Stadium Progress

I was under the impression that they were going to announce the location at the luncheon. Or at least before the home opener.

 

From what I have heard they are not near a firm decision on location. I think this is just to keep people interested, creating a buzz. I'm sure the architects will give a potential design and things like that.

 

I am certain that your assessment is correct. It does seem as if Kroenke is seriously interested if not committed to a stadium. If so, maintaining the energy the concept creates is a good thing.

However, this architect thing is bothersome. A truly well done architectural plan melds the edifice with its surroundings and makes a statement. Creating a building and then determining its location all but guarrantees a mediocre project. Hopefully, the Architects will speak in very loose, generic terms only, i.e. we hope to incorporate a pub, food service will be planned for rapid turn around, there will be lotsa restrooms, ad infinitum.

Time is the project's ally. There is no need to rush to judgement!

 

I don't think the architects are creating a design before the site is picked, not a firm design that won't be changed to the surroundings. However, with this kind of project and the sites around town they are looking at, some things are going to be generic. For example, they want a 50+ acre site, practice fields, a nice stadium, etc. So some design elements are not going to change too much with a change of location.

Speaking of which, I heard the Auroria campus is no longer an option, too small for what they want to do. A third site is still in the mix and a friend of mine working for a local engineering company is working on site improvement plans (roads, water, etc.) for KSE in Lakewood. I don't have any more details and I am trying to get something out of my friend. Has anyone else heard anything about Lakewood? The only place I can imagine is the government center off Kipling & 6th. Fastracks has a plan for light rail service to the site and I understand it is going to be a future redevelopment site in the Denver metro area. Anyone else heard something like this?

 

I have herd people say Commerce City, but of course there is no solid information to prove this. From a money standpoint (for KSE interests), somewhere in east Denver area would probably be the smartest place to put the stadium. Most of the Hispanic community is in east Denver. It would be profitable for the club if they could gain more Hispanic support. Eventhough it makes the commute longer for people (like myself) on the west side of town.

 

Do you have any demographic data to back up a claim that more Hispanics are on the east side of Denver as opposed to west? I spend more time on the west and it seems like there are plenty in the west Colfax area. Either way, I don't think this is a deciding factor on the stadium's location as the Hispanic community has never been too great to the Rapids. De la Torre is the next "fix" for that, but that is neither here nor there.

The Commerce City site has been discussed at length in other stadium threads. It is located at Quebec and 56th or so and is attractive to the Rapids because the city is going to buy and give them the land. The Rapids want to put in approximately 25% of the cost of a $80-100M facility. Anywhere in Denver where they pay for the land, the cost will go through the roof. This is why the site at I-76 & Pecos is a distant third in the running, KSE would have to pay around $30M for the land they want. If CC gives them the land, it will be hard for another site to compete because all the money can go to the facility.

Anyone heard anything about Lakewood?

 

So true. I was rapping with one of the parker town council board members recently (because we're tight like that and all) and he was talking about, "kroenke wanting to come and build a really nice sports facility near the E-470 and Parker road interchange....." The end to the story had to do with kroenke coming to parker and saying that he wanted the land for free. Parker, of course, being the financial power that it is, scoffed.

I don't know anything about lakewood, to go back to the original question.

 

As of a month ago, the word was that plans and drawings were going to be unveiled at the CRCCF luncheon, but that the location would not be determined by then; whether or not a group of potential locations would be announced had not been decided.

Normally I'd agree that coming up with designs without a location will result in a less-than-optimal architectural result, however it should be noted that the Toolbox wasn't exactly designed to "fit in" with Cal State Domiguez Hills nor the surrounding area of Carson.

 

Heard there's been "high level" discussions about Jeffco stadium being converted to a soccer only stadium with a capacity of 20,000.

 

That's actually a great stadium, I love the field there, loved playing on it in high school, but the location leaves a lot to be desired. Very residential, a couple of blocks from Colfax, but even then that area of Colfax around Wadsworth isn't any better than the Commerce City or any of the other aforementioned sites. In fact, there's even less room for development with all of the residential neighborhoods more or less surrounding the stadium. Best leave it as it is, a quaint field, great for Jeffco soccer and other high school sports.

I think a general stadium design can be rolled out by the architects at this luncheon, with the aesthetic tweaking, environment, etc.. happening once a location has been committed to on paper. I hope we get a bit of a vision for the stadium, but really, the location is going to be key. As we have seen from the Metrostars stadium saga, you can have a plan in place, but without a site to put it in, it's just pie in the sky. I hope they are able to announce a location plan at the luncheon. That would be the right way to do it.

 

Ah, the former home of the Foxes. I remember the team playing on grass with a couple patches of astroturf on the sides. Sure looked strange. I would expect some NIMBY action with all the residential areas around it. And there's sure not 50 acres available. Another problem would be scheduling in the Fall when a lot of high school teams have football games. Certainly not first on my list.

 

Rapidfire says that Garber will be at the luncheon, and 'is expected to speak on the implications of the Rapids' new SSS'. Take that for what you will.

 

Waiting with baited breath

 

I'd gladly pay an extra $5 a ticket if it meant a brand new stadium instead of a redeveloped high school football stadium.

 

I think you are going to pay at least an extra $5 a ticket no matter what they do.

The average ticket price at the HDC this year (before ST discounts, coupons, ets) is about $32.50. This is down from $35 last year.

 

Is this the Jeffco stadium on 6th and Kipling or the municipal field on 10th and Wadsworth? I was talking about the 10th and Wadsworth location.

Actually, the 6th and Kipling location is a lot better than the 10th and Wadsworth. Obviously, they'd have to change the field with the astro turf on the sides for football, and Jeffco schools would have to find a new place to run track and play football. Not the ideal location, but not bad.

 

Hmmm. Jeffco also has a stadium (actually more than one) at 58th and Highway 93. Maybe we're barking up the wrong stadium location here. There's plenty of room out there and an already existing soccer field complex. Most of the land to the East and South is set up to become a regional park. It makes a lot more sense than the 6th and Kipling stadium.

 

The Foxes only played there 1 year, they played at Englewood High School a couple of years and their permanent home was Wembley stadium in Commerce City. The Nixdorf family renovated that stadium for soccer at a cost of $10 million only to see MLS come into town 2 years later and push the Foxes out.

 

Man, I hope not. That place is really inaccessible. It took us almost 30 minutes to get there for the Open Cup game last year - and we live in Boulder.

Can you imagine dumping 20,000 people out onto 58th or 93. That would suck...

 

Actually, I kinda like the Jeffco Stadium site. The one at Kipling and 6th avenue. I haven't looked over to that site for 10 years or so even when driving to Colorado Mills. Is there still a huge vacant (50 acres or so) area on the West side of Kipling across from the stadium? That location would be sufficient.

Of course down town is 100000% better than that.

 

Oh, no! Almost 30 minutes? [shudder]

My lord, in most other MLS cities the vast majority of fans are travelling well over 30 minutes to get to a game. The same can be said for most any sport, in most any part of the world. 30 minutes is nothing, especially considering that you covered 15-20 miles in that time.*

This is not to say that I'm in necessarily in favor of Arvada nor any other JeffCo spot, only that expecting/demanding a location that affords a half hour of travel to most fans is silly and selfish -- not to mention, and impossibility given the geography of the front range.


* FWIW, I live on the northeast edge of Boulder and I still got to that Open Cup match in 20 minutes. With the exception of rush hour traffic complicated by an accident, it's never taken me more than 25 minutes to get to Golden by going down 93.

 

Doesn't it take 30 minutes to Invesco from Boulder? You are thinking of a different place anyway. The US Open cup match against KC was not in Lakewood. It was in Arvada or Golden.

 

Then there's the Denver Kicker Clubhouse in Golden. Add about 20,000 seats to an already immaculate, well-maintained and wide field and you have an idyllic setting right up against the mesa. You can almost smell the Coors from there That'll never happen, but since we're talking about all sites west of downtown...

Seriously, one thing the Rapids must do is construct a field as wide and long as the HDC, that would be a serious advantage for the home team, the Rapids could spread the game out and run other teams into the ground by making them try to cover all that space. Camp Nou dimensions, ya know.

Downtown still would be great, but I think another poster already mentioned that the Auraria possibility is now dead in the water...

Again, I would just love to hear that they have a location picked out and an initial stadium design in place. I'm looking forward to the news tomorrow, and with the new website, I'm thinking they'll probably be able to post any plans for the stadium that have already been developed. Here's hoping...

 

Yes, it does. 25 - 35 minutes depending on time of day & day of week. That is the best thing about the location of the Rapids games. 30 minutes driving to any location to view the Rapids is trivial!