My point is that by your count, a team that has been around for 43 years is getting its butt kicked by a team that is in its first season. And I'll just say that in addition to the $60 million Blank paid for the training center, he paid $100 million for the franchise, and over $1 Billion for the stadium in addition to player salaries and the massive transfer fees for the South Americans. So don't even try to act like he's trying to be cheap like Mr. Kraft.
No, the MLS team had nothing to do with getting the public money. The bonds were approved well before the franchise was purchased. The $200 million in public money is the exact same bond set up and amount that was used for the Georgia Dome. You must not know much about Atlanta because the stadium is used for much more than 8 NFL games a year. Chick-fil-A kick off and Bowl, SEC Championship, Marching Band comps, concerts, etc. I'm not sure what your point is about away games. Watching on TV sucks compares to going to the home games.
I don't think I'm going out on a limb to say that ATLUTD's training center kicks "Quakes '74" field with a fence's butt.
I'd agree - and I'm not gloating like I'm 8 years old or Arthur Blank or Josef Martinez. You're right. I am actually very grateful for the way Blank's pushing the MLS envelope and raising our game. Since he seems way into this, and ungodly rich, I'd love to see him put up a soccer specific stadium.
You're right, I didn't even google it. But I'm sure when it came to pitching the gubmint and the voters, soccer was thrown in there with the other filler. And I'm sure Garber let Blank know in no uncertain terms he'd get an MLS team if he wanted one. True. And watching a game on fake turf sucks compared to watching soccer. Signed, A. Curmudgeon
The voters we're pitched on anything. The bonds were never put up to a referendum. But thanks for trying to tell me about my city and my team.
Yeah I wouldn't, obviously. "Game first." I'm wondering what 100 million would have bought in Marietta GA. That was ATL Utd's 2nd choice for the training center right? And I'm not trying to be "us vs. them" here - (though I'm excited for ya with yer rookie season enthusiasm and stuff. We need that Sounders/Toronto/Fire before them invented MLS kinda shot in the arm whenever we can get it.) Sure, the Bay Area is an expensive place to build things. Or, say, develop a major league pro team. Part of the reason I think the Quakes have bad owners is they seem to want to invest like they're in a minor market.
The nice thing about having an 18-field complex around your stadium is that you can set aside Field 1 -- right next to the stadium -- as your training ground and keep it a pristine grass surface and have all of your offices and other training facilities inside the stadium.
I thought Field 1 was the turf football field with stands. But then I'm living ten years in the past and things change. Or perhaps Field 1 is the fenced in field on the back side near the TV tunnel into the stadium that the teams practiced on before MLS Cup 2006. That would make more sense, having a field fenced in so the rec players can't get on it - and next to the tunnel down into the stadium and locker rooms.
That's Dr. Pink Field, where the high school JV football, junior high football, and junior high and high school soccer teams play. Bingo.
Er, no. Kraft sat and watched the greatest coach and quarterback of all time pull of a miraculous comeback to nick Blank's team in overtime. Full credit to them for pulling it off, but let's not act like getting into the Super Bowl in the first place is a worthless achievement. They used existing bonds/tax measures that were already established on behalf of the local authorities. All the City had to do was approve an extension thereof and verify the parameters for their use on the stadium. Had a greater amount been involved (more than $300M, IIRC) then it would've outstripped the existing allotments and terms allowing such a measure, and thus would've required a public vote. Had it gone that route, however, I feel sure it would've passed. For one it would've only applied to the City of Atlanta, with a population of about 430,000 and nary a Tea Party-type in the bunch to make too big a fuss about it. More importantly, the local convention center and hotel industry were fully behind the measure since having a domed field downtown means a ton to the local tourism industry. Investing $200M for a (then) $1.3B iconic, top-class venue was a virtual no brainer, especially since the World congress center wanted the old dome site for a hotel, anyway.
I was engaging in playful smack-talk by suggesting Kraft kicked Blank's butt. I'm a Bills fan, so I know a little about losing Super Bowls. Needless to say, as a Patriots-hater I was rooting for the Falcons in the last one.
Gotcha. Born in upstate NY, myself. Mostly adopted the Jets in that sense but always had a soft spot for the Bills. Hope you guys get your new stadium soon.
NEWS: Sporting Club unveils world-class Wyandotte Sporting Fields as part of the new Sporting Fields + Athletics➡️ https://t.co/WhDRC4sFUd pic.twitter.com/43BrcZUG6O— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) June 1, 2017 I suspect SKC is going to make some serious bank on the rent checks paid by youth soccer tournament organizers to use these fields. https://t.co/ssMIJCJLzD— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) June 1, 2017 It's not a bad point. Sometimes these new training facilities can also be revenue generators.
Its a few weeks old, but RSL has a sponsor name for its new academy complex and USL/future NWSL stadium: Zions Bank Real Academy new home for Real Salt Lake development pyramid https://www.rsl.com/post/2017/05/24...y-new-home-real-salt-lake-development-pyramid $60 million 10 total fields including the Stadium, with one each for school and Herriman City public use and a total of seven (7) regulation-size training fields (80 yards wide by 120 yards long). Four of the fields will be natural grass and outdoor, with the remaining three fields utilizing a state-of-the-art artificial surface from The Netherlands, including that of the 5,000-seat Zions Bank Stadium. Two of the artificial fields will be housed in the Zions Bank Training Center's iconic 208,000 sq-ft. indoor structure, the largest pre-engineered freespan building in North America. Atop this building will be a solar panel array from Utah’s own Auric Solar, at roughly half the size of its Rio Tinto Stadium installation