Revolution Stadium Groundbreaking "12-24 months" Part V

Unless some major infrastructure changes are made in and around Wonderland..The Bayside is much easier to get to by car, than Revere

 

Thanks for the detailed response. I suspected that dealing with UMass would be no easier than dealing with a local government and your knowledge seems to indicate that it might actually be more difficult.

A small point of clarification, I never meant to imply that I believed UMass land was "readily available". My inquiry derived from two facts - Mr. Kraft clearly has a relationship (fondness ?) with the UMass system and the UMass Boston campus can be considered to be located in the Urban Core/on the T.

 

Why? KSG would probably own both. The operating costs at the SSS would probably be lower than gillette so all in all it would be a net positive if nothing would fill gillette those 18 days, which they probably would at least partially fill. Plus you would get a lot of events at the SSS for which Gillette wasn't an option because its too big.

We all know thats not true. Gillette will move a revs game at the drop of a hat to book the wiggles in concert.

 

Kraft needs to fill dates at Gillette Stadium to keep the retailers happy and for the success of Patriot Place. If constructing a SSS would be such a net positive as you suggest, it would have been done already.

 

No, it hasn't been done already because its Boston. There is very little suitable land available and every project is drowning in red tape.

IMO, Revere would be a done deal in KSG said the word. I think they're waiting on Somerville (a better location) to make the final decision. As Kraft said, "we're not under the gun." They're willing to wait and see if Somerville pans out.

 

What about the Boston Cannons.. if im not mistaken they dont have their own field and still play at harvard stadium.

 

I would agree with waiting as well. We all badly want an SSS, but I want one in a good spot. I live just north of Boston, west of 93, and in terms of travel, I'd rather drive to Foxboro than try to get to Revere. I'd love the Somerville site, and not because it's pretty close to me. Ideally, you want in the city, and wherever it is, it would be best to be close to 93, or perhaps the pike, though I don't know if there is any space near it, just saying.

 

I am very unfamiliar with the sport of lacrosse. What is the quality of the stadiums used in this league? Do they use professional stadiums or college venues? What is the typical attendance to a Cannons match? Finally, what would be the added costs (ie rent) comparing Harvard Stadium and either Kraft venues?

 

The Cannons and the Breakers could both play at the new Revs stadium. They wouldn't need the full 20-25k capacity, since htey both average maybe 6-8 k, but it could certainly be a nice venue for either team.

The other thing that you see a lot with smaller clubs overseas is the stadium getting used for all kinds of things on non-game days. They would have conferences and meetings, function halls and that sort of thing. Usually some kind of retail shops are part of it, and it would also be a good place to have a New England soccer museum, with all sorts of stuff on prior teams like the FR Marksmen, JP Coates, the Boston Beacons, Munutemen and NE Tea Men.

 

And Revolution LFC? Groundshare Derbies are the best Derbies

 

Yeah, but that would only work if those teams were willing to pay more to use the new SSS as a facility too.

Kraft is constantly accused on these boards of not even enjoying soccer and you expect him to build a museum to the game's history in the region. Doubt it. Not a bad idea though. Let's make it the Hall of Fame there.

 

While its not clear what will happen with women's professional soccer in this country, there is a great deal of interest in having some professional women's teams based in the newer MLS cities on the West Coast (Seattle, Portland, Vancouver). I think its possible that some of these new women's teams will be owned and operated by MLS teams in the future and the WPS will become a national league again.

While I think thats less likely in Boston, if a 20,000 seater existed in the urban core of Boston, and the Breakers stay alive, and the WPS resumes in 2013, and the levee don't break, I could imagine that women's soccer would use the new stadium as well.

 

Less than 40 more posts to #500 & Part SIX!!

That's at least 2500 posts about a stadium that as of yet Does. Not. Exist.

Wow.

 

Well duh. If there was a stadium, why would we talk about it?

Is there a HDC thread in the LA forum? No.

 

What would be the fun of writing about a stadium that does exist?

 

"Gillette Stadium is a great place to play soccer" Thread XIV

 

So because people "accuse" Kraft of not "enjoying" soccer, you conclude that he would refuse to build a museum/HoF type thing in a new stadium which could help the stadium on non-event days, and therefore help the bottom line? So now we're saying he'd purposely lose money just to spite soccer. C'mon now.

 

I was aware of the fact that UMass Boston had obtained the Bayside Expo Center back in 2010. In fact, though separated from the campus-proper, I tend to think of the land as being part of the campus, as it has been used to supplement on-campus parking during construction, as well as serving as a staging area for construction contractors.

As for UMass Boston's plans for the property, the school has gone out of its way to involve local residents, community leaders, and public officials in the early stages of the planning process. Dorchester residents have expressed a preference for a mixed-use development - not unlike the one proposed by former Bayside owner Corcoran Jennison - comprised of residences, retail space, and restaurants.

That said, UMass Boston Chancellor Keith Motley has championed retrofitting some of the existing BEC space as classroom and office space. This flies in the face of recommendations from architects and planners with the UMass Building Authority and the Division of Capital Asset Management who are in favor of demolishing the entire facility and building anew.

Amongst the early candidates mooted to benefit from the building of new facilities on the Bayside site is UMass Boston's College of Nursing and Health Sciences, which - despite being a nationally-recognized leader in the field, the largest source of nurses in the state, and home to a PhD program that trains future nursing professors - was not allocated space in the new Integrated Sciences Complex on the main campus. There has been quite a bit of thought given to constructing a dedicated Nursing and Health Sciences facility comprised of classrooms, faculty offices, large-group instruction halls, labs, etc. on the Bayside site.

There's also been a lot of discussion at the charrettes concerning the site's development about building dormitories, faculty housing, and residences targeting recent UMass Boston graduates.

Frankly, between UMass Boston's needs and the desires and preferences of neighboring residents in Dorchester, I don't envision a soccer-specific stadium being high on the list of possible projects to realistically occupy the former Bayside Expo Center site.

 

There are a few issues. First, if it is just a museum to New England soccer, how many people is that going to draw annually realistically? While I think Kraft has the connections to make a push for the national hall of fame, I do think there would be objections to having that located within a MLS SSS complex or being closely connected to an MLS team.

I don't think Kraft would purposely lose money to spite soccer. Conversely, is there an example of a successful business plan for soccer museums in this country that is profitable enough to garner Kraft's attention?

 

this is silly...I said over all it would be a net positive but of course you have to build the SSS which would cost a great deal of money (including aquiring a sutible peice of lang) which is why it hasn't been built yet. KSG is trying to make it as affordable as possible to build so that it doesn't start to far in the red.

 

Your whole statement that I was replying to was basically 'because people accuse him of not enjoying soccer, I doubt he'd build a museum/HoF for soccer', which I thought was a silly statement. Is it too much to ask to not just make spurious statements that don't make any sense? IF he built a stadium, and IF he could then possibly spend a little more money to make something that would draw more people to visit it so as to make more money, of course he would do it, even if he hated soccer.

 

Yes, and my reply was doubting whether a soccer museum would in fact make money, and be worth the investment. You seem to be very convinced that a soccer museum would draw enough visitors and that it is a worthy endeavor to construct, but it is certainly debatable.

Second, if someone is going to build a soccer museum it will be because 1) they see potential for a profit and possibly 2) they have respect for the sport and its history. Read these forums often enough and you will find many posts where people question Kraft's commitment to the Revs. If he doesn't respect the Revs and its profit potential, why would he proceed with a soccer stadium and preserve history when the profit potential for a museum isn't as great as the team/

 

Sick..!

You should get that Stadium Porn addiction checked out!! Now I need therapy! Thanks Alan..thanks alot!

 

What ! No cupholders ?