With NYC bidding on the Olympics there will be a new stadium built on the west side. I know that in years past people have been oppose to it for obvious reasons, but it seems to me that if NYC gets the bid for the Olympics that place will be built. Im assuming that the Jets will probably take over the building once the Olympics cease. So would it be better for the Metro to just move over there and not have to deal with any of the politics(Olympic comittee and NYC will do our battling)? Not to mention this is in the heart of NYC, there will be no excuses for that place not to be packed 100% of the time. If Metro can get a good deal on it and only having the Jets to worry about, wouldnt it be much better to move there? The only cons will be size of stadium and potential revenue sharing with stadium owners. Depending on what kind of deal the Metros can pull off I think this will be the better choice. I mean sure it would be nice to have our own digs but this is a PRIME spot. And I think if we can get a good deal with playing there we should move there instead. Maybe Metro should build a small erector set stadium in Harrison, forget about a nice park with amenities, and once 2013 comes around, we just move to NYC and use the old(Harrison) stadium as a practice facility, for Metro Black, and for Cup games. Ofcourse this is all if NYC wins the bid. Tommorw they will announce if NYC wins the bid as USA's top city. After that is the vs the World.
Why not a second MLS team in the new stadium and the Metros in Harrison? Regarding NYC's bid for the 2012 Olympics, I wonder what effect the possible dropping of baseball/softball from the menu will have. If that happens, I wonder what use they will have for the 2 big baseball parks.
I don't think thats a viable option. They've been saying all along that they need their own facility so they control more of the revenue streams such as the in-stadium signage, concessions, etc. Do you think the Jets would be so kind? NO Also, starting this season, the MLS season is going to start and end later, which means in September, October, and November, there will still be MLS games, along with the NFL games, which means Metro's wouldn't get the better, weekend, saturday night dates that they want. And plus, they've come this far...it seems as if things are pretty close to being finalized on this Harrison deal....why stop now?
Neither do the Giants or Jets in Giants stadium. But the difference is that the Jets and Giants get paid to play there. SO if Metro can get a good deal where they wont have to pay for rent it would be a good option. It will be much easier this time because they wont have to deal with 2 teams. RIght now we cant get a break because if its not the Giants its the Jets. The whole point is to get a good deal, I wouldnt wanna go there if the Metro cant get a good deal. With some sort of priority for scheduling. I didnt mean to say stop. More like let's just build and spend the minimum until the new stadium comes along. We can still use the Harrison site as a practice facility and smaller games venue. Not to mention renting it out to other teams/events. RedCard: Yankee and Shea Stadium arent part of the Olympic venues. Besides they wouldn't use those venues since A) No one shows up for those games atleast not 50K+ and B)They have lots of minor league parks they can use that would be more suitable. Riverfront and Cyclone stadium being just 2.
(my ideal scenario) build that bad boy in jersey,,,,we pack the house a majority of the time between now and 2013,,,,investors see that mls is no joke,,,,boom mls expands into manhattan and we have ourselves a real derby
The deal with Harrison is that a fancy stadium goes up on it as part of the redevelopment scheme. NOT an erector set in a parking lot, to be abandoned ASAP. We don't get the land and the approval if we don't commit to a real stadium. If we want a "temporary" stadium for eight years, then we'll have to start over and look elsewhere. So, I'd say "no" to your question.
No. We need a right-sized stadium. We do not need to be the subordinate tenant in some other grand cavern. The chances of this project really happening are remote in any case. You can't get needed public projects accomplished due to opposition from the coalition of Greens, the Nimbys and assorted "no development" types that have City's politics and Courts by the throat. The chances of siting and constructing a new stadium aren't very promising. The Metro have to start looking out for themselves and doing for themselves. Hitchhiking on someone elses project has proven a disaster so far so why signup for more such punishment?
Just to reiterate: No. What a poor time to bring up this long-shot idea. We need to focus on Harrison NOW, not NYC tomorrow.
Actually, if MLS does ever expand into a second New York team the liklihood would be that they would both use the Metros stadium, much like Inter/Milan, Lazio/Roma and Juventus/Torino do in Serie A. Eventually a second stadium might be built, but I simply cannot see how whomever owned the Metros at the time of a 2nd NYC expansion would allow another team to syphon off his fan base without at least getting revenues for the stadium rental. So, it's not really likely until the Metros have the realistic demand to have an average attendance of 50k or more a game and have attracted a significant TV (MSG or whatever) audience. Only then would there be any real economic incentive for a second team. A lot can happen between 2002 and 20012, but I doubt that this explosion will happen by 2008, which is when it would need to happen as far as planning goes. Now if the USA were to lose the bid for 2012 Olympic games and win them in 2016, then it's an entirely different ballgame. -Tron
You can have as many thoughts as you want, but the idea of planning to move to a hypothetical Manhattan stadium is not well reasoned.
Thats not what you implied in your first response. It was like by me posting something it had some sort of super magical power to take away focus from the Harrison project and people wont be able to send in their letters. It's just a freaking post. You dont think the idea is good or even ridiculous? Fine then say so, just dont be paranoid about it.
It would be very hard if a second team was created to really establish an identity at a future Metros stadium in Harrison. The reason I am saying this is that who will the market to? The soccerphiles in Astoria? That is a long way out, and I doubt any of those people would end up supporting this new team, unless they were placed in Manhattan or in Queens.
Hey, this actually is one of the better threads going right now insomuch as it suggested an original idea, even if it hasn't met with a lot of enthusiasm.
I wasn't implying that a new team would be permanently in the Metros Harrison stadium. I would imagine that they would eventually try to build something in Queens/Brooklyn if possible. I'm very curious how this vote for the Olympics goes. If NYC wins the honor of being the US nominee for 2012, then it still has a ways to go before a decision is made on which country will host it. If the Metros get approval of a stadium and NYC wins the 2012 (or better yet the 2016) Olympics, then I do think there is a real possibility of getting another soccer stadium built in NYC. Maybe I'm way off base, but it seems possible. -Tron
I apologize for being paranoid. I really don't see the need to debate a possible Manhattan stadium in 2012 when we are on the brink of one in Harrison. I mean, why would we move into a stadium in 2004 or 2005 and move out six years later? It doesn't seem logical. But if people think this is a good thread and want to debate all the hurdles that would need to be crossed for this to happen, I'll shut up.
Not owning your own stadium reduces your revenue streams. Look at what is happening in Rome, Italy: http://sports.yahoo.com/m/world/news/reuters/20021104/reu-romestadium20021104.html
Isn't this stadium for the Jets allegedly going to be a dome and if so, aren't we tired of inferior turf?
It's about 99% likely that it will be a dome. I can't be arsed to find a link, so you'll just have to take my word for it. The attraction to playing there for MLS is that the games would be in Manhattan, would be indoors, and would likely be a very different fanbase from what the Metros get. I would expect a team located in NYC proper to draw greater than 30,000/game (and that's a conservative estimation IMHO). And as for the grass issues - well, the new FieldTurf stuff is supposed to be pretty great, so that won't really be an issue. That said, there's no way the Metros would move if they got Stade de Harrison. What would happen if the NYC stadium is built is that the league would take a long, hard look at becoming a tenant there with an expension franchise - something against league rhetoric, but theoretically possible if finances so dictate. After all, you know the league wants to have derby night NYC-style 2-4 times a year.
Having Metro play in a West Side Olympic Stadium would be great, but it would present a lot of the same problems that Giants Stadium presents. It will be huge (~75,000 capacity), so selling out the place will be very difficult (if not impossible) for Metro. It is likely to be a retractable dome, so a natural pitch is a question mark. It means sharing the facility with the Jets, so even if it has grass, it will be mostly brown. And the opportunities for revenue generation for Metro will pale in comparison to Harrison. Plus, the stadium will probably not be built (if at all) until shortly before the 2012 Games. That could mean 10 whole years of no-man's-land before Metro can move in. Let's support Harrison all the way. If the West Side stadium gets built (and it's a big if) Metro can stay in Harrison, but have playoff matches, Cup finals, etc., at the new place. And hey, if NY doesn't end up getting the Games, maybe Metro can build on those old rail yards...