Revolution Stadium Groundbreaking "12-24 months" Part XII

I read that article when it came out. There isn't one, not one, quote from Robert Kraft in that article. That, my friend, is laying in the weeds. It doesn't matter if someone pens an article of pure speculation about it. Kraft is still silent.

 

Fair enough, but confirmed meetings is the most we've got out of anyone in a long time. We're never going to get a peep of speculation out of him/the organization because Revs. Boston 2024 is charged with convincing the public that this is somehow a good idea. They are in completely opposite public relations corners. If I am the City, I'm not holding my breath on the Olympic proposal going through - why not advance plans at the same time with Kraft? Taken directly from 2024 2.0 documents:

Leasing a temporary stadium for the Games followed by transformation of Widett Circle to new mixed-use neighborhood

• Risks include higher than predicted costs for the land, relocation, and decking. Current land owners could refuse to negotiate reasonable value for property. Risks also include failure to deliver proposed rezoning or tax agreement.

Separately, I don't think 2024 legacy development = no stadium at the DPW yard. 2024 is dangling that carrot as a 'see what we can do for you?' card. Mixed use developments are a dime a dozen around here. I don't think whatever redevelopment they're calling for on the DPW yard is a linchpin part of their proposal. They only need a temporary stadium in the area of Widett Circle, and the proposed "Olympic Boulevard" which runs on the east side of the DPW site.

By the time the olympics come, the legacy build-out could work around a soccer stadium. I doubt a Revs stadium will be started by the time Olympic construction would theoretically start but one can dream.

 

I can go along with what you're saying. It's just if the Olympic proposal can include the Rev's, they are not saying it now and Kraft is mum. That's all I was saying. I also think Krafty and Mahty are also in the back room talking about an alternate Boston site. To me there are some other possibilities: Roxbury, Suffolk Downs, maybe even Franklin Park.

 

I'm glad you used the operative word of "we".

 

From the Boston Olympics CEO. Unless he is lying, it sounds like the Krafts discussions with Boston officials for the Widett Circle area have been meaningless.

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/n...ympics-chief-says-eminent-domain-off-the.html


And yet the Kraft family is rumored to be seeking a soccer stadium there. Have there been conversations with the Krafts? There have been no conversations with Boston 2024 and the Krafts about a stadium. I’ve talked to Jonathan (Kraft) about supporting the Olympics, and obviously we announced that Foxborough stadium will be used for football and rugby, but we have not talked to the Krafts about a permanent stadium.

Is there enough room for both plans? We didn’t look at it. We haven’t talked to the Krafts. I can’t speak to whether or not it would work from a feasibility, political, financial perspective. Our charge was to look at a temporary stadium and what could that neighborhood look like.

Isn’t that an elephant in the room? You have a plan, and there is that other ‘thing’ that could be there. Having had conversations with the city, we put this plan out, no one said to us, ‘You made a mistake come back with a temporary or permanent soccer stadium.’ Things could change, but that’s not where we are.

 

Thanks, I was just going to post that.

Bottom line is that the Revs are going to be playing in Gillette Stadium for another 20 years or so, until the Patriots decide it is "obsolete" and a new stadium is built for them. Then the Revs will move with the Pats to the new place. But I'm sure the new Pats stadium is going to be really nice!

 

Since this thread is heating up again, I suggest everyone watch John Oliver's segment on stadia in "Last Week Tonight." Kraft may have reason to be jealous of owners in other cities but I don't see Boston putting out that kind of "support."

 

That's kind of a strange conclusion to reach. At the minimum, there is the possibility ([cough]likelihood[/cough]) that the bid won't succeed, so in that case having had discussions could be very meaningful.

I've said before, Walsh is unlikely to discourage one interested party who has a pretty clear path to implementation for another that has a road full of obstacles. The real discussion of a plan where both both parties could get what they want is probably being left till after a bid is won (or at least gets past the most immediate hurdles).

 

Agreed, but what the guy said was that they haven't had any discussions with the Krafts. So in their usual proactive stance, once the Olympic bid falls into a ditch and some developer steps in and wants to build a mall or not-so-affordable housing or something, Kraft can say, gee, too bad we weren't able to get a deal done, because by the time I found the Mayyah's numbah in the Rolodex, he'd already come to an agreement...

Actually, that would be what Burns would say. Kraft would just remain silent, just like he has the right to.

 

Yep, hard to be more definitive than Davey was there. The Krafts aren't in mix at any level. As long as the Olympics are on the table the Revs aren't getting any traction in the Widett area.

 

Exactly.

You can't get anymore meaningless than the city officials not even mentioning the soccer stadium to the Olympic CEO.

Think of how far down the priority list you have to be for it to not even be mentioned in passing?

Very depressing as I was starting to fool myself that the last 6 months were starting to get the very very beginning of traction.

 

but it will be built with soccer in mind

 

This was the Olympics guy saying that, not the Mayor's people. Walsh has already confirmed that he's had discussions with Kraft about it.

 

And they must have been so meaningful that Walsh and company did not even think to mention them, even in passing, to the Olympic people who are looking at the exact same land?

No one is questioning whether the Krafts talk to Walsh. We now have every reason to question how meaningful those talks were.

It does not take much of a leap to make that determination when you see what the Olympic CEO said (unless of course you think he is lying).

 

Meanwhile, yet another non-existent MLS club passes the Revs in the SSS progress department:

Beckham United & Miami mayor agree on new MLS stadium plan
July 17, 2015
MLSsoccer staff
MLSsoccer.com

Anyone seeing a pattern here?

It never ceases to amaze me how little the Kraft's talk publicly about the Revs, and yet their inactivity fails to measure up to the few words they do say...

 

And this confirms that Walsh's people dustbinned Kraft's Widett proposal. Rich Davey and the developers behind Boston 2024 are the ones sitting at the table with Walsh, determining the future of that area. Kraft is out of the discussion.

 

How long until Boston is the second city eliminated in the olympic vote? We'll then know how serious Kraft is to building on that site, or how corrupt the process was when tax-exempt developments are already going up there.

 

2017

 

That is going to one tight fit, especially with Miami football supposedly moving there and needing 40-45k seats. It should be an interesting design.