Well, yes, they have to at this point. The short legislative session is nearly over, and no bill has been introduced. Getting something through the short session would always have been difficult. And, given that Belskus has only come on board recently, it makes sense to give him time to put his connections to good use.
Hey, it took like, what, 16 years to finally put something at the old Market Square Arena? Boondoggles being pitched and failing spectacularly are par for the course in Indianapolis.
I missed this while I was traveling last week, but the airport project, including the stadium, is dead. Really, it's amazing it got as far as it did.
Yeah, that does not surprise me at all. From the sound of it that guy was only a half step above the Hartford City FC guy in trustworthiness.
Yeah, it's good that crazy plan didn't go too far. Well, we're still stuck on Square One when it comes to the stadium issue. I hope they bring it up in the general assembly this session because I want to see something come out of it. Carroll Stadium is okay in a pinch, but based upon my observations during the C.F. Pachuca friendly, they need permanent amenities (concessions & merchandise stands) and actual bathrooms.
And actual seats too (and not just for the premium tickets). Really, Carroll is not a tolerable long-term solution. I'm presently trying to decide whether to renew my season tickets for next year (something that you'd think would be an easy decision given the team's success this year). Part of my hesitancy is based on the large number of games that other commitments have required me to miss this year. But part is also based on the sheer physical discomfort that attending a game at Carrroll (as opposed to, say, a game at Victory field) entails.
Solution for your first problem Every Night is “Exchange Night”: Swap tickets for games you’ll miss in advance for any future games included your season ticket package as for discomfort of attending games at Carroll, I got nothing except to come stand in the west end. No need to worry about sitting on the bleacher seating.
I don't need more tickets for games I already have tickets for, though, so the ticket exchange doesn't really help. But I definitely plan to attend a game in the west end!
Yeah, I'm hoping they can figure out a solution to the stadium by the 2018 season. The comfort of going to games is often a big reason as to why I choose not to go to many games, and why I didn't renew for this season.
I'd be curious if the ownership knows that a portion of their non-renewals were due to the bleacher seating... although i suspect the 2 years of rough results played a factor as well
Curiously, the team is at the top of the NASL but their overall attendance is lower than the first two years, when they were mainly a hot mess. I'm guessing either the novelty factor or the state of Carroll is the result of this, but if Indy Eleven pretty much wins everything, and I'm hoping for that, I'd love to see them build a 16,000 seat stadium. There's plenty of areas in the downtown region that would support it. Hell, I'm all for tearing down Kuntz Stadium and building there.
At this level of sports attendance is driven less by wins-losses and more by gameday experience, advertising, and community outreach. At least the part of Indy I live in I see way more Indy Eleven gear being worn on a daily basis than Pacers or even Colts. So I think the Carroll stadium experience is playing a big part in this. I do also think there is more they could do to bring awareness, especially with buying billboards, although maybe the economics of advertising more just doesn't make sense. That is something also to consider. At a certain point advertising does have diminishing returns. It is possible for a team to be more profitable at 8k than 10k depending on the cost of getting the extra 2k in the stadium is.
The novelty factor is a big player. Everyone wanted in at the beginning because there are a lot of soccer fans in the circle city. Whether they had their fill of live soccer, didn't want to consistently pay $10 to park for each match or the fact we finished nearly dead last in our first two years... I'm sure it's a bit of both. Indy fans tend to be a bit fickle regardless of the sport. When the Colts had a rough patch, scalpers couldn't give their tickets away. When Pacers are playing poorly, discounts flood the city. We all want to see our team do well and would love to be at every match, but when they play poorly you might as well sit in the comfort of your own home, drink far more cheaply and casually watch the game on tv. The discomfort of Carroll certainly plays a factor. Outside of a number on the backrest, there's no defined seating. People merely have to sit a bit loosely and all of a sudden a paying customer has half of a bleacher "seat". It's frustrating to say the least. Lack of actual bathrooms, lines at concessions, etc... These things certainly play a factor. I'd be all for a 16k stadium as long as we don't mind remaining in D2. I believe requirements for D1 is 18.5k, so unless we bump it up or have plans to expand we'd be simply stating we are fine where we are with a 16k. And I don't mind staying in NASL, the expansion fees are getting ridiculous in MLS.
I do see a lot more Indy XI stuff around the north side than most sports, though i would argue and say every Friday during the Colts season they take control. Still I've seen more and more offices, classrooms and pubs brandishing Indy XI merch or posters than any other sports team. There are a lot of people who want professional soccer to succeed in Indy and plenty of people who went to 1 game and enjoyed themselves. I think when you attend a game here and there, the stadium experience plays less of a factor. But when you are a season ticket holder, the stadium flaws seem much more apparent. We are doing fine with a decent STH number and have managed to fill the rest with one off's and group outings (thanks largely to our wonderful front office), but to continue to grow and stop seeing a decline in attendance each year as the novelty wears off we have to improve the STH number. And the stadium plays a big part in that IMO. I'm fine with Carroll, but there are certainly flaws that need to be addressed.
This chart is on the 2017 season ticket page, but it's also a part of the 2016 season ticket book. Every Night Is Exchange Night already exists, though it's hard to know how many people are aware of this.
I have to say this; at least we don't have to worry about people running off with half of our FieldTurf.
Here's an interview with Jeff Belskus about the stadium. Belskus isn't particularly forthcoming (which is not a surprise), but at least it appears that work is going on behind the scenes. Nothing can be done formally until the legislature reconvenes for the long (budget) session in January. Hopefully the team will have its ducks in a row this time (having failed two years ag0).
Just looking ahead at the legislative calendar and looking back at what happened last time there was a long session (2015). As always, the long session must end by law on or before April 29. That makes it sound like there's plenty of time to get something done. But there are lots of interim deadlines as well, so if something is to be done this year, time is growing short. Two years ago, the House Ways and Means Committee held hearings on the stadium proposal on February 16. I haven't heard any rumblings of similar progress in the State House this year. If something doesn't happen this spring, that basically forecloses the possibility of legislative action before 2019 (there's a short session next year, but it would be unusual for a stadium funding bill to go through in a short session, which generally does not address budgetary issues). And that, of course, would kill the MLS bid, unless the owners decided to fund the stadium privately in its entirety. And that seems extremely unlikely.
It would certainly remove any chance of being in no 25 and 26 for MLS, but maybe not slots 27 and 28. I don't believe the league was specific about the timescales for choosing 27 and 28.