News: In bid to preserve Earthquakes stadium plan, San Jose agrees to revise land deal

only 15,000 seats??? wow that seems awfully small...

 

Good stuff.

Go figure.


******** you Fenty

 

So true, I keep reading about how the bad economy will make it harder for teams to get stadium deals with government co-operation and it really just hammers home the level of economic ignorance in the general population which politicians have to pander to.

RIGHT NOW is exactly the time to be engaging in big, publicly funded, infrastructure projects. Governments are some of the only bodies that can sell bonds right now, are getting great rates because investors are looking for any safe haven, and fiscal stimulus is what's needed to get the economy rolling again. Borrowing money to build a capital heavy project like a stadium pumps money into the local economy creating actual demand and leaves the city (or state or whatever) with an ASSET that could actually generate revenue into the future.

Furthermore, construction is always one of the worst hit sectors in any downturn and most overheated in an economic expansion. By building right now you use public money to put construction workers to work rather than just paying them to sit around and be idle. With the market depressed cities and states should be using that leverage to negotiate better deals too! Why wait until the economy turns around when you'll almost certainly have to pay more?

But then this is the same public that thinks that the time to invest in the stock market is when they hear it's doing well not when it's doing poorly.

 

A realistic number for the current Quakes, but what of the future? If the Quakes and MLS loosen up the purse strings and bring in DP talent, will 15K be too small? What would a Blanco-like player on the Quakes roster do for attendance?

 

9 times out of 10, when something is said like "2012 or 2013", the answer is 2013.

 

Well what the 15k doesn't mention is that the stadium will have a berm with seating for 3k at one end. And while it's not planned to be used for expansion, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to make the jump that the berm could eventually be converted to full seating if MLS and the Quakes grow to where it's needed upping capacity to 18-20k.

 

Why would you contract a rocket scientist to construct an edifice?

 

They did make the moon landing look pretty real. They could probably make an empty stadium look full.

 

It is next to an airport.

 

And you would know this how exactly?

 

Someone post pictures of those sweet looking Scandinavian stadiums that are 14k-18k, covered, intimate, and cheaper to build than MLS stadiums. If Lew Wolff and Co. go that route, San Jose will have one of the best stadiums in the league.

 

Oh come on they can do anything. I mean they killed Princess Di and they faked the crash of United Flight 93 in Pennsylvania when it really landed safely in Cleveland.

Hmmm - why is there a black helicopter above my house? Better put my tinfoil hat back on.

 

well i like the idea of the berm... that makes more sense... i was thinking that once attencance takes off, the tickets get harder and harder to come by, price will shoot up (demand for tix, such a bad thing - sarcasm-) but at least there is room for grass/blanket seating... and more seats when necessary.

 

I really like this one. Its the same capacity as the one in San Jose.

 

Yes please

 

Except that assuming athletics68 is right, its actually smaller, with one end actually constructed. Personally i like this one:

 

Well the open end with berm comes straight from Wolff's mouth so I'd assume it's correct. But no reason we can't have a 3 sided stadium similar to some of these with the berm at the open end. And as I said while they've got no plans to enclose it, the lack of plan doesn't forestall such an enclosure in the future if the need arises.

 

Considering the stadium is still years away from being built, I find it hard to believe that anything about it's design is actually finalized.

 

Don't be surprised. They've already hired the designers and the architects. And the FO has already talked about preliminary ideas about what they want to build. Remember, they originally agreed to purchase the land 12 months ago, they took a step back here to renegotiate the price due to the land value collapse but it doesn't negate any of the development work on the actual stadium design they'd previously done. And it's not really years from being built, if it opens in 2012, figure they'll put shovels in the ground in 2010 which according to my calendar is next year. And between now and then they still have to finalize the private loans to fund the thing.

 

Congratulations my sons, and best of luck with your new stadium if it comes to fruition. From what I'm reading, it will.

 

Based on initial drawings I've seen from Rossetti, the San Jose stadium could be expanded very easily if there came a time when it was needed.

 

Wolff plans to use the new Quakes SSS for regular games and to use a larger facility (probably the Oakland Coliseum or the new 49ers stadium if they ever get one built) for the matches that are going to be big draws. That's what they are doign already and he has said he prefers to keep it that way (and to keep ticket scarcity and presumably higher ticket prices for regular matches).

It kinda does make business sense, even though it is a little bit of a shot to the ego to have what will be the smallest SSS in MLS. As long as the new SSS is sold out year-round like BMO field, it should be a nice little venue. I'm not sure that the Quakes are anywhere close to being able to consistently sell out a 20k venue so I think Wolff and company are being pragmatic instead of just assuming that attendance at regular matches is suddenly going to double.