Strikers Stadium Thread

Discussion in 'Fort Lauderdale Strikers' started by drSoFlaFan, Dec 5, 2012.

  1. drSoFlaFan

    drSoFlaFan DEFEND THE FORT!

    Feb 25, 2008
    Plantation, FL
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Since stadium news is likely to be a continuing big issue in the coming months/years, I figured we might as well have a thread to discuss all the goings on, post ideas etc.

    As announced by the Strikers this past Tuesday, they intend to seek out a long term, permanent home for the Strikers, which could be a significantly renovated Lockhart Stadium, or also they "are prepared to explore any and all options for a new soccer facility in the South Florida area".

    Having talked with Tim Robbie who will be leading the charge to get the new stadium secured, the "South Florida" area means north of the Dade/Broward county line. And considering this is the organization that moved out of Dade County 3.5 seasons ago, to much stronger support, and rebranded with much effort to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, I doubt they'd go back. They'll try to pick a spot that could draw from Dade(which Lockhart can do fine), but there is a 99.9% chance they stay within the confines of Broward.

    If they were to ever to look at Palm Beach, it would have to be in the south of the county, and FAU Stadium makes a mid-sized soccer venue pretty frivolous there.
     
  2. drSoFlaFan

    drSoFlaFan DEFEND THE FORT!

    Feb 25, 2008
    Plantation, FL
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Lockhart obviously has tremendous sentimental value, and it's an accessible spot. But it may not be worth the trouble hashing out a long term agreement with the FAA there. And the surrounding area is not likely to improve as far as the restaurant/pub/entertainment factor you'd want.

    As far as new locations go, my preference, along with many others, would be in Sunrise near Sawgrass:

    [​IMG]
    Two very feasible spots. Lots of stuff to do around there with the mall and surrounding businesses. Easily accessible from the north and south via the Sawgrass and I-75, and from the east by 595 and Broward/Sunrise/Oakland Park major surface roads. You could even pull from the west coast Fort Myers/Naples area, not a bad drive at all. Panthers games are always the easiest to get in/out of from a traffic standpoint compared to other sports here.

    You'd be in the suburbs, but in about as good of a spot as you can get there. Wouldn't be out on an island like Frisco or Commerce City and some of the 'burbs stadiums we see in MLS.

    Also, the mayor of Sunrise tailgates with us and has season tickets, so that's a big friend the team would have in the process.
     
  3. drSoFlaFan

    drSoFlaFan DEFEND THE FORT!

    Feb 25, 2008
    Plantation, FL
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Here's a mock up done by F19 for what a new, expandable stadium could look like:

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    More pics are on our Facebook page.

    If they want to stake claim to the market long term, they've got to have a 2-3 stage plan for any new stadium which would make it viable for MLS, even if Traffic never intend to move the Strikers up themselves. It would likely force any perspective MLS group to go through them, unless said group were incredibly ego-centric and stupid.
     
  4. Antique

    Antique Member

    Nov 11, 2008
    the river of grass
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'd say the bottom one is not feasible. It's too close to peoples homes and too far from the mall. Plus, isn't it in Plantation & not Sunrise? Is the Plantation Mayor as big a fan as the Sunrise Mayor (the man that said he'd never attend a Strikers game at FAU)?

    The other one is better, but the open area just to the south of it (part of the mall & at the corner of Sunrise Blvd & 136 Ave) is larger & could accommodate both a stadium & considerable parking. That actually might be a better choice, but, either one would serve the purpose admirably. Well done.
     
  5. Antique

    Antique Member

    Nov 11, 2008
    the river of grass
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Good stuff. I'd like all stands to have a roof, if not the entire stadium, and have the roof over the stands extend a bit wider and further out to offer the fans even more protection from our rainy season.

    I'd also like to live long enough to see it completed and in use, but that would probably be a subject for another thread. As would the conversation about incredibly ego-centric and stupid individuals or groups trying to start a new franchise here....:cool:
     
  6. nbace

    nbace Member

    Jacksonville Armada FC
    United States
    Apr 8, 2006
    Jacksonville, FL
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I wonder if there is any room near the Seminole Hard Rock? Having a nice sized stadium next to the casino and shopping/restaurant complex would be awesome. The tribe might be willing to kick in for the cost...and if it's on tribal land....would not be subject to as much scrutiny to get it built. Plenty of parking, stuff to do, easy to get to from Turnpike/441. Maybe just north of the casino (where they currently have employee parking?
     
  7. drSoFlaFan

    drSoFlaFan DEFEND THE FORT!

    Feb 25, 2008
    Plantation, FL
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Not a bad idea. Would be a tight squeeze around there and Stirling not having a Turnpike exit would hurt.

    Nope that's in Sunrise. I think Plantation only extends to Flamingo, except for basically the Lago Mar neighborhood/golf course, south of 8th street and north of 595 where it extends out to 136th.
     
  8. nbace

    nbace Member

    Jacksonville Armada FC
    United States
    Apr 8, 2006
    Jacksonville, FL
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
     
  9. Smoke & Mirrors

    Jul 18, 2010
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Strikers Stadium thread. Didn't think we would have one of these anytime soon. Gotta say I was a bit surprised at the suddeness of this news. Is this the Strikers way of starting to prepare us now for the need for an alternate stadium plan starting in 2013? Are the total dumbasses at the FAA already creating such a problem that the situation for next year is already in jeopardy, and the team is now starting to look elsewhere?

    That started off a bit more cynical then I intended I think. The Striker Liker 1.0 in me finds it hard to fathom watching the Strikers anywhere other than Lockhart. Only other place I've ever seen them (not counting pre-season) was in Tampa many years ago as a kid. Sentimentally my preference would be to see Lockhart renovated. I find it absolutely amazing that the FAA is giving everyone so much trouble. They chased off MLB, local high school football, are making would should be an easy negotiation with Schlitterbahn extremely difficult, and they've been trying to run off the Strikers seemingly as well. At the end of the day, I see no logic at all in making sure you have no tenants, and thus no income, from this land. The airport will never be allowed to expand onto this land. So unless there is some other developer sitting in a dark room somewhere, someone with a far better offer than Schlitterbahn and the Strikers to use the land, who is just waiting for the FAA to scare everyone off, I don't get it. The FAA will be having to pay (with tax payer dollars of course) to keep up the land if no one is there paying rent to cover those expenses as well as bring some extra money into the coffers to help with its budget locally. Because God forbid we do something logical like that instead of relieving, even in a tiny way, the burden on tax payers.

    Ok, time to stop being political and down-trodden. LOL The Strikers, by way of this announcement, are telling us they are committed to us as fans and this market for the long haul. I love that. I think renovating Lockhart, if a deal can be reached, is a project that is much more in line with the budget of a D2 franchise. Plus the stadium is large enough, that if MLS should become a possibility someday, it could be further renovated to accomodate that.

    However, if we're going to start talking about building a new SSS, from scratch, with 100% prviate funding (that much is guaranteed at least), I'm not sure it makes sense if the goal is to remain at D2. There isn't really any way to justify the cost of buying land, and building a stadium unless it's to house a top flight team. I know yo're all thinking, but wait, isn't that what the Scorpions are doing? The short answer is no, the situation is different. The long term goal of the entire Scorpions operation and its stadium is to help fund a charity. The long term goal of the Strikers (Traffic specifically) is to make money. The only way they'er going to make money long term with this team and a really expensive stadium is to get to the top flight. Either that, or they are building a package and hoping for a very lucrative offer to sell it all, lock, stock, and barrel, marketing it to prospective buyers as, look, we all know MLS wants to be here in this market, especially for the tv money to be made some day. We've got everything set up now, all you need to do is buy and tell the league, we're ready to be #21 or #22.

    I'm not one of the local soccer fans who thinks the Strikers have to be in MLS. The only caveat I'd make to that statement is if MLS was the only way the team could survive. Who knows, someday that might prove true. But I just want to be able to keep bringing my son with me to sit in the stands with a hot dog and watch our Ft. Lauderdale Strikers. I don't believe you need a hipster, liberal destination with coffe houses and shops surrounding your stadium to get people to come. You just need to market properly, put a competitive team on the field, and provide a fun game day experience at the stadium. The product should be able to stand on its own if you do these things. If it can't, then the market is wrong, and no matter what you do or where you play, it won't work long term. So I hope the new president is committed to these three things first, and worrying about building an SSS somewhere second, and then only if it is necessary because the FAA are a bunch of a-holes. I hope, despite titles, at the end of the day Tim Robbie is still calling the shots. I believe he gets it. Not only that, but I believe he cares more abuot the Strikers brand than anyone else in the organization. Traffic can have their guy sitting in the President chair, that's fine. But I hope Tim is the final decision maker. He knows this area, and he's the one to get the Strikers on the path to their greatest possible success, wherever that may lie.
     
  10. Antique

    Antique Member

    Nov 11, 2008
    the river of grass
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Would the Tribe sell them the land or lease it. Remember, they are closing one of the trailer parks on the reservation to make room for tribal housing and giving very short notice in doing it. They also tried to get rid of Hard Rock and take over that entire operation for themselves. I think they failed in court. They may be more difficult to get along with than the FAA.

    I also think that Sawgrass Stadium has a nicer ring to it than Hard Rock Field. YMMV....;)
     
  11. Smoke & Mirrors

    Jul 18, 2010
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Yeah, just a guess, but I don't think the Seminoles would be too interested in a venture like a stadium for pro soccer. They could do far more lucrative things with their land, and they've proven, whether you like it or not, that they are out to make as much profit as they can. Maybe someday if the Strikers got big enough you might see them be a minor sponsor, but other than that, I doubt the Seminoles are at all interested in anything soccer related.
     
  12. nbace

    nbace Member

    Jacksonville Armada FC
    United States
    Apr 8, 2006
    Jacksonville, FL
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It's not about soccer per se for the tribe....it's creating a facility next to their casino/shops/restaurants that would bring in thousands of people for each game...plus allow them to potentially have other bigger events. Hard Rock Live gets good acts, but if they had a stadium that for concerts and other events could hold 15-20k (with field seating).....that would allow them to compete with the big arenas and Cruzan amphitheater (in West Palm Beach) for bigger names.

    I agree it's unlikely...but damn it would be cool.
     
  13. drSoFlaFan

    drSoFlaFan DEFEND THE FORT!

    Feb 25, 2008
    Plantation, FL
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah I imagine it would be more about the event hosting aspect of it then the soccer for them, not unlike AEG with their MLS venues.
     
  14. Smoke & Mirrors

    Jul 18, 2010
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    I don't disagree completely with either of you. The Seminoles will consider anything that has some kind of potential for cash in their pockets. But as a soccer fan, would you want to be beholden to a group that technically controls your stadium and doesn't really care about pro soccer? An organization who only cares about your team because they would be a regular tenant to help pay the bills, and who really cared more about using the stadium for their own purposes? Possibly pushing the Strikers to the background? The Seminoles would never allow a stadium, or anything for that matter, to be built on their land without having complete control over it and its revenues. For this endeavor to make any sense at all, the Strikers have to be in total control over the stadium and its revenues.
     
  15. Antique

    Antique Member

    Nov 11, 2008
    the river of grass
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  16. drSoFlaFan

    drSoFlaFan DEFEND THE FORT!

    Feb 25, 2008
    Plantation, FL
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    Well then Curtis Park is gonna be packed to the rafters in 2013!!! Miami United wants to be an MLS team in 3 years by golly!

    The people that use the "Strikers don't want to go to MLS" excuse wouldn't ever support the team anyway, because it doesn't say "Miami" on the jersey. Those folks simply don't want the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in MLS, bottom line. That's the real crux of the issue.

    The Strikers drew more fans in both the 2011 and 2012 seasons then the Sounders did in 2008, when they knew 100% the team was moving up to MLS the next year. It wouldn't make much of a difference at all here if the Strikers decided to openly court MLS. That whole argument is baloney.

    It does leave the door open for MLS and future investors to come in, thinking they know different then all before them, pick up the baton and continue to beat the long dead horse that is professional soccer in Miami. But considering the venue of choice for these so-called MLS investors seems to always come back to FIU in Kendall, that would in no way kill off the Strikers, and that road only leads to the inevitable: the move north to Broward and merging/rebrand of the MLS team.

    Here's hoping Mr. Robbie locks up the new stadium situation one way or the other(Lockhart or truly new) sometime in the near future. That would make any MLS foray into Miami incredibly, incredibly arrogant and stupid.
     
    Smoke & Mirrors repped this.
  17. brentgoulet

    brentgoulet Member+

    Oct 12, 2005
    PuertoPlata, DomRep
    Lockhart Deal Extended Through 2013
    The Fort Lauderdale Strikers will continue to play at Lockhart Stadium throughout 2013 after an agreement was unanimously approved by the Fort Lauderdale City Commission last night. The deal, also read more...
    Posted on Wed, Dec 19, 2012
     
  18. Antique

    Antique Member

    Nov 11, 2008
    the river of grass
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This was expected. The problem is that the lease is a yearly lease. The Strikers want a long term lease. Tim will now continue discussions on getting that added onto next years lease while looking at other options, I guess.

    The beat goes on.
     
  19. Smoke & Mirrors

    Jul 18, 2010
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Trying to engage the writer of that article on Twitter yielded the same results Antique. People just don't get it. Orlando made no bones about the fact that their goal was to be in MLS, on Day 1 in town. Apparently they subscribed to theory that some in South Florida have as well, that the only way to get good crowds is to publicly say they are trying to get to MLS. Well, Orlando has some nice attendance numbers for sure. I don't think anyone outside of Rawlins and a couple others in the Orlando front office know what percentage of those numbers are actual paying customers. And for all their talk, are they in MLS? Are they even sniffing it? Have they gotten anything in their quest that many other cities who aren't in MLS have gotten from Garber? Nope. One could easily argue that San Antonio is closer to a possible expansion opportunity than Orlando is without the same constant flow of ridiculous comments Rawlins makes about getting into MLS ahead of NY2. He's either one of these aggravatingly, incredibly, overly optimistic people, or he's clueless. No one is getting in ahead of NY2.

    As for the Strikers, their approach is different. Just because they aren't shouting that they want to be in MLS doesn't mean it isn't in their future plans someday. Tim Robbie is always going to say the "right thing" in speaking publicly. The company that owns his team has been the major backer of the entire NASL. You don't slap them in the face right now clamoring about MLS when you're the top man running their flagship franchise. He just released a statement yesterday thanking the FAA for working with them. Meanwhile the truth is, the people running the show for the FAA down at Executive Airport are some major douche bags and I'm sure he'd love nothing more than for them to somehow be removed completely from the entire situation. But he's been around a long time, he knows what needs to be said, and what doesn't.

    I've heard Aaron Davidson say, from his own lips, more than once, that Traffic isn't going to suddenly announce they want to take the team to MLS. They want the fans to come out and support the team in sufficient quanity, consistently, first, then they are open to discussing MLS. Some people get angry about that attitude, and I don't necessarily blame them. But from a business standpoint, how can you expect differently? If the demand is there, then they will take a look at being the "supply." So Mr. Panizo can argue all he wants and say, but but but I am giving quotes of Robbie saying they are not thinking about MLS. He should be smart enough to know you're not always going to get the real answer to your question just because you asked it.

    Bottom line is this. The cost to purchase land and build an SSS from scratch with all private funding, well it's pretty big. How do you justify that type of expenditure for D2 soccer? I know some other places have done it, but South Florida, I don't know, I just don't see it unless it's for the top flight. I think a couple of people in Traffic, and maybe even some with the Strikers, have this absurd notion that somehow the NASL will someday "catch up" to MLS and either be on par with them, or force some kind of merger a la the NFL and AFL. This isn't realistic. So if the situation becomes building an SSS out by Sawgrass, you're going to have a hard time convincing investors to back you unless it's part of the process of getting to MLS where the endeavor can mean actual long term profits.
     
    drSoFlaFan, Antique and Never Offside repped this.
  20. Smoke & Mirrors

    Jul 18, 2010
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    On the money as always DR. Those clowns in Miami will be lucky to average 500. I think some people know this will be the case and that's why we're suddenly seeing all the tweets and ridiculous stories about Beckham possibly being interested in owning a team in Miami. He's too smart to throw away his discount ticket like that. If he really didn't care about starting one from scratch, and was going to get on board with either LA or NY, he'd be best served to help a group get a team accepted into the league in a market where it will actually flourish, so that he can then flip his interest in said team for a VERY tidy profit.

    I think the Strikers might possibly find themselves in a race though. Just because people who are able to think and reason things out logically can see that Miami is never going to work for American pro soccer, never has, it doesn't mean someone stupid won't decide to try it anyway. And no matter how you look at things, that will cause some issues for the Strikers. To what degree is circumstantial, but it will effect them. If the Strikers can play, and win, the same game it looks like the new Cosmos owners are trying, it probably puts them in the best position. Renovate Lockhart or build your new SSS in Sawgrass. Build on the marketing efforts from the end of last season, and sign that major sponsor (hello Bacardi!). Then someone would have to be on crack to think they could come in and take over this market, especially to play on a plastic field in Dade with football lines on it. I'm telling you all, even you Mr. Panizo LOL, if the Strikers are able to do these things (upgraded stadium situation & proper marketing) they will eventually be an MLS condidate, assuming the league is expanding beyond 20, which I believe it is. And they won't do something ignorant by announcing they will be in MLS be year 20XX like those clowns in Orlando or the NPSL folks down in Miami. A statement like that is simply a recipe for egg on your face. When 2015 comes and neither of those cities is in MLS, how will they look? Oh wait, maybe Rawlins meant they would be "in MLS" in 2015 as the reserve league team for DC United?!? LOL
     
    Antique repped this.
  21. Never Offside

    Never Offside Member

    Apr 2, 2011
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Tim Robbie Stadium Concept. By:Flight 19
    Stadium design by Zach Reese.
    Stadium Seating Capacity : 9,654
    Estimated Construction Cost : $12 - $18 Million
    406162_552476538114077_1883961004_n.jpg 58232_552476534780744_509241289_n.jpg 538548_552476561447408_1469897738_n.jpg 538518_552476571447407_210884670_n.jpg 582393_552476568114074_1603474855_n.jpg 580567_552476591447405_814488140_n.jpg 185760_552476598114071_1169103094_n.jpg
     
    markmcf8 repped this.
  22. ceezmad

    ceezmad Member+

    Mar 4, 2010
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Red Stars
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Not enough sky-boxes. IMO
     
  23. drSoFlaFan

    drSoFlaFan DEFEND THE FORT!

    Feb 25, 2008
    Plantation, FL
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I tried to tell him that lol. He's doing a phase two that adds more I believe.
     
  24. Smoke & Mirrors

    Jul 18, 2010
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Hey DR, and any other F19 or Ultras who might see this - I saw on Twitter last week where you guys and Tom Mulroy were thanking each other for a good meeting you had. Was there anymore talk about the stadium possibilities? Or are we very far away from anything being decided and action going forward with this?
     

Share This Page