As with the financial crisis, when things are actually turned around, you won't hear a single complaint from me.
Kraft and/or the FO have actually said that financing the construction costs is not a problem, where they want the public cooperation is when it comes to infrastructure around the site.
Do you have a link for this by any chance? I have a hard time seeing the Krafts buying the land and building the stadium. That seems to be a massive amount of debt to take on for a relatively small increase in profits.
Ok, Haahvid project. Public-private financing is done in every North American sports league so that's nothing new. The Krafts are no different than anyone else in that regard, other than the fact they privately financed Gillette Stadium and spent more of their own money than others have.
I am sure the Krafts have seen the pretty good deals other MLS teams have received from their communities and want something similar here but even in good times, Mass. cities and towns have been tight with money. With the times being bad for communities, I fear it will be even harder. Even though I can not make it make any financial sense for the Krafts to fund it all themselves, I am hopeful that they are simply exploring every possible avenue before opening their wallets themselves as a previous poster said they are willing to do.
They know very well that's not going to happen. If it wouldn't happen for the Patriots, it sure isn't going to happen for the Revs. I don't see it happening if it is a stadium just for Revs games. There's no way that can recoup the investment. It's got to be either some kind of partnership or at the very least, a multi-use facility to make any kind of sense.
But if one looks at the land cost as an investment, one could rationalize it in terms of resale value someday. Sure, the Krafts would be on the hook for the cost and if they kept the Revs it would be decades before it's paid for, but consider the liquidation factor. Whatever money the Krafts have tied up in this is small when compared to their overall wealth. They also know that the money is not lost, as long as the equity in an MLS franchise continues to rise as well as land values. They could stay for the long haul, or they could liquidate, in which case they get their investment back plus more in equity.
Once expansion dries up I bet the resale value for a MLS team in Boston with SSS will be straight cash homie, especially for someone who actually is passionate about owning a soccer team
Bingo. And so, imagine a town, a city, this state, with enough vision (and access to the T) willing to incorporate a best-in-league 25,000 seat MLS stadium into their plan. Restaurants and pubs spring up around it. Shops open to support the needs of visitors. Property values head skyward. Employment rises. Oh people will come. People will come to fill the stadium. They'll arrive at the gates as innocent as children, longing to witness Revolution glory. Of course, we won't mind if you come right in, they'll say. It's only $30 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the concourse to sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect summer evening and find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the sidelines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their favorite team and its heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come. The one constant through all the years, has been soccer. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But around the world, soccer has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of peoples lives. It reminds us of all that once was good and could be again. Oh... people will come. People will most definitely come.
Hasn't the script always been this SSS would also be used for concerts and others sports/teams events?
Yeah, I can't imagine they would build a stadium for only 15-20 MLS games per year. That would be insane.
Looks like the Quakes cleared their last hurdle for their stadium as the last nimby appeal was rejected unanimously. 100% privately financed and no concerts allowed but they got it done. http://www.sjearthquakes.com/news/2012/02/quakes-get-green-light-stadium-appeal-denied
Chivas USA has been seriously talking about leaving HDC after this year and playing in another temporary home while a stadium is being built. Even with DC's misery, they play on grass and the stadium is urban. As fans, our overall venue situation (not Kraft's) is by far the worst in the league: middle of nowhere, no public trans., fake turf, cavernous emptiness. Seeing how these things work around the league, I don't know what news our FO could have 3 months from now that could result in a groundbreaking by December.