MLS Expansion | Page 3 | The Boneyard

MLS Expansion

Foxboro is on the train line from Boston to Providence so they run trains from each city to Patriots games. They could do the same for the Revolution if the demand is there. The situation is not ideal, however, because the stadium is on a small siding rather than the regular line. Ideally, a new stadium would be close to a main line (subway preferable over commuter rail) so there would be multiple train options and fans would be able to go early or stay late to participate in game related or other entertainment activities. The game trains just get there about 1/2 hour before and leave 1/2 hour after.

As for Boston land, one 5.6 acre property the Revs considered in the South End (not a great option as it would have required also buying several nearby building for demolition and public transit access was marginal) went for $40M and is now the site of a $1B+ development project. Gillette sold 2.5 acres for GE’s new corporate HQ for about $80M. If you could find it, 20-30 acres in Boston with good transit access would probably cost $200M-$500M before actually thinking about stadium costs. That’s why they looked hard at Somerville and that property is now part of a multi-billion dollar mixed use development.

P.S. Franklin is a major terminus for one of the commuter rail lines. If there was a Boston soccer stadium it would have excellent access. Returning rush hour trains (weekdays) or mid-day trains (weekends) are often surprisingly full with Fenway-bound patrons. The same could be true for the Revs.
 
Had a stadium been built in or abutting Boston, plenty of disposable income exists in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville AND inside/abutting 128 suburbs. Additionally, plenty of millennials and immigrants in other cities have disposable income. Particularly in metro Boston, Cambridge, etc. and 128 suburbs compared with many US cities, certainly not all immigrants are the stereotypically impoverished immigrants Hawk suggested favors a Providence/ Pawtucket location. Similar to other US cities with stronger MLS team support, plenty of millennials within 128 find ways to spend plenty of disposable income. Yes, they’d manage to get to a closer stadium. Nope, they’re not hopping on a ommuter line to Spartacus Foxboro.

Foxboro & MBTA, eh? Are you guys actually trying to suggest any similarity exists between a one-off Beyonce concert in a 65K seat Gillette Stadium and a non-existent Foxboro soccer-specific stadium seating 20K? If so, feeble argument. Or, are you now supporting a Boston/abutting town soccer stadium as it would be so darn convenient for Franklin/Foxboro exurbanites to hop on the commuter line? :rolleyes:
 
Da_Aisijimo_Gou said:
Had a stadium been built in or abutting Boston, plenty of disposable income exists in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville AND inside/abutting 128 suburbs. Additionally, plenty of millennials and immigrants in other cities have disposable income. Particularly in metro Boston, Cambridge, etc. and 128 suburbs compared with many US cities, certainly not all immigrants are the stereotypically impoverished immigrants Hawk suggested favors a Providence/ Pawtucket location. Similar to other US cities with stronger MLS team support, plenty of millennials within 128 find ways to spend plenty of disposable income. Yes, they’d manage to get to a closer stadium. Nope, they’re not hopping on a ommuter line to Spartacus Foxboro.

Foxboro & MBTA, eh? Are you guys actually trying to suggest any similarity exists between a one-off Beyonce concert in a 65K seat Gillette Stadium and a non-existent Foxboro soccer-specific stadium seating 20K? If so, feeble argument. Or, are you now supporting a Boston/abutting town soccer stadium as it would be so darn convenient for Franklin/Foxboro exurbanites to hop on the commuter line? :rolleyes:
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No, I'm suggesting that no one has suggested a site in extremely expensive and completely built out greater Boston (which, for this purpose, I'd consider to be within the reach of the MBTA subway system) that has good access, 20 or so acres and isn't valued at such an obscene amount of money that using it for a 20K soccer stadium makes no economic sense at all. Remember that the Red Sox, tried for over a decade to build a new ballpark in Boston before giving up and renovating Fenway. As far as the Revs go, the economic collapse of 2008 was probably the last chance to acquire such a property in the normal commercial marketplace (and even then land alone would have probably been a $100M+ exercise) and I wouldn't blame anyone that didn't want to plunk down an additional few hundred million for a soccer stadium in that market. Since then prices for commercial property in Boston have exploded.

You may well be right that the only properties that would be close to economically feasible within the bounds of the subway system are in the East Boston, Everett, Revere area (and I don't see the owners of Suffolk Downs and similar properties calling for a stadium - they want mixed use commercial like everywhere else). That means essentially writing off the existing fan base as car access from the suburbs in any direction would be brutal and hoping that those millenials with $ in the urban core of the metropolitan area will go there. Everett is really out because, while it's within the bounds of the subway system, no line goes there. For East Boston and Revere, the primary access would have to be the Blue Line and I'll bet most urban millenials have never been on it. If they have, I'll virtually guarantee they've never been past the airport. The Blue Line, precisely because its primary service is the East Boston, Revere, corridor, is by far the least ridden subway line, carrying less than 1/3 as many riders as any of others. It's the step child of the MBTA.
 
kibblesnbits said:
No, I'm suggesting that no one has suggested a site in extremely expensive and completely built out greater Boston (which, for this purpose, I'd consider to be within the reach of the MBTA subway system) that has good access, 20 or so acres and isn't valued at such an obscene amount of money that using it for a 20K soccer stadium makes no economic sense at all.
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Yup, subway accessible to/from Boston or a reasonable walk to/from a subway stop. Not, a commuter line stop. Barring a now unanticipated massive economic downturn smashing Boston, that's just unlikely to happen. Consequently with limited potential for the Krafts to sell the Revs, they'll likely remain stuck in Foxboro with no increased accessibility from/to Boston, fan base diversity (millenials, immigrants of diverse income levels, etc.), attendance, nor fans with a pulse.
 
Dont know where else to put this. DC United's new stadium is ugly as hell on TV. What is that eyesore at half field? It looks like a terrible sliding glass door.
 
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LIuconn said:
Austin gets their team too
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MLS seems to be really stuck on Austin and Miami. Why? Austin is a college town and smaller than nearby San Antonio. Miami has proven to be a difficult town for any pro team that does not have an 'it' factor, which is usually just temporary (see LeBron and Shaq).

Plus, Sacramento is still waiting out there along with St. Louis, which has a new backer in the form of the owner of Enterprise Rental Cars. I have also heard that Raleigh and Detroit continue to be in the mix. Now, add into the talk that the 2066 North America World Cup may result in MLS merging with Liga MX to create a monster of a league. If that ever came to fruition, regulation would (hopefully) come into play.

U.S., Canada, Mexico could form league - Bonilla

Meanwhile up north after DC got a new stadium, news stadiums were aproved for Miami,. Nashville, and Cincinatti and even Columbus may now get a new pitch, the Revs are still playing at Gillette as Bob Kraft continues to try and get someone to pay and build a soccer stadium for him...
 
Austin is like the biggest city in the nation without a pro sports team. It’s a good opportunity and there is a stadium deal.
 
Am not an MLS or pro soccer fan but why not Rentschler for the Revs? They'd easily outdraw the football team right now. Would also serve western Mass, obviously.
 
Butch said:
Am not an MLS or pro soccer fan but why not Rentschler for the Revs? They'd easily outdraw the football team right now. Would also serve western Mass, obviously.
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The Rent is now Hartford Athletic territory.
 
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Butch said:
Am not an MLS or pro soccer fan but why not Rentschler for the Revs? They'd easily outdraw the football team right now. Would also serve western Mass, obviously.
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Revs draw like 18k on a good day last I checked.
 
ZooCougar said:
Austin is like the biggest city in the nation without a pro sports team
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+ double digit growth every year for the past 10+, good-paying tech jobs, etc. Def a good opp for a team like this to succeed
 
upstater said:
This must mean that Kraft has given up and that he is now intent on building a soccer specific stadium right near the Razor.
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Maybe. NYCFC, while still looking for a true home, built their training complex in Orangeburg NY, which is about 25 miles from Yankee Stadium. I can almost guarantee that NYCFC is not building their permanent home in Rockland County NY.

PHOTOS: Etihad City Football Academy - First Look
 
Mr. Conehead said:
Maybe. NYCFC, while still looking for a true home, built their training complex in Orangeburg NY, which is about 25 miles from Yankee Stadium. I can almost guarantee that NYCFC is not building their permanent home in Rockland County NY.

PHOTOS: Etihad City Football Academy - First Look
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Apppraently the the Atlanta United/Falcons owner shamed Kraft and others for not spending a dime in the last big league meeting.
 
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Mr. Conehead said:
One positve step for the Revs and a hint that there maybe a stadium plan on the horizon from the Kraft family...

Here are renderings of the Rev's planned $35 million training facility | Boston.com
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Good. The location is fine, despite the whining. The best move is to simply to use what they have. A 25,000 seat soccer stadium would also be a superb concert venue, and would bring in show that can't fit at Gillette.

The Rt. 1 corridor is going to see major development in the next few years. There is now a small casino at the junction of Rt. 1 and 495. Currently, there is a lot of open land on Rt. 1 just north of 495. A NasKart is already being built. New restaurants, including a Grill 110, are going in on Rt. 1 just north of I-495. A second hotel has been added at Patriot Place. Trillium brewing in Canton is not far, nor Castle Island in Norwood. That part of the state is booming. I live there and see it every day.

For all the insistence that a city location is required, there are more people within a 45 minute drive of Foxborough than in all of metro Austin. There are a lot of soccer fans in the metro-west Boston suburbs, and in the Providence area.
 
Looks like St. Louis is not waiting for the next round 92 teams) of MLS expansion, i.e. millions for billionaires, to officially kick-off.

St. Louis Board of Aldermen approves MLS stadium tax plan

So for the next 2(?) slots, looks like St. Louis, Detroit, and Sacramento are in. Any one else? I'm thinking Raleigh may be a surprise entrant as they have been in the mix before, are working on a downtown stadium plan, and one of their biggest backers, Jim Whitehurst, just got big check when IBM bought Red Hat for $34 Billion.
 
Butch said:
It'll be one slot if Columbus stays.
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Old news. Columbus is being bought by the Cleveland Browns. The old Columbus owner has the rights to an expansion team in Austin.
 
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Mr. Conehead said:
Forgot about Austin. Any update in the never ending quest for a MLS stadum for the Beckham Boondogle United club?
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Yeah looks like they may play games where the Marlins play for now.
 
Mr. Conehead said:
Looks like St. Louis is not waiting for the next round 92 teams) of MLS expansion, i.e. millions for billionaires, to officially kick-off.

St. Louis Board of Aldermen approves MLS stadium tax plan

So for the next 2(?) slots, looks like St. Louis, Detroit, and Sacramento are in. Any one else? I'm thinking Raleigh may be a surprise entrant as they have been in the mix before, are working on a downtown stadium plan, and one of their biggest backers, Jim Whitehurst, just got big check when IBM bought Red Hat for $34 Billion.
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St. Louis should have a team.
 
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