Join Now
San Jose Earthquakes reveal stadium renderings
Posted 21 Sep 2009 at 03:34 PM by Mike Gray
Tags san jose earthquakes
I wonder how many yes men Lew has on his payroll.*
That was the second thought I had upon reading that the Earthquakes have revealed conceptual plans for a soccer specific stadium near San Jose International Airport. (The first was Christ, even Saputo's place has luxury boxes)
So according to Woolf, he hopes to build a 15,000 seat, no-frills stadium by the 2013 season at the very earliest, with the goal of only breaking even?
I wouldn't exactly call that the visionary ownership the league had in mind when he came on board.
That line would be more reassuring if he had elaborated on it a bit.
Here’s just one of many things to consider. Without the added revenue of a larger capacity, not to mention the luxury boxes, how much is the average ticket at (insert stadium name here) going to go for?
Which is ignoring the possibility (or dare I say inevitability?) that the league will continue to grow, as will costs.
It’s also hard what to make of this recent news after the statements Lew made when he whined to the Mercury News just a few weeks ago. After all, desperation is a stinky cologne.
Speaking of desperation,
I don’t care if he calls it a long-shot option. He brought it up, which means he’s thought about it, and that scares me.
To give Lew a little credit, he’s at least caught on to how pissed the fans are, and has initiated damage control in the form of lowering ticket prices next year by as much as 40%.
And hey, the stadium does have a nice, Europey roof.
*none, for obvious reasons
That was the second thought I had upon reading that the Earthquakes have revealed conceptual plans for a soccer specific stadium near San Jose International Airport. (The first was Christ, even Saputo's place has luxury boxes)
So according to Woolf, he hopes to build a 15,000 seat, no-frills stadium by the 2013 season at the very earliest, with the goal of only breaking even?
I wouldn't exactly call that the visionary ownership the league had in mind when he came on board.
Quote:
Wolff said he rejected the idea to include luxury boxes and other amenities because soccer fans come to watch games more than experience a newfangled facility. "We're looking at a new world where less is more," said Wolff, a Los Angeles-based developer who also is managing partner of the Oakland Athletics.
Here’s just one of many things to consider. Without the added revenue of a larger capacity, not to mention the luxury boxes, how much is the average ticket at (insert stadium name here) going to go for?
Which is ignoring the possibility (or dare I say inevitability?) that the league will continue to grow, as will costs.
It’s also hard what to make of this recent news after the statements Lew made when he whined to the Mercury News just a few weeks ago. After all, desperation is a stinky cologne.
Speaking of desperation,
Quote:
The sports owner also is spearheading a campaign to move the Athletics into a proposed ballpark in downtown San Jose. But the team needs permission from Major League Baseball to relocate to the South Bay — a serious obstacle because the San Francisco Giants hold the area's territorial rights.
If the timing were right, Wolff could build one stadium for both teams, though he and many others prefer separate facilities.
"I wouldn't think it would be a great experience or the way to go," Krutko said.
But if Wolff can't finance the soccer stadium, it is a long-shot option that could be considered. "The first goal is to have it soccer only," Wolff said. "If that's not possible, you can always do any of these things, but you want to be careful" not to infuriate fans from both sports.
If the timing were right, Wolff could build one stadium for both teams, though he and many others prefer separate facilities.
"I wouldn't think it would be a great experience or the way to go," Krutko said.
But if Wolff can't finance the soccer stadium, it is a long-shot option that could be considered. "The first goal is to have it soccer only," Wolff said. "If that's not possible, you can always do any of these things, but you want to be careful" not to infuriate fans from both sports.
To give Lew a little credit, he’s at least caught on to how pissed the fans are, and has initiated damage control in the form of lowering ticket prices next year by as much as 40%.
And hey, the stadium does have a nice, Europey roof.
*none, for obvious reasons
Share
Post a Comment
Total Comments 9
Comments
-
he could always build a hotel / luxury boxes where the score board is now. ( ala Bayern Leverkusen
Posted 21 Sep 2009 at 05:36 PM by 562nation 
-
The capacity can be increased to about 20K and boxes added at the end of the open portion of the stadium where the scoreboard is now.
Posted 21 Sep 2009 at 11:12 PM by EpiQuakes
-
Expansion isn't necessarily a big deal, but I simply cannot fathom the rationale for not building luxury boxes and throwing away a significant amount of revenue. They sell well across the league, and it's not like they can't find enough customers to buy them in money rich Silicon Valley.
Or according to Woolf, fans don't want them. In a fantasy land, sure. In the real world, he's a cheapskate, but then again that's kind of Lew's thing.
The stadium does look pretty good, though.Posted 22 Sep 2009 at 12:40 AM by Mike Gray
-
no luxury boxes is just stupid. At least put some room for luxury boxes by raising that roof 20 feet up off of a couple sides. . Also... I'll be reeeeeeeal surprised (pleasantly!) if anything close to that full roof gets made so maybe that concern is moot. Prove me wrong, Lew!Posted 22 Sep 2009 at 01:26 AM by zidja 
-
The only thing I don't particularly like about the design of the stadium (forgiving that Wolff's demands are obviously going to make the stadium somewhat barebones) is, who's idea was it to have the U-shaped stadium open up in the direction of the airport runways?
I mean, if you're going to put a roof and what looks like full-height walls up to the roof on the stadium anyway (which will help reduce some of the airplane noise in addition to all of the other benefits), why not orient the stadium so that the open end is to the southwest? Leaving the open end on the northeast lets any noise filter right through the stadium.Posted 22 Sep 2009 at 02:42 PM by RapidStorm
-
We have crap ownership. Complete crap. The Quakes debacle continues... only they took away our awesome team.
Posted 23 Sep 2009 at 12:04 AM by Honore de Ballsac
-
I hate these horseshoe stadiums. They look incomplete. Do they cost 25% less? I realize it probably makes it much easier for concerts but it looks like crap and detracts from the in-stadium atmoshpere and the quality of the TV broadcast.
Posted 23 Sep 2009 at 02:50 PM by Mullet&Talon
-
Hey, at least we'll have a staidum.
If I could afford to build my own stadium for the Quakes I would. In the meantime all I can do is thank Lew for his efforts to keep the Quakes here.
The U-shaped design seems to be to allow for expansion in the future including possible luxury boxes.Posted 26 Sep 2009 at 10:25 AM by Alan S
-
It's ass. Build it one stand at a time. What's the capacity at Cutter Buck or what ever they call it, 10,000? That plan looks like a high school stadium with banners covering the scaffolding. Build one nice 7,000 stand with suites and build temp stands like they had before Chicago's stadium was built. That would definitely give it a true English feel. Just add a new stand every couple of years as the league and revenues grow.
Posted 06 Oct 2009 at 06:55 PM by gibroni
|
Post a Comment
|
Total Trackbacks 0
