Does anybody have any new info on the development of a new stadium in Kansas City? They were talking about it 2 years ago and the state of Kansas sent in a investigative committee to find out about one, but nothing has been done. KC really needs to get out of mamouth Arrowhead, though theres nothing wrong with it, but moving to Johnson County has more soccer avid fans, plus all the soccer kids out there that love the sport.
Last I heard, which was some time after the 2002 World Cup, Hunt was in love with the soccer stadiums. However, Arrowhead needed some renovating, and most of his short term KC building money was going toward that for the time being. The nebulous hope was to build something shortly after the renovation was done. This is what I wrote to a friend in Jan 2003: KC--They need a stadium, and their owner knows it. Hunt operates three teams in the league and I predict that within 10 years every one of those teams (Col, Dal, KC) will have its own stadium. KC's will be last. Hunt is about to renovate Arrowhead (I'm sure with soccer partly in mind), and that's going to take all his time and money for a while. SSS in 5-10 years.
Wizman - I wish KCK would step up and build a stadium for them around the raceway. It would be a nice addition with the raceway, T-Bones, and everything else there plus the access to I70 and I435. Plus it would be about 20 minutes instead of over an hour from me. I did hear something on a stadium issue but I think it was for the Royals on the news last week.
Absolutely! So far (just started following MLS this year and soccer last year), I have been extremely amazed and impressed with the passion and number of soccer fans in KC. You have a great club and should have a SSS.
The next bi-state tax will likely subsidize a substantial investment into HST Sports Complex. Part of the current plans involve 10MM in funding from the Royals (Glass) and 55MM in funding from the Chiefs (Hunt). I don't see Hunt spending much on a soccer facility while he's shelling out 55 million in upgrades for Arrowhead. Either something like a more favorable Frisco (less than 10MM investement) or time (after the Arrowhead project is done) will be necessary to see the Wizards get their own home. Then again, Curt Johnson pointed out that if the Wizards keep increasing attendance at the rate they have over the last five seasons, then they'll be averaging 30,000/game in five years... You may laugh, but that's exactly the type of thing Hunt is looking at. He saw the 61k at Foxboro last season. And he was there at the beginning of the AFL with the Dallas Texans averaging 3k/game while the Cowboys in the NFL were drawing even less. I've learned not to bet against the vision of Lamar Hunt.
Fire Attendance We averaged about 15K when we were in Naperville. Now the last few matches at SF, we have been over 25,000..not too bad huh.
Re: Fire Attendance Not bad at all, I'm just surprised there was only 15K for the last game against DC.
This wouldn't surprise me at all. KCK is tired of being a whipping boy of the area, and this would further solidify at least western KCK as a big time area in metro area.
Re: Re: Fire Attendance I'm not. Has nobody been paying attention? Games that are "not on the schedule" do not draw as well as games that are. Playoff games and US Open Cup games are not on the schedule.
Re: Fire Attendance Chicago Fire average for Naperville was never 15K. 2002: 12,992 over 14 games. 2002: 11,775 over 13 games. With SF , Chiacgo Average for 2003 is 14,087 over 15 games.
Go to www.mapquest.com and check out a map of "Kansas City". KCMO is to the right of state line, KCK is to the left. Arrowhead is where I-70 and I-435 meet in Missouri.
To be honest, I get the impression from the Hunt/Wizards folks that at this point they're not interested in pursuing a Wizards stadium if it is going to cost them anything. They'll take it if a municipality steps up and offers to provide them one, but I think that they're thinking along much more grandiose plans. Having talked with Lamar earlier this year, and reading between the lines of the statements of CuJo and others, I honestly believe that they really think that the Wizards can more than fill up the lower deck in the next ten years. It's all long term. When the Chiefs first arrived in KC they had been drawing only 3k/game in Dallas. After starting at 15k they slid back to 9k, then jumped to 30k. When Arrowhead was built they jumped to over 60k. They don't expect the Wizards to be filling Arrowhead Stadium regularly any time soon - or maybe ever - but they definitely don't see the recent attendance gains to stop. The question that Lamar keeps coming back to is why would you lock into a 20k stadium when the demand is possibly 30k - or even more.
You don't. You build a 20 or 25K stadium that offers a better experience than a 60K stadium and one that can be upgraded when the demand increases. Tell him I said so.
The problem - economically - is that it often costs more to expand a stadium from 20k to 30k or 25k to 35k than it took to build the original 20k stadium. One of the reasons the HDC is 27,5 instead of 22,5 is that they went ahead and put seats on Lalas Hill while they were "on a roll". The plan was to eventually put seats on the open end, but the cost to come back and do it later would've been much more than just to keep going. Lamar wants to figure out where MLS in KC is headed before leading the stadium charge like he did a couple of years back. The 2002 World Cup and MLS Cup 2002 really affected his thinking about it. He knows that the Revs aren't going to average 61k/game anytime soon - just as the Wizards aren't going to be selling out Arrowhead every week. However, he's definitely concerned about locking in to a stadium that will be way too small at just the moment (moment being a series of years, it's all perspective) when the sport is growing rapidly. Like Curt said at the tailgate. If we grow attendance over the next five years at the rate it has grown the previous five, then the Wizards will be averaging 30k/game. It was only four seasons ago that Jeff Bradley proclaimed Kansas City to be "Soccer Town USA" because we managed to draw over 10k for one game.
I think the only reason a SSS ever came up in KC is because of the Bi State tax. and the fact that Kansac City Kansas (yes this is what KCK means) was getting little benefit from the tax. It is my understanding the the afluent Burbs are generall on the Kansas side, and the KCK downtown is kind of ghetto. there have been recent gains in KCK that are making KCK much more attractive. A soccer stadium could be just what the city needs to take the next step. I recall when this issue came up there were local politicians involved in soccer. these politicians may very well not be in office any more, so the whole Idea could be dead. as far as a stadium without massive ammounts of public funding... what would Lamar gain? he owns Arrowhead. He pays himself rent for how own stadium. The football team paid for the stadium with city help, so why throw another 30 million at a soccer stadium and only gain "atmosphere" I am all for SSS, but in the case of Arrowhead, the undisputed champ of NFL stadia, why change. Arrowhead is the Loudest stadium in the NFL, I am sure even louder this season. It serves Lamar more to spend say 1 million a year for 30 years in an attempt to increase attendance at his current stadium. If he does increase attendace by 15k in the next five years and Arrowhead starts truely rocking visually and audibly would you be calling for a SSS? what if he spends that 55 million of renovations on making the stadium a bit more soccer friendsly and increasing amenities? 30k average attendance in a soccer friendly Arrowhead would be fine by me in 5 years. building a 20-25k SSS wouldnt be just opening in 5 years as there is little to no groundwork laid right now. I am all for what Lamar seems to be doing right now. Nw only if New England did the same.
From http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/southsouthwest/chi-0311200402nov20,1,3941408.story --- Conventions, Sports & Leisure International, a Minneapolis sports-facility consulting firm, recently did an economic-impact study for a proposed 22,500-seat soccer stadium for the Kansas City Wizards. That study showed the stadium, at a proposed cost of $35 million to $40 million, would generate about $15 million a year in ticket sales, concessions, novelties, parking, sponsorships and hotel, bar and restaurant revenue, said Jay Lenhardt, a senior project manager with the company. --- I don't know if it's new news or not, but it's the first I think I've heard of it.