That's been talked about before on this board, about Sonora having the Kixx old boards. After reviewing both together they are identical and you are exactly right, thanks for the info. According to the picture the Blast new field looks to be more square and possibly more wide. Just will have to wait and see when the games start in November. Would be nice if they could have a preseason game, like they use to do many years ago.
Let me remind everyone that the picture of the Blast field is a rendering. Someone may correct me but if they bought hockey boards and they're 85 feet wide, they will have the standard North American hockey curvature in the corners.
The New boards and goals are being made to fit a 85 x 145 floor , & Just like in sonora everything will be on one side , Refs box , penalty boxes, player benches . The Blast will use its current carpet for this season , Since they already missed the (tag time deadline at Shaw) for a new astroturf. They only mill this product once or twice a year.
it is possible that the 145 measurement could be the length of the straight walls before you add the inside radius corner boards. When you add in the corners the final length is 153 feet , Until they actually install it we may never know the real measurement.
This will give you a good idea of what the arena looks like , The floor is 85 x 150 ths is larger then sonora from what the players have said. The arena is nice how ever seating is tight , They are still working out the details at this time. Like where the players will enter , The walls they are using s a prowall system made of a hard plastic and is not bolted down in anyway. i
They have not used the Pyro stuff in years , They cant use the sign anymore because it is way to heavy for the floor.
Well after going to ticketmaster the lowest price blast ticket is $32.50 including the fees I honestly think attendance will drop after the first few games at these prices.
The Blast are trying to reverse a decades-long indoor/arena trend, the devaluing of the product. There are teams out there selling tickets discounted to low single digit prices, a practice for the short-term that puts butts in the seats but also sets the base line for the price at which the fans should value their tickets. This practice is not a sustainable business practice and the Blast is as guilty as anyone else. Now, whether by design or by necessity, the industry leader in attendance playing in the metropolitan area that has supported professional indoor soccer longer than any other is making the decision to stop giving away the product. If the team with the most championships in this generation, that plays in front of the largest crowds can not make this work in a state of the art facility, there is little hope for the sport as a business at the professional level.
Nice time lapse video of the turf and new boards as they are set up at the SECU Arena last weekend. https://twitter.com/baltimoreblast
It's not state of the art when you play with kids boards on a 3/4 field and half the seats are either obstructed or folded away altogether. It's a new arena, but it wasn't designed to house arena soccer.
I've gone to both Blast and Heat games. I don't have a favorite so I tend to root for the home team. If the Heat plays in Baltimore I root for the Blast. And if the Blast play in Harrisburg I root for the Heat. I live in lower PA so I like the easier access and safer location of the arena. But the ticket prices are so outrageous! That's always been my issue with the Blast. Now that the Heat are competitive and have much lower ticket prices...I don't really see a valid reason me to travel to Towson. I'll just go to more Heat games.
Actually if your traveling to the games alone your ticket price did not go up at all because you would still pay the $15.00 parking fee + $23.00 at the box office with the surcharges so a game would cost you $38.00 Now you can go to the game for $23.00 and you have free parking. So your price would actually drop.
Now things are slowly coming to light about the move to SECU arena I wonder how long it will take before the rest of this story comes to light http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-hale-suit-20171018-story.html
Syd, Just once I would like to see a comment that is not negative about a team which is entering it's 20th consecutive season by the same owner. North side upper Level may be obstructed. The entire upper level of Royal Farms was obstructed along with the Baltimore Street side.
Plus no tolls and closer location for most fans. Definitely a safer location with plenty of free parking. The biggest parking lot (other side of Unitas Stadium) looks like it will require a 5 min or so walk, not too bad. Plus 3 smaller lots closer to the Arena, while one will be VIP parking for ticket holders, employees, etc. As for the Arena, which I saw in person a couple weekends ago during the open house, its is definitely nicer and more condensed. The field is not as long, but is just as wide. Should make for some even faster paced action. Can't wait for the opener to see the more advanced score board, ribbon board (which goes around the Arena) and audio system in operation. The seats are closer to the action and the unobstructed seats in the upper deck have a great view. Plus, included in the lower concourse are 300 or so club seats, which are more comfortable, more roomy and include a cup holder. Also around 70 handicap seats. Their are approximately 650 upper obstructed view seats that give a limited view of the one goal. I feel the ticket prices are not bad. Keep in mind there all less seats available than Rofo. If I counted correctly, there are around 1400 seats in the lower deck,1400 unobstructed seats in the upper deck and again approx. 650 obstructed upper deck seats. So they definitely had to raise the price due to less seats. Plus on top of all their expenses, they did have to purchase new boards. Which I thought looked durable and possibly less expensive than hockey boards. Plus, not sure if they had the time to have hockey boards made. Also, they will have to endure the cost of a new turf next year, if they go that route. I thought the old turf looked good in the new Arena. On top of that your paying to watch a Championship team which is competitive year after year. I'm not crazy about Ticketmaster fees either, but Ticketmaster probably has a deal with SECU, just like at Rofo. But lets face it, most of the Blast ticket sales are from ticket plan holders and group sales. So if you want to avoid the fees buy/split with someone a season or mini plan, call Blast office for individual seat purchases, go with a group, or purchase tickets directly at the Arena. Will post my opinion of the live game experience at the new Arena once the season begins.
...........or is in their 5th league ...........or has downsized again ..............or used to have a tv contract .............or used to have a radio contract .............or used to have a (more or less) team of full time professional ...............or used to play downtown in the biggest arena in town ..............or used to, well you get my point While this might be a safer area in Baltimore, it has obstructed seats, free parking in a giant parking lot, higher prices and competes in a league with Turlock and other nameless teams with amateur players. The sport is dying (or to Kenn's point, in the twilight zone between life, death and rigor mortis) a slow, prolonged, terminal illness with the odd death rattle like Baltimore or Milwaukeeonce in a while showing proof of life. A SAD GOODBYE to a once vibrant and successful sport