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Well, think of it this way - it is a heck of a turn
around since Black January. It would seem that as dark as that day seemed
at the time, and as unfortunate as it was for fans of the teams in Tampa Bay and
Miami, it was the right move. Since then, we have seen that Columbus is
not an anomaly, that a SSS can work in a major city, and while not yet completed
(or even begun ground breaking) that a full, integrated soccer playground with a
SSS at its hub is a viable path to making money - something that in this
economy, everyone is drooling over.
As we have seen previously in Ohio and in Texas, it
ain't over 'till its over (as both Columbus and Dallas had failures before their
apparent success), but it sure looks like a lot of business people are paying
attention and putting money in. Personally, I hope Metro gets its own little
playground situation straightened out soon in Harrisburg because that would make
quite an impact, imo.
So in answer to your question, I don't think the
answer is yes - as long as you recognize that things could still come up.
But obviously, MLS and soccer in general is turning the corner in the US.
I have been pleasantly surprised by the coverage of the WWC. Hopefully
WUSA gets at least a good overhaul of their business plan (I think getting
straight with MLS is asking too much, unfortunately) and we can continue to
improve in womens' soccer as well.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2003 9:50
AM
Subject: [nas] Should I curb my
enthusiasm?
Let me see...
* Kroenke Sports Enterprises has just
"purchased" the Colorado Rapids, and
plans to have a purpose-built stadium
in place for the start of the 2006
season. Press reports have suggested a
possible location in proximity to
the Pepsi Center or elsewhere in
downtown, but no plans or further details have
been released to this
point.
* On Friday, September 19th, The N.Y. State Legislature approved
a
$15 million dollar grant to build the Rochester Rhinos their own,
soccer-
specific stadium at a total estimated cost of $22 million dollars.
The stadium
will have an initial capacity of 17,500, expandable to 20,000
should the
city be bumped up a division to Major League Soccer. There's
been talk of
ground-breaking in the next few weeks. A stadium rendering may
be seen
here: http://www.rhinossoccer.com/images/thumbs/PaeTec%20Park1.JPG
*
Peter Wilt and the Chicago Fire have received financial proposals from the
communities of Bridgeview, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estate and the City of
Chicago
to build a soccer-specific stadium. The Fire will reportedly
announce the winning proposal
in the next one to two months. The stadium
would possibly be built in time for the 2006
season at a proposed cost of
close to $70 million, capacity being in the neighborhood
of
20,000-plus.
* New renderings of the 20,000-seat Frisco Stadium have
recently been circulated
by Dallas Burn supporters as they look to make a
move to their own soccer-specific
stadium for purposes of the 2005 season.
Images can be seen through those links below:
http://home.earthlink.net/~dchristmann/data/FriscoStadiumSE.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~dchristmann/data/FriscoStadiumSECloseup.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~dchristmann/data/FriscoStadiumNW.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~dchristmann/data/FriscoStadiumNWCloseup.jpg
It's
been suggested that some preliminary work on the stadium site may
already
be underway and that an "official ground-breaking may occur within
the month." Total
estimated cost of the project is $65 million dollars.
Nice touch that seems to be part
of (this particular) design proposal:
different-colored seats that spell out "DALLAS" and
"BURN" much like what's
common in European stadia.
* The Seattle Sounders as of August, were
looking to bring an MLS expansion franchise
to Kent, WA. A soccer-specific
stadium with a capacity of 18 - 20,000 would be built
as part of a complex
featuring eight to ten additional soccer fields, this at an estimated
cost
of around $35 million according to published reports. MLS is also lending
assistance
with proposal planning, this also according to a published
report. If everything works out,
Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer
would like to have things in order for an MLS
team to being play in 2005 or
2006.
* pinch me
*
-Evan
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