Revolution soccer moving to Boston ?

[GameOverMan]

http://www.cityofboston.gov/news/default.aspx?ID=3225
“Boston is honored and proud to be recruited by Major League Soccer to be the potential home for the New England Revolution,†said Mayor Thomas M. Menino. “This is a fantastic opportunity for our city and our neighborhoods, but it will require a throughout exploration of possible sites – we need to make sure this works for Boston residents.â€
Interesting that Mayor Menino supports building a soccer stadium and didn't support a new football stadium and a new stadium for the Red Sox if I remember correctly.
Don't get me wrong, I all for a soccer stadium in the city of Boston.

 

[Flying Fungi]

http://www.cityofboston.gov/news/default.aspx?ID=3225
“Boston is honored and proud to be recruited by Major League Soccer to be the potential home for the New England Revolution,†said Mayor Thomas M. Menino. “This is a fantastic opportunity for our city and our neighborhoods, but it will require a throughout exploration of possible sites – we need to make sure this works for Boston residents.â€
Interesting that Mayor Menino supports building a soccer stadium and didn't support a new football stadium and a new stadium for the Red Sox if I remember correctly.
Don't get me wrong, I all for a soccer stadium in the city of Boston.

it is all about voter demographics

 

[shmessy]

http://www.cityofboston.gov/news/default.aspx?ID=3225
“Boston is honored and proud to be recruited by Major League Soccer to be the potential home for the New England Revolution,†said Mayor Thomas M. Menino. “This is a fantastic opportunity for our city and our neighborhoods, but it will require a throughout exploration of possible sites – we need to make sure this works for Boston residents.â€
Interesting that Mayor Menino supports building a soccer stadium and didn't support a new football stadium and a new stadium for the Red Sox if I remember correctly.
Don't get me wrong, I all for a soccer stadium in the city of Boston.

Southie has changed a bit demographically over the past 9 years, if you know what I mean.

Archie Bunker has been selling his three deckers to developers. Plus, Tommy Finneran has been tossed out of the Legislature and is awaiting his fate in the courts. Tell him "just don't drop the soap".

 

[richpats]

The MLS has been moving toward more "soccer-friendly" stadiums that seat between 20-30,000 and have a better experience for the fans.

 

[PlattsFan]

As mentioned above, a soccer stadium is a much smaller enterprise than a football stadium, and smaller than a new Fenway would be. Also, baseball's 81 times a year. So the potential neighborhood impact of a soccer stadium is much less.

A soccer stadium's much more in line with building another Garden than it is either of those other two. And the Banknorth Garden nee Fleet Center went up without too many difficulties.

 

[Tunescribe]

Gillette was configured with soccer in mind. They should've thought about this ahead of time, it could've been even better for football without the necessity of widening the field dimensions to allow for soccer. Gillette should've been built on the Boston waterfront, no doubt about it.

 

[GameOverMan]

Maybe the Pats could play a pre-season game or two in Boston and bring the Pats to Boston for at least one or two pre-season games.
I'm surprised that Kraft won't include a soccer stadium in Patriots place, because he already owns the land, but it's true that a stadium in the city would draw more fans than in Foxboro.

 

[Pats726]

As mentioned above, a soccer stadium is a much smaller enterprise than a football stadium, and smaller than a new Fenway would be. Also, baseball's 81 times a year. So the potential neighborhood impact of a soccer stadium is much less.

A soccer stadium's much more in line with building another Garden than it is either of those other two. And the Banknorth Garden nee Fleet Center went up without too many difficulties.

And football is 10 times....and they were closer to supporting a baseball stadium than football??? I think we all know that a LOT of that was anti-semitic..and there wasn't much of a time difference..to explain a change in demographics.

 

[Seymour93]

http://www.cityofboston.gov/news/default.aspx?ID=3225
“Boston is honored and proud to be recruited by Major League Soccer to be the potential home for the New England Revolution,†said Mayor Thomas M. Menino. “This is a fantastic opportunity for our city and our neighborhoods, but it will require a throughout exploration of possible sites – we need to make sure this works for Boston residents.â€
Interesting that Mayor Menino supports building a soccer stadium and didn't support a new football stadium and a new stadium for the Red Sox if I remember correctly.
Don't get me wrong, I all for a soccer stadium in the city of Boston.

Menino probably looks back with regret at what a colossal mistake he made in opposing a new football stadium in Boston, so now he feels obliged to court any new sports-related investment for the city.

 

[BradyisGod]

Maybe the Pats could play a pre-season game or two in Boston and bring the Pats to Boston for at least one or two pre-season games.
I'm surprised that Kraft won't include a soccer stadium in Patriots place, because he already owns the land, but it's true that a stadium in the city would draw more fans than in Foxboro.

Why would Mr. Kraft want to do that when he can make all the money he can by selling concessions in his own stadium? With all the logistics that would have to be set up, he would probably need double the attendance to make what he would by having it at Gillette.

As for Patriots Place, the retail space would be much more valuable than building a second stadium.

A Patriots game in Boston would be pretty cool though.

 

[DGameguy]

There's a big move towards what MLS calls "soccer-specific stadium." Teams that have opened their own stadiums have seen attendance figures rise. MLS is making a big move to making the franchises profitable. New England is on the cusp of becoming a profitable team. By opening a smaller, soccer-specific stadium, in theory Kraft would lower the costs of holding games and boost attendace, so it would pay itself off pretty quickly.

A number of big stars in the European Leagues (UEFA) like David Beckham have expressed interest in playing on MLS teams towards the end of their careers. They have massive contracts tho. This is one of the main reasons MLS is trying to make itself more profitable: to afford better European and South American talent.

 

[PlattsFan]

And football is 10 times....and they were closer to supporting a baseball stadium than football??? I think we all know that a LOT of that was anti-semitic..and there wasn't much of a time difference..to explain a change in demographics.

But football stadiums are huge. There's around 70,000 people tramping all over the place on the day of the game. Plus there are other large events at a stadium that size. So you've got a stadium with a massive footprint and impact on the community a 10 times a year plus incidental events, a stadium with a large impact 81 times a year, or a stadium with a moderate impact, what, 16 times a year or something, plus incidental events? There's no question which is the easiest of those to fit into a neighborhood.

There may well have been other reasons (it's politics, after all), but it's obvious that a soccer stadium is just a lot smaller project.

 

[patman52]

I dont see it happening. 1/2 the customers at the Games are soccer kids from the burbs. I dont se parents taking the kids on the T at night to see a game.

Immigrants normally flock to big cities, but that is not true in Boston. The housing market is such that imigrants go to Fall River, New Bedford, Worcester,
Lowell.

Then you have Kraft competing against himself for out door concerts. He needs
that revenue from those ten events each year to pay for Gilllete and the parking lots.

 

[shmessy]

I dont see it happening. 1/2 the customers at the Games are soccer kids from the burbs. I dont se parents taking the kids on the T at night to see a game.

Immigrants normally flock to big cities, but that is not true in Boston. The housing market is such that imigrants go to Fall River, New Bedford, Worcester,
Lowell.

Then you have Kraft competing against himself for out door concerts. He needs
that revenue from those ten events each year to pay for Gilllete and the parking lots.

If that stadium is at Suffolk Downs, I think you'll have many, many immigrants from East Boston, Everett, Lynn, Revere, Chelsea, etc. who could easily get there.

I think Suffolk Downs makes enormous sense, what with the Blue Line station and location.

 

[GameOverMan]

If that stadium is at Suffolk Downs, I think you'll have many, many immigrants from East Boston, Everett, Lynn, Revere, Chelsea, etc. who could easily get there.

I think Suffolk Downs makes enormous sense, what with the Blue Line station and location.

Your right, and at Suffolk Downs there wouldn't be big problems with NIMBY's, another potential site could be the Wonderland Dog Track, since dog racing is basicly on life support.