News: Friday, June 22, 2012

Chester,Bridgeview,Harrison...ugh...

 

I really know nothing about this so I would appreciate peoples views on it.
Is this an anti soccer mayor wanting some cash up front and putting on the squeeze or is PPL park a financial disaster and more of a burden on tax payers than other local sports venues?

I did notice the stadium is never referred to once by name in the article which I found odd and also the idea of mayor denigrating a franchise and sport while at same time saying they don't generate enough income seems strange since I would of thought you want something that can make you money or be a burden to be a success rather than fail?
That could be my own bias talking though so what do you guys think?

 

Soccer Denying Impoverished City Shows Stadium Risk: Muni Credit
Business Week
That is a depressing story Just wish MLS franchises would be different then the other sports

 

i am not really sure what the point of all of these articles actually is. RBA and PPL were built to be the FIRST part of a larger overall development/improvement to impoverished/downtrodden areas.

but when the economy collapsed none of the rest of the development happened ... it just seems stupid and disingenuous to lay all the blame at the feet of the MLS team/stadium. the stadium weren't supposed to be the silver bullet alone that would turn around the areas and provide all of the taxes needed to make the project worthwhile ... they were just supposed to be the catalyst.

it is like complaining that the soup you made tastes terrible when you ate it before finishing/using the whole recipe and you've just put in hot water and chicken stock.

well duh!

 

And to follow up on this, RBA and PPL are different situations than Bridgeview. From what I can tell, Bridgeview is a case where a small city got itself in debt, then the politicians went and borrowed more money on that debt, or something like that. Bridgeview has nothing to do with soccer, or even stadiums, and everything to do with stupid politicians.

On the plus side, while PPL was the primary focus of the article, it did talk about Glendale and the Coyotoes as well. So it wasn't entirely soccer oriented.

Things could look particularly bad for soccer as it's one of the few sports that was building a lot as we've gone through this Great Recession. I haven't followed the other sports as closely, but the only other stadium construction that's happened the past decade that I can think of is Cowboys Stadium.

The thing is, if done correctly, with few jobs out there and interest rates low, this has actually been a good time to build, it seems to me.

 

Even the Fire project was to lead to more, a waterpark was to be built but dont thing it ever was. A small city is going to have problems whenever they take on stadium projects. I just think the guy who first wrote on Chester/PPL park could have written about alot of other much worse sports projects but choose to rip on PPL. There are dozens of new empty baseball parks around the country built to lure a team that never came, where are those stories?

 

it is an interesting point as to how MLS's expansion (growth from 10 up to 20 teams) across the last decade (and the associated stadium construction/upgrades that has come with that) has gone alongside for a good number of years with the current Great Recession.

In the past 6 years, NYC (and the close-by NJ area) has seen two new MLB and one new NFL venue constructed (started in 2006 or 2007) and opened (in 2009 and 2010).

And I'm sure there are other large outdoor venues (other than MLS facilities) that have also been built and opened in the past decade. (DC welcomed MLB to Nationals Park in 2008 after 2 years of construction and 3 shared seasons 2005-2007 for the Nats and United at RFK.)

And likely that other stadium activity (for more popular and established sports/leagues) in DC and NYC has probably had some role to play in the difficulties and timelines that exist for trying to get United and MLSTeam20 their "own" soccer/MLS venues in those same markets.

 

Since 2008, the Nats, Yankees, Mets, Twins and Marlins have opened new MLB stadiums. New York, Dallas, and Indy in the NFL.

 

Any of them being used as a cornerstone for nearby development?

 

The Nats (and the DC govt specifically) certainly are trying to have Nationals Stadium be a cornerstone for nearby development.

(And the goal/hope is that DC United's new stadium could potentially be built about 3-4 blocks away in that relatively underdeveloped area of DC waterfront to aid in the overall development of that area.)

 

For RBA and PPL, it seems like the problem isn't the stadium itself necessarily, it is the fact that the other development that was supposed to come along with the stadium hasn't happened. That seems to be something the articles on how Harrison and Chester are struggling have always missed. It also seems disingenuous that the articles rarely mention the economic downturn as a whole.

That being said, there have been other articles prior to the Great Recession that also note that stadiums are usually net losers when it comes to economic stimuli. The main reason for that, however, is that the increase they do provide rarely meets what the municipality paid to build the stadium and how they are paying back that debt. Most stadiums are paid for by increasing taxes on ancillary businesses, so hotel, car rental, and restaurant taxes, and predicted property tax increases from neighboring properties and the municipalities pay a huge portion of the cost. The problem is that the municipalities have an unrealistic expectation of what the increased tax income will be and rarely account for the full cost of the bonds when interest is included. The end result is that while there is, generally, an increase in the tax income, that increase doesn't match what the municipalities paid.

 

My favourite line

Four years ago, former social-sciences professor John Linder questioned why promoters wanted to “bring soccer to a basketball town.”

I guess we should pack this MLS thing up for good then. Maybe a 2nd Philly franchise in the NBA located in Chester would have been the more appropriate thing.

I love nothing more than seeing soccer make other peoples lives miserable.

 

i may have found a new .sig

 

Even more amusing is that the guy doesn't seem to be aware that the Union's average attendance is pretty good for a MLS team.. Heh.

 

Is this a concerted effort from MLB to prevent a DCU stadium?

 

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sco...pl/4387796/Clubs-queue-up-for-Gers-stars.html

Rangers f-ed up and all their players are apparently available on free transfer. This report says Bocanegra has been signed by the "Vancouver Rapids". I'm guessing they mean the Whitecaps but maybe they mean Colorado.

 

That is freaking hilarious. But you're probably right on the Whitecaps. I think they are #1 on the allocation order right now.

 

Motorboat

 

Haven't you heard?... Colorado is merging with Vancouver and moving there.
There will be no more balls at Dick's.

 

EPL's Stoke City begins talks to acquire Dynamo's Cameron

http://www.chron.com/sports/dynamo/...-begins-talks-to-acquire-Dynamo-s-3655790.php

 

But they got the order of the words wrong. It's Rapid Vancouver.