First the rain last winter slowed construction to a crawl, now this... http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050703/NEWS01/507030317/1001
But that's not really insurmountable. They could work something out with a nearby town perhaps. Heck, they could come to Atlanta and test out the Gwinnett Arena to see if it might be a viable future market .
You know this whole thing is puzzling. I mean they have built a "waterfront arena" near the "port" in Stockton for starters. Someone help me here but my memory of Stockton isn't of beaches and waves. Hopefully theres a pretty big river gunning through town to have a "port". 2ndly an arena built for an ECHL hockey team and an indoor soccer team doesn't sound exactly like an investors dream. Please don't get me wrong. An arena was built in Estero (Naples) Florida and Victoria BC for an ECHL team. I;ve never once heard of any arena in the US (or Canada) built for an indoor soccer team. NEVER. I just hope this works. Because if it all falls apart and they do end up playing in a warehouse like the article says I can't see people in California lining up around the block to watch and pay for the priviledge of watching double A hockey or indoor soccer in a warehouse. I mean I love indoor soccer but this is has the same warning signs and read lights flashing as the Edmonton Drillers owner www.peterpocklington.com trying to get the Drillers players to sell tix door to door because the real breadwinner in the family the Edmonton Oilers didn;t make the playoffs.
The San Joaquin River is navigable by ocean liners into Stockton, which has a shipping port, www.portofstockton.com . The local baseball team is the Stockton Ports.
i can see the Arena out of my window and it looks like the construction has been expedited in recent weeks.
Stockton's new arena set to open Dec 2nd. I guess this means the Cougars play the first month of the season on the road if rumors of the Nov 5-7 opening weekend dates are true. http://www.californiacougars.net/news/?cat=15&id=322