The "Thoughts That Don't Require Their Own Thread" Thread XII

I graduated from Clark 30 years ago. Worcester was up and coming then. It's always up and coming. And I'm not sure relying on college students with limited money and a lot of entertainment options is a great strategy for ticket sales.

As far as location goes, Foxboro's about as well positioned as Worcester. Both are near a major highway (Foxboro's actually closer) and pretty close to Boston and Providence.

 

I wonder who they are talking about

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There is currently a tug-of-war, of sorts, occurring behind the scenes in MLS. Some ownership groups are ready to spend more believing the league is primed for growth, and further investment will only accelerate that growth. Other ownership groups are happy to limit their investment, either because they can operate at a profit by doing so or because their resources are more limited than some of the billionaire ownership groups that have come into MLS in recent expansion.

Before, there was an old guard that controlled much of the decision making. Multiple sources indicate that is starting to change. There isn’t one group that holds the hammer anymore.

 

The above post was from an article talking about how some owners want charter flights and some don't. We have always assumed the Kraft's were clearly on the do not want side.

I wonder if anything has changed based on the fact that they have their own planes now? It is probably still much cheaper to fly commercial rather than fuel and fly their own plane....

 

We ranked 426 club soccer teams against each other https://t.co/Cgx5kwhyFg

— Andrei Scheinkman (@ascheink) August 22, 2017

 

Remember that if you win Powerball you could likely easily afford to buy the Revs and also privately fund a stadium - effectively reversing the course of this franchise, as well as the course of many of the discussions here.

Yes, you.

Just saying.

Just in case.

 

Well the powerball winning ticket was bought in Worcester. Maybe we'll see a Worcester stadium after all.

 

The winning Powerball ticket was sold in Chicopee. So, perhaps we'll see a new soccer-specific home for the Revolution anchoring the revitalization of the "Crossroads of New England".

 

Ahh, right. The face value would be enough, but not the net payout.

 

Aug. 24, 2014 – Jermaine Jones assigned to Revolution as DP https://t.co/ZTDXScs4If

— Frank Dell'Apa (@frankdellapa) August 24, 2017

 

Why would the Revs ever want an old overpriced DP anyways?

 

"[#NYCFC's] president said that fans should expect an operational soccer-specific stadium 4 to 5 years from today"
https://t.co/0OZqPpmIlo

— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) August 31, 2017

 

NGUYENing: The Lee Nguyen Story | Trailer
August 31, 201712:23PM EDT

 

All due respect but they are nothing like one another.

Foxboro is a town 30 miles from Boston, not close to anything except more suburbs. It's really not that close to Providence, a solid 45 minutes.

In contrast, Worcester's a city with good transportation links and a lot of college students. It's close to the Pike, on a direct train route to Boston and easily accessible to many areas of the state.

As far as up and coming, I have lived in the Worcester area much of my life and grew up in Northboro 20 minutes away. I guarantee Worcester was a hole 30 years ago. Some may say it still is but they probably haven't been there in a long time (of ever). There actually is good investment happening in the canal district and downtown. There's a new rink being built, a new ECHL team to play at the DCU Center and they are courting the PawSox. Nothing like that was happening in the city when you were at Clark.
[Rant]
I realize people like Casual Fan are going to snark all they want, but I'm tired of the bullshit about a Boston stadium. Just build "the next best thing". If you can't get a ride youmy 20something, make some ********ing friends. If you need to rely on the train, take the ********ing commuter rail. If you are too much of a lazy asshole to do either, watch it on tv. But for God's sake the Krafts just need to build a God damn stadium in a train accessible place and be done with this shit.
[/rant]

 

Foxboro is also close to major highways. As far as transportation links go, if the plans for regular train service, that makes it more accessible. as you said, Kraft needs a train accessible stadium. He already has one. Foxboro may be 45 minutes from Providence, but Worcester's about 45 minutes from Boston. Like I said, they're all about equidistant by car.

It's nice they might get a minor league hockey team to play at the DCU Center. It wouldn't be the first. I remember when it was called the Centrum and was THE place for big name musical acts since the Boston Garden was such a dump. I also remember when the Worcester Mall was in the middle of downtown and was supposed to be help revitalize that area.

Worcester may have gotten better, but the last time I was there was about two years ago and it still looked like Worcester to me.

 

I live in Worcester. For seven years now. So....how to put it?...... There is no place for NIMBY Pride in this here town.

 

That's a fair point, they've been trying to get downtown going for decades around the DCU center. You are also right that Foxboro is close to several highways as well. Forgive my rant it's a side effect of 22 years with the Krafts as owners.

I am just frustrated because IMO if Boston won't happen due to pols, NIMBY and ridiculous real estate prices (after a decade of failed attempts, it's certainly looking that way), the Krafts should be willing and able to look at other options around the region. I realize I am contradicting myself because I was vehemently against the Revere/Wonderland idea. At this point, in general, a smaller city with a tough reputation but hungry for investment (not necessarily Worcester, could be Lowell, Brockton, New Bedford etc) with open minded pols, but a little farther out makes sense to me. The revs could become a way to generate growth.

 

What was the trigger that made you tag me by name, along with "bullshit", in a self-described rant on this topic?

I am not heavy into the stadium discussion, as I really care about fielding a winning side, regardless where they play. I do dish out the periodic snark whenever the owners or FO feed the fanbase half-truths or outright outlandish statements - on any topic, including on stadium topics, but really on any topic.

I truly reserve my prime "snark" for the FO foibles around finding talent and getting a quality team onto the field.

I think they are other who do the heavy lifting on weighing in on stadium stuff. I seldom comment on this topic, and when I do so it is not particular to preferring Boston. Usually a stadium comment from me is in regards to the timeline and the insanely poor expectation management shown by the Revs in this matter. Along those lines, it is puzzling that you mentioned me by name in a rant about the stadium location.

You can PM me if there is an issue that you feel slighted by, I am at a loss for this callout.

 

Sorry man nothing personal, please disregard it

 

Cue the "48-60 months" thread on the NYC board

 

Well said!

Though we probably won't see the team moving to central MA, the historical roots of the American Revolution actually began in Worcester. It was the first town to overthrow the British public officials in the lead up to the war. It was a bloodless revolution led by the townsfolk, therefore it doesn't get the attention of Lexington and Concord.

For anyone curious, read about the uprising of 1774 here. There's a book about it though I will be honest it's not the most exciting read.

 

Now available on YouTube:

 

Since it has been mentioned twice now on this page, to clarify, Foxboro to Providence is about a 25 minute door to door ride without traffic. Stadium parking lot to Providence Place Mall.

 

Just watching the pregame coverage of the past-chiefs and Rodney Harrison was down on the sideline with Bob Kraft behind him. Dan Patrick asked if Kraft owes him any money and Harrison jokingly said "yeah, Kraft is cheap."

Every revs fan watching simultaneously said "AMEN!"