Revolution Stadium Groundbreaking "12-24 months" Part XVI

Holding onto a thread of stadium talk linked in this recent article. Father Kraft actually spoke about the Revs at this Goldman Sachs talk he went to..

https://www.boston.com/sports/new-england-patriots/2018/11/21/robert-kraft-goldman-sachs

I initially thought the Goldman Sachs financing help may have been something new, but upon clicking thru realized it was from 3 years ago.

 

I am assuming it is going to be mostly private funding?

 

#2 sport in America? I love the optimism, but assuming he means the NFL will remain at #1, that means soccer will leapfrog the NHL, NBA, and Major League Baseball!

Seriously, the NHL is more regional, but in Canada it is far and away #1,and still very, very popular in many of the older, core cities. Maybe not so much in some places, but overall, it's pretty solid. The NBA is also hugely popular globally, not quite at the level of soccer, but it is a very big deal. Baseball has been around forever, and while it may be perceived as too slow, or demographically appealing to old guys, there are certain markets where the baseball team is far and away the most popular (Red Sox, Cardinals, Cubs, Yankees/Mets, etc.) Not everywhere, but it is still really popular.

Maybe this could happen in 50 years, but not in Daddy Kraft's lifetime. Or any of ours, I suspect.

 

Well, remember what thread you are in. 12-24 months is really 10-20++++ years. So, in that context he was probably as accurate as he has been on the stadium timeline.

 

God help me...
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...tirs-debate/YCV1Uha69zTGdRIOhdnFuO/story.html

 

A stadium plan could gain some support if it is designed with the dual purpose of flood mitigation. It seems incompatible, but the Dutch have done many creative designs successfully.

 

I love how Chesto adds stadium speculation to all his articles about this site without any actual information that the Krafts are considering it.
I think he wants it to happen because it will be a gold mine of stories for him.

 

Top quality, if the city can remove businesses and homes next to the area for a low cost. Everything about it is perfect, but lacks space for future expansion. We don't want to build a stadium in a road/building landlocked area and then worry about another building stadium in the future.

 

Future expansion of a non-existent stadium is the last thing anyone has to worry about. The problem with lack of space for anything but the stadium is that it doesn't allow for the sort of commercial or residential development that might make the project attractive to other stakeholders.

 

See you in 60-90 days, comrades.

 

I read they were open to mixed use development? Or is it just low income housing?

 

The damper has already begun to be put on the latest Frontage Road speculation for a Revs' soccer-specific stadium. Two days after The Boston Globe ran Chesto's piece, The Boston Herald's Jonathan Ng and Brooks Sutherland collaborated on a story in which city councilors Michael Flaherty and Matt O'Malley - as well as City Life/Vida Urbana head Lisa Owens - all balked at the idea. Flaherty flat-out said:

"I cannot support this if we're talking about a soccer stadium. It's not sustainable. Everyone is cutting through the neighborhood to go in town, around town, or downtown. It would choke this neighborhood."

https://www.bostonherald.com/2018/11/30/soccer-stadium-site-pitch-irks-south-boston-residents/

The Revolution playing at Frontage Road? I'll believe it when I see it.

 

I've never heard that. Also, I'm not sure the Frontage Road site has the space.

 

Doesn't it extend south to Widett Circle?

 

I'm not sure. But I wouldn't assume that parcel is available. How much land is needed for a stadium and parking to begin with?

 

I think 16 acres at least

 

The Frontage Road lot is 18 acres.

 

Yeah then they really don't have room for much else unless they share the parking lot somehow.

 

Or bury it, stack it or convince the city they can do with less. (I have no idea if there are any legal requirements when it comes to parking in Boston.)

 

Grant Wahl includes this nugget in his MLS Cup wrap up article:
https://www.si.com/soccer/2018/12/08/atlanta-united-mls-cup-champion-soccer-city

"And one of the running undercurrents in Atlanta this week was that the Kraft family might finally announce the details of a new soccer stadium in Boston for their New England Revolution in the first half of next year."

 

The key takeaway being "might".

And are we to assume that "the first half of next year" will soon be replacing Major League Soccer's standard "60 to 90 days" meme? Well, I suppose it is less cumbersome than "120 to 180 days".

Compared to the Revolution's soccer-specific stadium saga, Les Miserables was a short story.

 

That's an interesting tidbit from the Grant Wahl piece.

I recently saw this article https://www.bostonglobe.com/busines...ts-big-fish/Brbo7pyEajN3I7GrJGN3VM/story.html about the mayor of Revere still looking for what to do with the available land they've got (mainly, Wonderland Dog Track and Suffolk Downs). I didn't realize they were a potential location for Amazon's HQ2.

Now that the Amazon search is over, and given the resistance to the Frontage Road / Widett Circle location (which admittedly seems very justified), seems like it would make sense for the Krafts and Revere to pick up those talks again. I think it's a sensible location for a new stadium for all parties involved, including the fans.

 

Suffolk Downs has been spoken for. HYM Investments is planning to build housing, malls and offices.

https://www.universalhub.com/2018/basically-surrounded-water-suffolk-downs

 

War and Peace is a short story compared to the Revs' Quixotic search for a stadium site. I think it was 2004 when this idea first came out. Since then, how many teams have joined the league either by promotion or expansion, planned and built and are playing in their new place before the Revs have even decided on a site?