Revolution Stadium groundbreaking "12-24 months" Part IV

Kraft is in no position to negotiate the "backing off" of his casino plan. A casino requires the support of the people of the host municipality, and there is very little support for a casino in Foxboro. The opposition for a casino is so strong that Kraft couldn't even muster the ability to present his plans to the town.

I don't see a successful plan which involves public money for a new stadium either . . . not for the Revs.

 

I'm all for Kraft trying to get something out of nothing. Suffolk Downs was always going to get the casino, and the people of Foxborough were never going to go for it.

Though drumming up business support for the Green Line extension isn't necessary unless the state wants to initiate some sort of enterprise tax to help fund it (and possibly a soccer stadium too). The extension is legally-mandated.

And the latest stadium talks have shifted away from the Green Line, so I'm not sure how closely the two projects could be linked.

Seems to me that if this comes down to Kraft and DeLeo hopping in bed together, then the stadium more likely is happening in Revere.

 

What exact stadium talks are you referring to? Can you offer something more concrete or details?

 

Hi guys, been lurking here for a while. I don't have much in the way of detail, but I know some people connected to the green line extensions, and I've heard similar things to Achowat, that there is a lot of activity on Bob Kraft's part in the Inner Belt/Brickbottom area. Again I don't have any details, but there's enough activity going on that I heard it from somebody who has no connections to the Revs.

 

Does anyone know what this soccer stadium is on Wentworth's front page?

http://www.wit.edu/

 

School project.

 

So just make believe. OK. I was real confused.

 

Article here with additional images:

http://www.wit.edu/news/2011/11/2011-11-30.html

I'd love to see a PDF or Powerpoint of this project. FWIW, one of the students who worked on the project is a forward on their soccer team:

http://www.wentworthathletics.com/sports/msoc/2010-11/players/elliottrichmondahuj

 

I saw it..!
Very in-depth and well thought out! Would love to know how it did against the BRA a-holes.? I did something similar when I was in Architectural school...although I never put it on an actual site..and it was modeled after San Siro. I had always dreamed of a waterfront site with views onto Boston Harbor..oh well, back to reality!! =)

 

Riverhounds seem to have momentum. Repeat, a pro stadium in PITTSBURGH is in the works. Pittsburgh. Good Lord. We're an embarassment.

 

Let's not get too carried away - its a 3,500-seat stadium. Comparing this project to what the Revs need to get done is apples and oranges.

 

What is it with minor league teams that they always have to have "River" in their name and lots of times either Cats or Dogs? What up wid dat?

 

From the article: "They play in the United Soccer Leagues Pro Division, which ranks just below Major League Soccer in the sport's hierarchy in the U.S"

So USL Pro is the defacto 2nd division? I thought NASL was. Looking beyond MLS, it is critical for the long-term growth of the sport to have major cities with viable teams, even if they never make it to MLS. Having a modest size permanent stadium like this goes a long way.

Looking at the non-MLS cities that have pro teams in other sports, there could be a pretty viable second division, even if they split them up regionally for travel costs and have a national playoff. There are/could be teams in Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Atlanta, Charelston, Birmingham, Charlotte, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indy, St. Louis, Louisville, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, OK City/Tulsa, Milwaukee, Twin Cities, Detroit, Ottawa, San Antonio, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, El Paso, Phoenix, San Diego, Inland Empire, Sacramento, and a few other places. If half of those were viable teams with Pittsburgh-like stadiums, there would be a pretty decent second division.

 

NASL is the de jure 2nd Division, USL is the 3rd Division. It seems like fact-checking isn't a big deal for minor league soccer stories.

 

Seat number notwithstanding, an expandable stadium downtown from a third division team? It just seems there is a "desire" factor we lack that even the tiny clubs seem to have. I agree there is a difference in urban requirements for the two projects, but it is more like crab apples to Fuji apples.

Then there's this from the NASL. The level of seriousness by owners throughout the country hasn't really caught on with Kraft & Co.

 

I would rather the Revs played in a 3.5K stadium in Boston than the 68K stadium in Foxboro.

 

You also have to remember, Boston and Pittsburgh are not in the same phase of economic (re)development. Pittsburgh (though not in terrible shape, compared to some cities) is more welcoming to projects like this than Boston is. It's not wholly reflective of the passion of the fanbase.

 

I seem to remember Pittsburgh talking about doing a stadium for that team literally years ago, so maybe not as progressive as it seems on the surface.

edit:

April 2002: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/columns/seate/s_68624.html

 

It is a lot easier to build in Pittsburgh than it is Boston, particularly when the city and county hand out tax incentives like it is going out of style. When I lived there in 2004 1/3 of the City of Pittsburgh was exempt from property taxes.

 

Technically, up to 30% of the total city residential property valuation in Boston is exempt from property taxes too.

 

yup. this.

 

...you guys want the Revs' average attendance cut by at least 10k?

 

It's funny, some guy was talking about how a team with Simon Borg as a GM would make early RSL teams look good.

A team run by certain Revs BS posters would make Enron circa 2001 look like whopping financial success.

 

Yes, you are right, of course. We need to get more minor league. Our problem is clearly that we aren't minor league enough. A capacity of 3,500 is exactly what we need to solidify our status as a minor league organization. What was I thinking.

 

They solidified themselves minor league status over a decade ago. What exactly are you thinking? I'm guessing not much at all.