And I had thought that Leeds issues steemed from unrealistic revenue projections based on making the Champions League on a regular basis.....something that wouldn't be an issue for an MLS club.
Fair points, but what's interesting to me is whether this example is actually any different to any of the previous PPF schemes. If so, great but my guess is if there was a revolutionary new way to do it it would already have been done elsewhere.
You're not famous, but you're in good company... "Everything that can be invented – has already been invented," the commissioner of the United States Patent Office, a Mr. Charles Duell, back in 1899 "Inventions have long since reached their limit, and I see no hope for further developments." 10 A.D., Roman Engineer Julius Sextus Frontinus "That’s an amazing invention, but who would ever want to use one of them?" ... President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876, after Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated the telephone to him at the White House. "There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom," ... Robert Milken, Nobel Prize winner in physics, 1923 "Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible," ... Lord Kelvin, President Royal Society, 1895 "Who the hell wants to watch movies with sound?" the president of Warner Brothers Studios, Harry Warner, sometime around 1918. "Ruth made a grave mistake when he gave up pitching. Working once a week, he might have lasted a long time and become a great star" ... Tris Speaker on Babe Ruth's future, 1921.
"Necessity is the mother of invention." - somewhat wrongly attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson... actually playwrights William Wycherley and Richard Sheridan both made variations on this phrase in the 17th & 18th century. Checketts PUTS lots of money in MLS pot - sees heat turn up and realizes without key ingredient "Soccer Specific Stadium" his money will turn to crap. Checketts NEEDS Stadium Salt Lake City slowly aging and downtown needs revitalization and much effort is being expended by the Mayor, the LDS church, and the City/County/State governments to improve Salt Lake City. No argues that this would be a big improvement for the city/state - it's just wrangling over who's going to pay for it. In fact, Salt Lake/Utah as whole is transforming from a big town to a small city and wants to be on "the map" - so to speak. Years of rumors about trying to get other major league "professional sports" to Utah have been around. The Olympics was a big push (and risky in terms of cost-benefit), but the people of Utah signed up for it... it's part of the view locals have of the city and where it's going in terms of growth, etc... This stadium WILL happen - there is no doubt in my mind. It is only now about who is going to pay, where it will be, and how "nice" it's going to be.
Oh I don't know. To have the Governor come out swinging for the new MLS team in the state is nice. Also having the Gov. "get" the bad guy in all this, Bramble, to be part of the solution is a nice twist of fate. Basically I get the impression that the Governor wants RSL and their SSS to happen and will do what he has to, to make it so. All very, very encouraging.
Merton Miller, Nobel Prize winning University of Chicago economist, is walking down the street with a student. The student spots a $20 bill on the sidewalk. He says to his professor, "hold on, I'm going to stop to pick up $20." Miller says, "don't bother. If it were really there, someone would have picked it up already."
Nice try. Sadly, I suspect when it comes to funding stadia the first quote is completely true. I'll be more than happy to be proved wrong though, only time will tell.
MLSnet's take on what happened today (although it likes a lot like the earlier MLSnet article) http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20050317&content_id=24196&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
I forget the precise quote, but the guys who invented the ENIAC at IBM said something to the effect of "I forecast the global market for computers to be between 6 and 12." And of course there were no shortage of wags and pundits who self-satisfactorily claimed that the Internet would be the next CB radio.
That's true good buddy, come back. Now I've got that song "Convoy" running through my head - thanks, Stan!
Yeah!... now, I've got the song "Radar Love" running through my head - thanks Ismitje!... (when I tried to think of how "Convoy" goes again - all that came into my head was "Radar Love' by Golden Earring!)
More thread drift: Not sure if there's a quote, but back in the 90's Stephen Hawking stated that he figured scientists were about 20 years away from understanding everything there is to know about the universe. Also, Sinead O'Connor in a '93 Rolling Stone interview predicted that "rap" was a fad and would be forgotten within another 6 months.
That's fine, because Radar Love is an infinately better song than Convoy (but then Happy Birthday is an infinately better song than Convoy).
but then again, "Disco Duck" by Rick Dees certainly ranks up there with "CW McHaul's "Convoy" come on everybody.. you know this is running through your heads right now... "Disco... Disco Duck.... Disco... Disco Duck"
Just want to give this one a bump for those that thought the sky was falling with the one-year moritorium on rda money bill a couple weeks ago.
It seems to me that if building the stadium in SLC will cost $$$ to buy land, whereas building it in Murray will not cost a cent in land, then build the thing in Murray and let SLC gnash their teeth for not getting the deal done sooner. Is Murray a poor second choice?
Murray is a fine choice... I think SLC is preferred because Checketts sees it as a more glamorous choice - i.e. downtown stadiums are fairly rare and pretty cool when they happen. From a convenience standpoint, Murray is pretty good because it is literally in the middle of the Salt Lake valley and centrally located to freeways. For the vast majority of people in the suburbs it would be closer than a downtown stadium. Personally, I like the "downtown" stadium idea even if it meant a 25 min. drive instead of a 15 min. drive... but either location will be good.
re Murray? While I agree that Murray is centrally located and has the distinct advantage of being affordable, it does have some problems. Outside of TRAX (which stops at the stadium site), getting to the stadium may be a bit of a disaster unless Murray can do some major road overhauls, especially on the 45th S offramp. For those who haven't been there lately, 45th S on the east side of the freeway is 2 lanes each way, cut out of a hill, and is a state road. All of these issues point to a big bottleneck for getting in and out of the stadium with no easy fix in sight. 33rd S is not much better off of the freeway, but does not have some of the topography issues. Avoiding the freeway and taking 7th or State are both possibilities, however, you would still have to get on either 45th or 39th or some small side street to get to the stadium. I suppose Murray could expand one of the side streets, but that may require purchasing land just to add a lane or two. And don't even get me started with the whole there is nothing to do in Murray issue. I just do not see the appeal of going to beautiful downtown Murray either before or after a RSL game for a great meal or for entertainment. If I had my druthers, currently I would hope that SLC would find a way to get the land on the other side (west) of Gateway. At least then you would have options for other entertainment before and/or after the game. Picture this, if you are a soccer fan from at least 50 miles away, where would you prefer to make a day of your Saturday which includes watching RSL, SLC next to Gateway and near the Temple, or Murray?
Re: re Murray? Gateway wouldn't be bad at all. Especially since it looks like the "Comuter Rail" is going to be a reality and starting in 2008 someone in Ogden could hop on the train and take it right in to the Gateway area and then be within walking distance to the stadium, restaurants, etc.
Re: re Murray? For us non-natives, what exactly is the difference between downtown SLC and The Gateway? gracias.
Re: re Murray? The Gateway is still downtown. It's an outdoor shopping mall type place and it's just right across the street from the Delta Center. It's about 5 or 6 blocks away from the currently desired downtown site. There is land west of The Gateway that could be used for a stadium which might be cheaper than the reported $20mil Earl Holdings wants for the 6th south plot. FYI: Murray is a suburb of SLC to the South. The Murray site, 6th South site and W. Gateway site would all be close to I-15. The Stadium exit in Murray would be about 10 minutes away (on I-15) from either of the downtown sites. So, IMO, the travel distance for those of us coming from outside SLC is pretty much the same. 10 minutes isn't that big of a deal.