed that the timing isn't right for us to join now. There needs to be teams on the West Coast to make sense business-wise. We're looking at other options. Thanks for asking!"
Figured as much when Clent stopped talking about the NASL almost immediately after that meeting. Obviously he came away from it less than impressed with something, and now we know it had to do with the lack of western teams. Doesn't take much to connect the dots, costs would be to high for a western team by itself (just ask the LA Blues).
Sure, but it's something Clent was probably aware of going into the meeting. A look to NASL's website (or Wikipedia page) would have tipped him off. I'm sure it's costly for Edmonton or even San Antonio to have to travel to Puerto Rico and NYC, much less a CA team. I sort of assumed Flash might not have realized just how expensive it might turn out to be.
That someone was me. I was bored on the weekend and decided to post something just to see what they'd say. I was suprised they responded at all. Thought they also needed more investors, but they didn't mention that! I found this the most interesting thing they posted as well. I wonder if the USL Pro just became more interesting to the Flash?
