Stadium News XV:: Tiny Stadium Nuggets > Chicken Nuggets

I'm not a Richmonder nor am I in the know so that makes me qualified to post on BS. Last I followed any of the baseball stadium saga in Richmond(nearly a year ago), it was a mess. The plans for where a stadium currently is weren't popular and nobody is accounting for the public resources(Arthur Ashe Center) that will be displaced. Also because of how slow to move Richmond is, there isn't going to be baseball possibly for years. It's been a while since I heard anything about a soccer stadium although there was some talk a couple years ago about something outside of the city in one of the surrounding counties and I think that was supposedly part of the move to and stay in USL-2 for the Kickers. I could be making all of that up though. I'm too lazy to look stuff up regarding Richmond.

 

Wait..there are qualifications needed to post here?

 

SoccerPlex expansion has been approved.

 

Not that I have inside knowledge as a former Richmonder, but the Kickers pretty much chose the low key route by dropping to USL-2. I don't see any likelihood that that organization would want/be able to support its own SSS.

 

Without knowing too much about the Richmond baseball specifics - I'm guessing that the city would like a new stadium which could eventually lure the Nationals AAA affiliate. Now, whether public financing should be required to attract something Nationals related is up for extensive debate.

Cool news about the Soccerplex stadium expansion. I love the United Open Cup matches there.

 

Park Planned On Anacostia Riverfront

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/29/AR2008102902908.html

And what does Fenty have to say about Poplar Point and Ward 8? "zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

 

An interesting item this is, showing Victor Macfarlane with interests on both sides of the river. He owns a big piece of the Forest City development rights near the baseball stadium, which has been moving very slowly. The city, I believe, wants desparately for that development (which is more than just Forest City) to move faster. But, Victor also has significant interest in getting Poplar Point done, and in many ways these two "newly developing areas" are competing against each other (particularly because of the stalled economy).

I wonder if it serves DC United interest to get development on the baseball side of the river moving before the city/Fenty commits or helps with a stadium at Poplar Point. Of course, there is still the matter of the Poplar Point EIS which still has many months before it plays out.

 

I also wonder whether MacFarlane was planning for CALPers money to invest in stadium development?

This article says that CALPers is currently a bit above their target of 10% of assets invested in real estate (they're at 10.1% currently). Does that mean that they're going to throttle back on real estate investment with a consequent drying up of available funds for not just a United stadium but also accelerating the west of the river development that Fenty wants?

On the other hand, that 10.1% is $23.6B, so a $200M increase isn't going to move that percentage very much, is it

 

That, and it's also a buyers market.

 

Has something like that ever stopped a politcos/developers handshake deal in DC before?

 

Goff notes in his Insider blog (and, yes, I am too lazy to link it...you know where it is) that in tonight's DC United award function there was a representative of PG County present...and no one from DC govt.

The writing is in the hall...

 

Hey that's my retirement you're talking about! As someone who uhh partially retired from California Civil Service I could honestly say I wouldn't mind some of my retirement fund being invested in United's Stadium, does this mean I get to sit in the Owner's Box?!?!

 

were doomed

 

Pg United!!!

 

I assume that DC resident United fans do have a vote for councilman at large.

If so, according to The Post's Colbert King: A High Stakes Election for Mid-Term Fenty, you have a chance to let Fenty indirectly know what you think by voting for an at large candidate, Michael Brown.

King's point is that if Schwartz loses her write-in at large bid, Michael Brown goes in and Brown is no fan of Fenty's. That gives the Council the ability to block Fenty.

King also thinks that would block what Fenty is trying to do with school reform, so if you think that is true and you agree with what he's doing, then there's this choice of stadium pique versus education reform.

But if you don't have that issue, here's your chance to return to Fenty some of the frustration he's handed us about the stadium: vote for Michael Brown

 

thanks for the info on the council vote. Any other tips on who's on the ballot that supports the stadium? Or is there another thread for that?

 

No tips from me, since I live in Western Loudoun County. There was an earlier version of this thread that had some council member stadium support information, but good luck on finding it.

Maybe some of the BSers who live on DC can respond to your question.

 

I don't know if any of you guys have seen this entry about Poplar Point from a real estate development-focused blog called DC MUD:

http://dcmud.blogspot.com/

It's the second entry down from the top (below the libraries entry), and gives an overview of current status/lack of progress at Poplar Point. It doesn't say a whole lot that's new; but I thought that some of you might be interested, and may want to chime in.

 

Thanks

There's a lot of assumption in that statement. You can't project the same attendance from a season in a crumbling stadium (with a struggling team as well) to what United would pull into a sparkling new stadium. I think Galaxy figures from HDC would be more appropriate. I for one would be more interested in a season ticket in a new stadium than I am at the DCSEC Rat Trap.

 

Yeah, I thought the same thing, and a couple of people take issue with the attendance statement in the comments section.

 

For anyone interested in reading about efforts to harness public funds to support a soccer franchise, today's NY Times includes an article about the doings of Secretary of the Treasury Paulson's son in Portland and his push to gain public financial support for the Timbers. You will note that, in the article, the supposed benefit to the city involves increased "awareness" not any economic benefit. Shows someone has been reading all those studies.

 

Here is the Portland article...

Also, check out the latest stadium plans in Vancouver (including a retractable roof and scoreboard hanging over midfield)