If the boards had not crashed, I would go back to early 2000 when I clearly stated: "Olympics in DC = Pipe-Dream." I have to say that this was a serious waste of time and money by DC and clearly slowed the process of building a new Soccer stadium. I might not "write" Tony in after all. Tim
AEG has been talking to DCSEC for years, how long does it take to tweak the numbers. Either build the damn SSS or stop blowing smoke up our butts.
Can I have your username "grumpydcu"? I'll trade you mine, Petter Villegas, and future considerations.
DC not Olympic City They've cut the list to NY and SF. http://msn.espn.go.com/oly/news/2002/0827/1423544.html There goes the current plan for a soccer-specific stadium that would host volleyball.
Well if either of them does actually win the 2012 Olympics, it should be a golden opportunity to put an MLS team in a home of its own. Obviously the winning city would be much more willing to co-fund a SSS to be used for the Olympics if they had to build one anyway. Then it could be built prior to 2012, the MLS team move in (Quakes, Metros or an expansion NYC team such as the Cosmos ) and then it could be converted to a beach volleyball or whatever stadium for the Olympics. Also, it would be a great marketing opportunity for MLS. Just think about it. ... Now, live from Pele Stadium, home of Major League Soccer's New York Cosmos, Karch Kiraly and US Beach Volleyball. OK, so maybe it wouldn't be such a great marketing opportunity, but everyone would see the MLS stuff etched into the walls and the big permanent signs on the outside. Co-funding for a stadium, motivated local government to bless and expedite permitting and construction, and revenue-sharing for parking and concessions. I think that'd bring in an invester rather quickly! Maybe George Steinbrenner's son would want to run that, I heard he's a soccer nut like us. -Tron
DC may not be an olympic city, but... Washington is an international city, just like Tokyo, Nigeria or Israel.
My thought exactly. No more delay about a SSS because the Olympics might be coming. And it looks like, as of Friday, baseball's going nowhere. So all the excuses are falling by the wayside. As to the Olympics, I actually hope the US doesn't get them in 2012. That would poison our chances of getting the 2012 World Cup.
last time I checked there was no "israel city" or "nigeria city" either. Tel Aviv would count as an international city, though.
Now that DC is not getting the Olympics, what about our SSS? Uncle Phil is in a little hot water with the feds while Quest retools there books. Quests stock is down to the one dollar and change range. I think one of the last things on his mind is ponying up big bucks for our SSS, at least not untill he gets straight with the feds.
damn, everyone is pretty quick to dictate how someone else should spend their money. I'm sure AEG has a plan on the table and is working towards a solution. However, with the real Qwest issues hanging around, I'm sure Uncle Phil isn't really in the mood to just drop an extra $20m on the table to get a stadium built ASAP. IMO, when there is a winning team on the field RFK is still the best place to watch a game. The only problem is the lack of revenue going to the MLS and the potential baseball relocation. (hello DC Expos). I would rather AEG drop an extra $2m into the team at this point so they would at least be interesting to watch. In fact, I would rather they drop some money into actually creating an avenue to be able to watch the team (or listen) without having to drive 3 hours to the game. But that is just me.
I think our history of hosting the Olympics proves the US can handle large sporting events. I think that may be one of the reasons we got WC 94. I think our sucess with the Olympics (coupled with WC 94) is the best thing going for us as we bid for WC 2014.
This blows, I was looking forward to DC getting the Olys. Toronto got shafted last year in their bid for 2008 and now DC.
What NY and SF don't have gridlock? Hell, by 2012 we'll all be using the flying cars ala The Jetsons. It says so in the 1960 Year in Review Encyclopedia I found at my Mom's storage unit the other day.