Burn Stadium Q&A or FAQ

You have the makings of a good company man, Hitman.

Is there any Burn fan besides yourself who's in favor of this move?

 

I am.

Read Hitman's story and you will see it is a good move.

I remember a couple years ago there were endless threads on here about how bad the Cotton Bowl was and how bad the Burn needed to move.

I remember that the #1 choice for a place for a Stadium to be located was I-35 and 635. Isn't that 5 miles from Southlake?

Remember when Hunt was asked if he had interest it he Burn and he said "The Burn would be a viable business if they got out of the Cotton Bowl and into their own stadium."

Remember when Tampa and Miami were contracted and the only reason the Burn was not, was that Hunt was going to get them a Stadium.

Relax Chicken Little, the Sky is not falling. Turk sucks, but get over it. The Burn will survive and that is all that matters.

 

Do I like the fact that the Burn is moving farther from me? no. Do I want the Burn to survive? Yes. I'm all for a move the helps the business end of things and gets us closer to an SSS. Let's not knee jerk and let's try to look at the big picture. So YES, I'm in favor of the move, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.

(now, if an SSS can be built near my home, that would be great!)

 

What about the heat issue?

The Burn will be playing 7 home games in June, July, and August.

Is FieldTurf as heat-absorbent as typical synthetic turf? If so, I think the Burn will have a tough time getting fans to come out to watch soccer played at 3/4 speed on a 120+ degree pitch.

 

Well, thanks at least for filling in some of the details.

It's good to know the Burn have an option to get out of the contract after 1 year.

 

In my opinion the why is not so much about the costs of the Cotton Bowl as it is about branding. The Burn have decided to get a head start on a future suburban stadium by building the Burn brand as a whitebread, soccer mom, mini-van driving family entertainment event. A high school stadium in affluent Southlake that won't sell alcohol perfectly fits into that image while the multi-cultural, beer swilling Cotton Bowl doesn't.

While this new brand isn't exactly my cup of tea, I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being successful, which means keeping top flight soccer in the metroplex.

 

Well Hitman I must comend you on this. It has answered most of my questions and for that I thank you, but here is another question.

Will there be new job openings for some college students looking for a job?

 

This doesn't look that bad... I think I can live with it...

http://www.pbase.com/image/4212442

http://www.pbase.com/image/5176979

http://www.pbase.com/image/5176981

http://www.pbase.com/image/4710553

http://www.pbase.com/image/2613597

 

Living in Rockwall makes the location, of the move, really suck. However, I like the move for the following reasons:

1. The Burn probably won't make money, but I do think the will lose less money.

2. With the smaller stadium, it will actually look like there is a crowd, and when people see a crowd, they think it might actually be worth checking out. Someone once told me "People's perceptions are reality."

3. Along with #2, this will create ticket demand.

4. It will help to get more soccer moms and their families to the games. I believe for the most part that the hispanic fans are true and will still come to the games. It is the soccer mom contingent that is much more fickle.

5. The crowds make the games on t.v. look better. (But I hope they can somewhat cover over those annoying football lines!)

6. Seeing the games played in a stadium closer in size to the proposed SSS, helps create a better more positive image of what to expect if a town does decide to build a stadium.

I realize there are some negative aspects to this deal, but if you look at it with a honest mind set, the advantages start to show up.

 

So are smoke bombs kosher with the Southlake people?

If they can get a tailgate section worked out, then I am more than willing to give this thing the benefit of the doubt.

The bottom line is seeing the Burn survive and grow as a franchise. If 2 years at SLC buys the Burn enough time to get their own stadium and live on for eternity, then these are the salad days we will look back years from now with a certain fondness, even though we may not want to re-live them.

Lets hope this works.

 

I prefer my dishonest mind, sir.

 

I have gone to almost every game the last 2 years. Although the Cotton Bowl surface is one the best in all of MLS, the atmosphere in the Cotton Bowl was lacking. Maybe in the cozier(sp)confines of Dragon Stadium the Burn will be able to feel the presence of the fans.

I am a little bit nervous about my 20 ticket flexipasses. With the smaller venue, I may not be able to use them for certain games. The move to SLC may force me to upgrade my tickets. I guess this is what the Burn wants.

 

I prefer my dishonest mind, sir.

I said "honest mind SET".

I am not talking about your morals, sir. Merely saying to look at the situation from all sides.

 

Peter,

thanks for taking the time to compile a list to some of the most common questions that have come up. You are awesome!

People always react negatively to change initially. Your answers make me feel more comfortable about the whole situation.

 

I got a call this afternoon from my ticket rep. They were trying to get the information out and seemed to be taking a kind of straw poll about reactions at the same time.

I told her my main objections were artificial turf and no beer sales. Interestingly, she said that they were working on some kind of VIP (read boozers) tent where beer would be available. Seems unlikely, but it would be nice.

 

At Dallas Cup they have a VIP tent. Do they serve alcohol there? I ask because I have heard from various friends that it is against state law for alcohol to be served on school grounds. If they do at Lake Highlands then they can do it at SLC.

 

This is a reason why I wanted to start a "stadium theme" applying to heat and why teams would feel like being in hell when they are there. But no one seemed to like it.

anyways, so would the smart thing be to buy season tickets for like GA from now on becuase I'm use to walking up and paying $12 to get into a game.

I must say I was about to go insane when I read this but after reading Hitman's article, it's really not that bad, we'll just have to wait and see...

 

there are two big pros to counter the many cons of southlake. 1) the atmosphere will be great (just like naperville). although the field is a travesty, the fire have by far the best atmosphere. i saw a couple of games last year on tv and the house was rocking. 2) the burn may make some money this year.

so instead of being our normal cynical bigsoccer selves... lets look on the bright side of things.

 

Good question.

But at this point I don't really care if they serve it, I just don't want to get a $150 ticket for drinking a Shiner Blonde before the game.

 

i believe the heat will be less of a factor than it is at fire games during the day... that's because it's a different base for the turf... the fire's turf has a rubber base that retains heat quite well, but the different surface you guys will have is of a different material (for the base) and retains less heat

besides, i would imagine that most of the games will be night games



personally, i think this is a great move for dallas... i can easily see them getting close to a profit this year, and then actually get there next year, once the demand has happened


the big thing i see is making sure that the team sets aside an area for the crazies, as i know you probably won't be having the same set-up as at the cotton bowl (party atmosphere on one side...)

i'm sure things won't start out full, but as people see it's a great time, it should do wonders for making for sold out matches

in addition, it should do a world of good for helping to organize your support... but that, again, is provided that management does something to take that into account

which would be my biggest concern right now, if i was a burn fan

no beer isn't a big deal, it wasn't a big deal to me at this year's matches at naperville (sold out stadiums definitely rock)

this should play a lot better than the safe-play crap up in naperville, plus it appears to be wider... i'm sure the game will be a bit faster, but it's not the worst thing in the world

just watch the suburbanites come out, but you'll probably need to teach them to cheer


-jim




oh yeah, season tickets might not be a big deal for the beginning of the season, but i will almost guarrantee you that you will have problems come the end of the season (walking up that is)

 

Thanks for the facts!

Peter, thank you for the facts!

I enjoyed the Cotton Bowl, kind of old and funky, a great history in Dallas. But I, and my children, will attend every game we can at SLC. We will continue to support the Burn wherever they play. (Season tickets for over three years).

I will miss the beer, but I could only have beer when not driving other people's kids anyway, not many games.

I will miss the seatbacks. Either I'll upgrade or buy stadium seats.

For me, the location will be OK, closer to my house, farther from where my kids play on Saturdays.

Parking will be a problem. 1,500 parking places, no public transportation, a big problem, or a big opertunity for resturants to run their own busses.

Tailgating will have to be off the school property, Lake Grapevine is very close by as is other comercial property with plenty of parking.

Traffic will be a problem. Most of the roads to the stadium are small. Getting 10,000 people in and out will be time consuming.

I'm glad it will make the Burn a viable business until they get their SSS and I can live with it until then. I would however be upset if in two years I have to drive to Edmond to see the Burn play.

 

Sounds like a great move overall, especially if the pitch is as good as Hitman says. They must, however, eliminate the football lines.

 

SLC? I thought they were moving to the suburbs, not Utah!?!