Is this better than GS?

No, it wouldn't be a good idea. On one of the other threads discussing the Burn's new home, someone pointed out that high school football stadiums in Texas are bigger, nicer, more "professional" than high school stadiums in other places. I don't think you'ld find a high school stadium in NY/NJ which comes close to what the Burn is moving into.


Also, you probably would not be able to sell beer in a high school stadium.

A comparable move for the Metros would be to a local college stadium, i.e. St. Johns, Rutgers, Columbia, but this has been discussed here before and does not seem feasible for various reasons.

It seems like Southlake HS gave up a lot of control over the stadium to the Burn, and I don't know that any school facility around here would be willing to do the same for the Metros.

 

Where?

Unfortunately, it looks like Giants Stadium is what we are stuck with....

 

Metro should renovate Roosevelt Stadium in Union City if they ever think about going this way. Its close to rt 3 and has alot of bus lines going thrught for easy NYC transit. The only problem will be parking and the fact that it has turf. but if Metro are going to be spending some cash they can easily convert it to Field Turf or actual grass. That place already has a roof and can prob expand to accomodate 15K+(I think thats the capicity now actually). Plus its in a neiborhood and not in the middle of nowhere where people from around town may be curious and go check out a match.

Check out the pics and article:
http://users.bestweb.net/~dimike/fod/roosevelt.html


Man those terraces look tasty!

 

I love Roosevelt but it's far too difficult to get to for the NJ suburbanites. You can't drive on Bergenline or Kennedy now; imagine if you add 2,000+ more cars to the mix.

 

Well see thats the beauty of having a stadium in a neighborhood. Even if no one else but people in Union City goes, they will still sellout that place with the right marketing and community relations. Metro can also look into buying adjacent land and build parking decks for out of towners. I dont think its impossible but it will take alot of work and alot of planning. Stuff like traffic can be lowered by offering free shuttles up and down Kennedy. That will atleast intice the people in the neighboring towns to leave their cars at home. Theres is also a huge Park and Ride 2 blocks away that isnt that full on weekends. So maybe Metro can also "rent" or strike a deal with NJ Transit to allow them to use some of it for stadium parking on gamedays. Since its at the bottom of a huge hill you can also use shuttles to bring people up if they choose not to walk.

I dont think any of this will make it "uncluttered" but can make it barerable enough to allow us to play. I mean UC uses it for its HS and it gets a few THOUSAND people there somedays and they do fine. I can also remember going there as a kid for Large Fairs with rides and whatnot thats gotta bring a few thousand in.

 

Bergenline Ave. through UC/WNY on a Saturday afternoon is something like what Dante was thinking of when he wrote The Inferno. It would be brilliant if I was still living a 20 minute walk away, but for anyone who's outside the immediate area, it would be damned difficult to find parking, if nothing else.

However it would be great to see Manhattan Metro fans swarming over on the ferry, climbing that rickety staircase up to Weehawken and streaming down 48th St toward the Stadium, even if only as a stopgap solution.

Seeing pictures of it, I kinda wonder why we've never seen a friendly or even a Open Cup match there. Turf, I guess.

 

That article highlights the insanity of Giants Stadium economics. The Burn were paying a mere $15k per match at the Cotton Bowl and were inclined to seek a better deal.

According to past published reports, Metro pay at least $80k per match for GS. Assuming an average ticket price of $15.00, Metro has to get 5,300 paid people in the house just to pay off the NJSEA. We all know that, despite announced attendance figures, that ain't happening on many Metro dates. On top of the stadium costs, add player/coaching salaries, adminstrative costs and the lease for John Guppy's Jaguar. It's not hard to see that Metro must be hemorraging money at a tremendous rate from Phil's bank account.

The Burn, on the other had, pay their stadium costs with just 460 paid customers (at an average of $15.00 per pop). Yeah, the high school stadium thing is a drag, but, in terms of MLS survival, the boys in Dallas are heading in the right direction. I would have to imagine that the high school does not insist upon 100% of the parking and concession revenues (unlike the lovely folks at the NJSEA).

Reason #239 why Metro must get out of GS even if Harrison does not pan out.

Kevin

 

If the ESC did that we'll all be in tremendous shape since those staircases are about 1/2 way up the empire state building, or so it seems. But remember theres also like 10 different bus lines that pass thru there from PA(and thats not counting independent lines). And they go at regular times not "when the bus fills up even it it takes till 5 minutes before kickoff"

Yeah if it wasnt for the turf that place will kick ass. It has terraces, roof, and even fencing to hang up yo "KOCH PTE" banner and for climbing for when we score.

 

How wide a field could you put in there? It looks like it might be too narrow, judging from the photo. If they could squeeze in a proper sized field, I would suffer through Dante's inferno to see the Metros in a non-Giants Stadium venue.

 

It was built as a ballpark first, so a regulation field should fit. Which reminds me. How wide is Giants Stadium?

 

I remember reading back in WC'94 that GS was @ 68yds. wide configured for soccer. I still remember Donadoni's debut back in '97, and his beautiful passes that were just a tad too strong for the width -- or lack thereof.

 

How much would it cost to renovate a place like that?

It looks great.


As for parking. Is it not possible for Metros management to come up with some creative parking alternatives like the Fire management did, or is that beyond them?

 

There is such a world of difference between finding 'creative parking alternatives' somewhere out in the Chicago 'burbs, and in a part of urban Hudson County that is every bit as densely built-up as Manhattan.

Not to say it isn't possible, but please, this isn't a 'Chicago would do it so much better' issue.

 

I'm not looking it as a situation where "Chicago would do so much better"

Personally, I feel that such a stadium would probably be a better economic situation for the Metrostars.

We supposedly lost 6 million last year at GS. That is not acceptable. Part of it is not the Metros fault. We are really stuck with GS at this point. However, we have ot find out a way to get out of it. If going to this stadium for 2 years, and dropping down 1 or 2 million dollars means that total loses are cut from 6 to 3 million dollars, I would honestly do it.

It seems to me that most of the loses for the Metros come from the fact that we pay an 80K rent, and get no other sources of revenue except for the tickets sold and whatever other little Metros apparell is sold. How can you run a business like that?

We can't stay stationary as we have been since year 1. Even Mitchel Field might be a better temporary move for 1 year then GS until we get our stadium. That's a fact.

 

Metros are boxed in. Rather than wait years and years for a possible resolution to the Harrison situation, why not try to get an SSS at the Meadowlands with the same revenue rights the Giants have at Giants Stadium? With the Nets/Devils moving, njsea has no need for the Continental Airlines Arena. Why can't it replaced with an SSS? Sure there would still be a transportation problem, but other problems like revenue, scheduling and field condition, will be somewhat solved.

 

The Metros should look into this. Why spend the 60+ million dollars when they could spend about 30 million on refurbishing this stadium into a really nice SSS?

 

The reson you dont do that is because it will still have the same problems as before.

First, the land is owned by the state and will cost them more than Harrison ever would, since it will be better for them to put a mall or some other crap than a 20K stadium that will only get used half of the year. And if they decide to partner up with the state, like the Giants are, it means that they will ask for a percentage of revenue. It probably wont be as much as we are getting shafted at GS, but still it will be a nice chunk we SHOULD BE keeping.

Second is transportation. No one goes to GS NOW, why will they go to a stadium next door where the same issues are? You cant get there by walking, the bus service is horrible, and there is no other way to get there but car. Unless you plan to have the BEST players in the world of any sport people wont bother to show up to that place. But then again look at Nets and Devils.

IMO it will be a big mistake to stay in the meadowlands even if the NJSEA is willing to give us the land for free. The only way you can have a stadium in the middle of nowhere like that is if people are knocking down doors to buy tickets. In that case people will go to games no matter where you put it. In our case we need to make it easier for ANY fans to go see them as long as theres a big group out there who can get to the stadium easily. Wether its NY, NJ, Hudson County resident, Bergen county resident, who ever.

 

I have a big back yard... they can play there.

 

Could this be a place to build parking? its only 2 blocks away and its HUGE. It will be no different than walking from the outer edges of the GS parking lot.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6608203&BRD=1298&PAG=461&dept_id=142349&rfi=6
The third property is the bus garage property at the corner of 27th and New York Avenue. Sixty percent of the property is owned by New Jersey Transit, and Union City owns the other 40 percent. Both entities are in discussion as to what exactly will be done with the property. According to Stack, one possibility is a senior citizens' center.

 

Is there any way to take a train (either PATH or NJ Transit) to this stadium?

If not, then the only ways to get there via mass transit are a ferry from Manhattan (followed by a long steep uphill walk or a bus) or a bus from PA?

 

I know it's far, far away, but would using Princeton University's new stadium be feasible? It's nice, pretty big, and natural grass. Just a (different, I think) thought.

 

I was thinking of St. Johns' DaSilva Field. The football team had used it, but the team was just disbanded/eliminated by SJU. Right now, no school team will use it until the planned lacrosse team starts (spring '04, I think). The NY Freedoms, a D3 Pro team, also use it.

I'm not sure how many seats it has; it would probably need to be enlarged by the Metros. Also, it has turf, which would have to replaced with either real grass or a more state-of-the-art turf. And, of course, I'm not sure the University would be interested in sharing its facility with the Metros. Also, there is a lot of bus service there, but you can't get there directly by train, unless you don't mind a long walk from Hillside Avenue.

It just occurred to me because, since dropping football, the school is sitting with a stadium that it has no real need for.

 

You can take the PATH to Journal Square and then take the MANY lines that go up north. Or go to Port Authority and take the many bus lines that pass with in a cuple of blocks there.

 

I don't think the Meadowlands is a good idea for a new stadium. The easier it is for people to get to a stadium the higher attendances and interest will be. No one can walk to the Meadowlands. And it is a pain for a lot of people to get there (although I guess if it was moved it would just be hard for different people). What is frustrating is that I think a city like NY could support 5 or 6 teams but there just aren't enough players.

If the new stadium is in an actually city (I'm not saying within NYC but at least located where some people live I think you could count on 5,000 more local people coming.

I'll use Port Chester (in Westchester as an example)
Before they just put in a Costco there there would have been enough unused land for a stadium (maybe there still is). If you had put it there in a soccer-receptive, decent sized city you are going to attract probably 5,000 maybe even a little more locals who never would ahve taken the drive to New Jersey. A lot of them are within wlaking distance. It would be just as easily accessible, maybe even easier than the meadowlands. New York could probably support a team in westchester, queens or long island (or both), New Jersey, and Manhattan or the Bronx (if you could find room. I think the attendance problem is more that there aren't enough people interested to drive for 30 minutes - an hour and risk getting in traffic than that there aren't enough people that would go to a soccer game.