do any thunder fans have opinions about where the thunder should move? imo the u of m's womens stadium would be best. very nice field. plenty of seating. best of all it is less than a mile from my house, so lots of pregame barbecues. macalaster is my second choice, it is a nice stadium in a cool neighborhood. it would be a fun place to be on a summer night. i don't really care for the idea of them playing at st. paul central. but i imagine there are a lot of soccer fans that live in midway who might start attending games. whichever they choose i'm happy there will be no more driving to blaine. any thoughts?
Parade Stadium, which has surface in recent newspaper articles, would be the best choice, IMO. It's very easy to get to from the interstates and is close to several main bus lines, something that the UofM women's stadium lacks. Parade is also close to both Downtown and Uptown and would have a breathtaking of the skyline.... Macalaster would've been second choice, but it doesn't look like that's a possibility anymore. St. Paul Central is a risky choice... People will either LOVE it because of it's location or HATE it because it's a freaking high school football field...
This has been discussed at some length on USLdiscussions, but as for the new information... Parade looks to be the long-term answer; it's unlikely they'll play there for this upcoming season. That being said, St. Paul Central is a temporary option, until a long-term permanent home is constructed (!). There's still a temporary Minneapolis location that doesn't have a consensus pick. Macalaster is no longer an option.
Parade Park This move will be great for the Thunder and those fans who like a little more from their crowd. Blaine was nice but the ability to draw a diverse soccer-smart crowd was difficult. Hopefully with the move a strong supporter section can begin to grow. I know there are many Thunder fans who have gone to MLS matches in Chicago and DC and have experienced the intensity the Screaming Eagles and BarnBurners can create. Hopefully this move can help do the same for the Thunder. As for specific stadiums, Central High will be a pain to put up with, what with the football lines and what-not. But I'll be able to put up with anything if its true about Parade Park and the building of a permanent home. I just really think Parade Park is an excellent spot to build the Thunders home. I won't list all the reasons Adam seemed to hit all the points I would have brought up.
i had heard nothing about parade stadium before my post. needless to say it was a pleasant surprise. is there anywhere i could find a picture of the proposed design?
Central it is Welp its official Central High School Thunder Moves To St. Paul! http://www.mnthunder.com/news/Display.php?NewsItemId=892
It's Sprinturf, so I wouldn't be surprised. But I don't know if it has permanent lines or not. Looks like it from these photos: Apparently the Vikings gave them a bunch of money to help with the renovations last year.
Hmm...artificial turf, football lines, high school stadium... Seriously though, I can't complain too much since it's a temporary thing. And most importantly, I'll be able to go to more than one or two games a year since I get get to St. Paul Central easily on the bus. I can also say that I know for a FACT that the atmosphere will be a little more lively... More to come on that later this offseason though.
It's been included in some mailings to season ticket holders, as well as been reported in a few newspapers.
What has? That it's temporary? The natural follow up questions would be "how temporary?" and "until what?"
season ticket holders have gotten info from the club that says they are looking for a permanent home and that this move is temporary the football lines on the artificial turf field at st paul central are permanent maybe the thunder will try to paint over the lines until the fall high school football season starts i see in that photo from a soccer game that they did not paint over the football lines and just used yellow lines for soccer it looks just like naperville and southlake (ie. nasty) it also has a running track around the field that keeps the stands back a ways but all in all i dont know if its a step in the right direction from the old home at the national sports center in blaine or not
Woo-hooo!!! This almost makes up for getting spanked by the Battery. NO MORE BORING, BORING BLAINE!!! I can **bike** to the games. Get me season tickets for xmas people!!! =-)
For those who've asked about the temporary status... Basically, what the Thunder want to do is eventually build themselves a new stadium/office space/etc. somewhere centrally located. Obviously, it wouldn't have to be a very large stadium, and could be done pretty cheap. Ideally, they'd probably stay somewhere in mid-St. Paul-- at least, that's their hope. They're in sort of low-level discussions with the city about funding such a stadium; if the city of St. Paul is willing to drop big bucks on the Wild and possible homes for the Twins and Vikings, the reasoning goes, why not drop some little bucks and get the Thunder? ---- About the move, good for the Thunder. The old office in Blaine was pretty awful-- don't know if any of you've ever been there, but it was pretty bad. It's a step in the right direction for the organization, I think. --- Finally, a random thought: the UofM is looking into building a new football stadium, as most of you have no doubt heard. Such a stadium would also be usable for the soccer team. Perhaps the current women's stadium will come on the market soon? (Okay, not likely, but hey... )
I'm really going to miss that 40 minute drive to Blaine. I was hoping to the Gophers Women's stadium. Being that the game will be at a high school, does that mean I'm going to lose my Summit Beer Garden?
In a word, yes. There's a possibility that some "original" thinking may be applied, but since it is school property, it'll have to be pretty original to get it on site.
It's all relative. They still could've been worse. Anoka county residents would've thought it was fancy since the beer didn't come from a little can they had to open themselves. =)