No offense falvo, but many here in SJ do care about having luxury boxes and believe that The Epicenter should have them. And many of us prefer to have a roof too, and that's where ESLLC thankfully took its cue from. -G
That may be, but add that to the maximum amount the league will contribute -- $415,000 -- and you have $900,000 for a very good designated player. Wolff could just pay that from his own checkbook, but what are the odds of that? But that's not the real benefit of this revenue stream IMO, it's using that money to help build the place. Your larger point -- that there is so much money sloshing around San Jose and Silicon Valley that it isn't a great sum in the scheme of things -- is probably true, but that's preciously why it's so hard for some of us to understand why the suites were scrapped. I would think if any market would by suites, it's this one. Now, I suppose its possible to make up the difference by having more club seats and charging a lot more for general admission tickets, but they aren't mutually exclusive. Wolff could have more club suites, charge more for general admission tickets and have the suites. For some weird reason, he has concluded suites are a loser. Given the concerns he expressed about generating more revenue, it seems odd. Look at it this way, Wolff seems to be trying to find $3 million of dependable revenue streams to essentially help pay for the stadium. That's more than the recent naming rights deals have generated and it won't be easy IMO, but if he sells 20 suites at $50,000 each -- less than what they go for in LA -- he's plugged a million of the gap. It puts you all closer to actually sitting in this stadium instead of looking at some marketing renderings. The good news is that the two deck design is going to look really good and put fans right on top of the action IMO. It will be a huge upgrade from the present situation. The 800 pound gorilla in the room is that he doesn't have enough money to build it, and for some reason he doesn't want to use a potential revenue stream that seems a natural for that market.
Yes, largely because with most luxury boxes, you have to buy the box AND buy the tickets for the seats in the box for whatever events are staged at the stadium.
Just for the hell of it, for argument's sake, I'll concede your point. People all over the SJ area are losing a half mil in their seat cushions and blowing it off as nothing. That's still irrelevant. The cap is the cap is the cap.
If it does it does, but the good news is that there's nothing but the owners themselves stopping construction from beginning this time. The city did the part it was requested to do twice. The fans will hopefully continue to renew season tickets doing their part. It's really in the owners court this time. And on the bright side they've made a few changes this off season to improve the Buck Shaw experience further adding seats that can have alcohol in them and bringing back tailgating. Two things that were sorely missed previously.
That's not true. Quick check of the PHP and DSG web sites indicate that tickets are included with the suites. Both reference the ability to purchase additional suite tickets - the implication being that seat tickets are already included. I've never rented a suite, but A68 has. Maybe he can tell us if he had to pay for the seats in addition to the suites. So 20 VIP seats generate $54K in revenue, a 20 seat Lux Box generates $15K + additional SRO - standing in the back of the suite - revenue. $39K is a lot to be made up from people willing to stand in the back of the suite - especially at MLS games.
The Sounders are an MLS team in an NFL stadium, and 97 suites is a huge, huge number of suites to sell in MLS. The supply glut creates the prices you see there. In Toronto in 2006, they built 30 suites for a price that ranged from $25k to $40k.
Overall I love the look, with the steep seating right on top of the action and the roof to keep the sound in. 15k with expansion possibilities is fine for now, lack of suites might be a goof though. However, that empty berm stuff is lame. I understand the concept, but please stick some simple bleachers there for some ultras to go crazy. You stick a couple hundred crazies back there and it looks great on TV. Good luck Quakes fans!
OK so compare a 20 seat suite at BMO for $40K to 20 VIP season tickets in San Jose at $54K. Wolff generates more revenue with VIP seats. And the VIP seat patrons get to sit right down on the field instead of up on top of the stands hundreds of feet away. I don't think Wolff is leaving out suites because he's cheap. I think he's leaving them out because he doesn't like watching games from them. He likes being close to the field and knows that's a better experience (he's on record saying so). My fear is that he turns the entire lower bowl into an exclusive section for the "Elites". Exclusive access to the seats and concourse, a dedicated wait staff, entrance and facilities and the best seats in the house. The Elites will surrounded by other elites and completely separated from us commoners. He'll be able to provide a better than luxury suite experience without the expense of building the suites. It would be very cool ... if you're rich.
Actually, getting back to the soccer side of things, the cap is not only cap, but its crap! I do believe it can and will be changed or raised, however. I understand all the valid points everyone is making about these luxury boxes and you all may have a point pro or con. I understand but if they say they are not going to do it, they will not freaking do it! Seriously, I mean we can all scream and yell and kick and do whatever, but knowing these nouveaux riches types and after living, sleeping and breaking bread with them, I can honestly say, they are all NUTS! We can talk about how logical things are until we are blue in the face but knowing these types personally, whjen they put their mind to something, not even God in his heaven will change it. Now most of us who haved lived and worked in San Jose only know too well the truth, I gfrew up here and lived here all my life with the exceptionof a hiatus of when I lived in Florence , Italy. They are all not playing with a full deck. We can twist it and turn it whichever way we want, but I'll believe it when I see it.
While the stadium will apparently run in a northeast-southwest diagonal (though maybe not in a perfect diagonal), the scoreboard end will effectively be the "south" end. Basically, those sitting in the stadium's "west" side will have the scoreboard to their right. -G
Could be, I dunno. I just found the decision odd/puzzling (much more so, I think, than the capacity). . . and I'd hearkened back to when the Crew intended to build their stadium without them because they didn't think the market was there. They ended up changing the design to include them. And then he comes out with the explanation that we're in a "new world" where people won't buy them anymore. . . things have changed post-recession, but we ain't on Mars.
I would say a good reason some people would want a Luxury Box is because of protection. Famous stars, politicians and foreign dignitaries can't or won't risk being mixed in with the crowd for safety concerns. Could you imagine if Obama wanted to go? With the 100's of death threats he gets every day going to any sporting event he needs to have maximum security, luxury boxes offer this (no easy way to get in or out with passing armed guards). A roof is important IMHO because it helps protect fans from the elements, unlike American Football or College Football where weather doesn't affect as much due to the culture and history the sport has, but soccer doesn't have this and when bad weather strikes fans won't go out to watch a game. Having a roof helps because fans will know they won't be affected or won't be affected as much. Just watch a baseball game where it's been raining that day, if the game is played there's very few fans and the stadiums are mostly empty. San Jose fans need to take it easy, your defending a stadium that doesn't exist and won't exist until sponsors are gotten. This is just a pretty picture and it seems ridiculous that people are so attached to it and defending every little thing. Also I believe that having club seats being so close to the action instead of the real fans is a mistake, the people who do purchase those seats won't add anything to the atmosphere of the game. Someone here pm'ed me that SJ only has around 75 members in all the supporter groups so the FO shouldn't cater to them, which IMO maybe true but it's the opposite of what most teams are doing by trying to get supporter groups into the mix and making their stadiums truly rock.
Is this the same Fiorentina that went bankrupt in 2001 because they were losing so much money they couldn't even pay player wages? Maybe a few luxury boxes would have helped?