The Dorchester Reporter scores on talks between UMass Boston, which now owns what's left of the expo center, and the Kraft family, which owns the soccer team.
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Soccer kids
By Sock_Puppet
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 9:03am
Who were born after the MLS had its first season wouldn't even be 20 yet.
MLS will get better. It's a process.
Just like
By Marco
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 9:43am
Triple A baseball, D-league basketball, and semi-pro football has gotten SO much better over the years. I heard the Middleboro Cobras are selling out season tickets to see college washouts and bored cops smash into each other for $50 a game nowadays.
MLS is futbol minor leagues, and always will be. Even South America and Mexico don't have top-tier leagues for cryin out loud. England and Spain have the top 2 pro leagues, and there are half a dozen behind them before you even get out of Europe. The product on the field in USA will always be has-beens and up-and-comers.
I'm not knocking it, I watch from time to time. It is what it is. Lets just not pretend that MLS is gonna rise to NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB levels. NOT HAPPENING.
The best part of having a proper soccer stadium is we will get more exhibition and world qualifier games from top tier leagues and FIFA. That alone will be worth it. Those games draw well at Fenway AND Foxboro.
All part of the process
By Sock_Puppet
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 3:35pm
I agree with you that the best soccer games at that stadium out there are not the Revs right now. It's the Copa America. And that a stadium closer in to the center would bring more top talent (read: not ours).
But this is all part of the process of American soccer growing in skill and popularity. MLS suckage is not a steady state; American soccer was in the wasteland for forty years between 1950 and 1990, not even qualifying for the World Cup. The creation of MLS happened at around the same time as the national team became able to qualify repeatedly for the Cup and became able to advance to the round of 16 repeatedly. It's part of the same process of the sport becoming more popular and valued in this country.
MLS player salaries are increasing every year - over 400% in the past decade - with a long way to go still to reach parity with other countries. MLS quality is also increasing. Attendance at MLS games is already greater overall than hockey games, and triple what it was a decade ago.
In many cities - Orlando, San Jose, Portland, Salt Lake, Columbus - soccer is already the number one sport by attendance. More cities will join that list. The number of NBA and NHL teams whose games are less attended than those of their city's soccer team is huge, including most of the NBA and the NHL - and yes, it includes the Bruins and the Celtics.
It would be silly to imagine that this process has reached its apex. This is a huge nation, ever more connected with the rest of the world, and soccer is what the kids play now. We can grow, or can attract, the talent to compete on par with the world.
One advantage the US has over
By R Hookup
Thu, 06/23/2016 - 6:56pm
One advantage the US has over a number of those countries and that is wealth. Heck, half the teams in the EPL are owned by Americans.
And a lot of soccer players want to live in the US because it's not as soccer crazy as their home countries. Given enough time and money, yes, MLS could rival the world's best leagues. Will it be anytime soon? No, but the "it's never gonna happen" crowd didn't foresee soccer stadiums being built all across the US either.
I dont think so
By anon
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 10:03am
The 15-16 year old former soccer kids and now soccer teens love to watch the Premier League and international soccer, but couldn't be bothered with MLS.
Just stay in Boston
By anon
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 9:59am
You wouldn't want to challenge your assumptions with a trip to the Northwest, where teams like the Timbers have fanatical followings.
p.s. Driving causes traffic, if you haven't noticed.
This would be great. I'm not
By anon
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 7:54am
This would be great. I'm not a fan of sports but I am a fan of building something that can be multi use and is right on the T. Ppl bitching about parking need to realize that having this type of stuff on the T and forcing ppl to not drive into events is actually a good thing.
Kraft seems to know what he is doing. Who knows maybe this would be a kick to help the T be a better option for people. Let's not go all Southie on this before we have all the facts (a la saying no to a privately funded football stadium on the waterfront).
I disagree
By anon
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 9:50am
How in the world are we going to "force" people not to use their cars. If the stadium is built, some people will take the T, and some people will drive.
People currently take their cars to Carson Beach, Moakley Park, UMass, events at the old Expo center, and St Patrick's Day parade, all near the T. You can count on them taking their cars to soccer games at the proposed stadium too.
How to force people not to drive?
By Ron Newman
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 11:18am
Easy -- don't provide parking.
Try again
By anon
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 12:15pm
People will simply seek parking in the neighborhoods, South Boston , Savin Hill, towards Edward Everett Sq, towards Andrew Square, etc, and around Moakley Park. Even around Fenway, the resident parking is sometimes monitored by meter maids and men, and sometimes not. Metered parking expiring at 6 or at 8 is an option around Fenway, and brings traffic to the area.
I assume there will be existing parking lots that want to make some money at the JFK complex, UMass, Star Market, etc. and of course the stadium will have some parking. It just will. And new facilities will spring up.
So there WILL be parking, people WILL drive to the games and other events, and traffic WILL be a clusterfxx.
It never fails to amaze me how many people on Uhub are in denial that cars, traffic, and parking exist, will exist, and that the situation is bad and getting worse. If anyone thinks a stadium can be built at that location without increased traffic and parking problems, then they are delusional.
I'm not in denial - of course
By anon
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 1:58pm
I'm not in denial - of course there are things that have to be thought about and dealt with but it always doesn't have to be about cars and their drivers all.the.time. We can on occasion try to think outside of the box.
Maybe, just maybe if ppl stopped thinking with the car only mindset of "only if I can drive there or it's gonna suck bc there is no parking or what about the traffic or I don't want to walk 100 feet bc it's my right as an American" we could actually think of better ways to travel this city of ours.
Boston (America really) needs to change it's tune on transportation. We need to have better public transportation, bike routes, etc or soon enough you won't be able to go anywhere in your car b/c your stuck in traffic 24/7. If there were more viable options that you could count on I think people would actually take them.
Creative solution
By www3
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 9:37am
Folks who point out the T access are right. This is one of the most T-accessible sites in the area... it's a 2 minute walk from the Red Line and Commuter Rail, basically letting everyone from points north and [far] south get there in a one-seat ride.
But concerns of paralyzing traffic are a valid point, too. What we need to do is build this in such a way that you can't drive there: in other words, build it like Fenway was built. With zero parking. Fenway still fills at 34,000 with a relatively small number of people driving to the area. Manage the number of drivers to the site, and you'll manage the traffic situation.
Of course, the project should be required to support fans taking the T there. They can include parking vouchers for Alewife/Braintree/Quincy with each ticket purchase, provide bike parking, and frequent shuttles from North Station. And, perhaps most of all, they should be required to support increased Red Line service during game nights (just like the casino is paying for Orange Line service). This would be a far more effective way of handling transportation, a far more useful investment, than trying to restripe the rotary or install a new traffic signal that will continue to be overwhelmed by vehicle traffic.
Fenway has "zero parking"??
By anon
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 11:02am
There are parking lots and garages all over the Fenway , Back Bay, and South End, and they are full on game day. People also park on the street .Traffic is a clusterfxxx on game day before and after games.The traffic problems reach into Cambridge, Brookline, the South End, the Back Bay and the Fenway on game day.
What in the world are you talking about?
There's always people on the
By anon
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 9:57am
There's always people on the Boston subreddit asking how to get out to soccer games at Gillette if they don't have cars (the Revs seem to have a pretty great fanbase because somebody always volunteers to pick those people up) so there's clearly some kind of market for T-accessibility.
20-25,000 is not enough seats
By issacg
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 10:10am
Given the growing popularity of the sport, and the relocation to a more conveniently located stadium, the team will outgrow a facility of that size in less than a decade. I could even envision it being obsolete by the time it opens.
And I say this notwithstanding the drubbing the Yanks took last night. That was a truly awful performance on the world stage (but was worth watching at least to see Messi's unbelievable shot live).
20,000 is MLS standard
By Waquiot
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 10:17am
Given that the quality of the play is probably at the level of the English Championship League, 20,000 is a decent number of seats for the facility. The MLS specific stadia built across the continent are typically in the 20,000 seat range.
Thankfully
By anon
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 11:06am
our elected officials quoted in this article are either against this proposal or are skeptical and calling for community input.
This is a terrible idea. I'm guessing most of you who think it's a great idea probably dont live anywhere near Southie or Dorchester. I dont think you will find any support in Southie, and Dorchester where I live.
Southie here
By GoSoxGo
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 2:56pm
And I support a proposed stadium, as long as there are some transportation improvements (as I said earlier, MBTA, rotary and off- and on-ramp improvements, and I suppose Morissey itself as it will be underwater more often in the future).
When I was a kid in an inner-belt suburb about 35-40 years ago, we drove to Riverside and took the T when we went to Fenway. But hey, if you want to drive all the way into the city, contribute to the traffic you're stuck in, and pay $60 to park for a few hours, you will still have that option.
Wrong
By MattyC
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 3:08pm
I live in southie and this is a fantastic idea. The T is right there, there is a ton of parking at the expo and UMass, and Boston deserves to host the Revs.
Go NIMBY somewhere else.
Ton of parking at Expo?
By anon
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 4:10pm
The ton of parking at Expo is where they are going to build the stadium. So there will be no ton of parking at Expo.
And I doubt you live in Southie, but if you do, I have a modest proposal. Locate the stadium next door to your humble abode. You wont be accusing others of NIMBYism then.
It will already be so close
By MattyC
Thu, 06/23/2016 - 9:16am
It will already be so close as to call it next door. If you don't care to believe that, I'm going to lose sleep tonight so please please please believe me so I can finally get some rest. I'll be wringing my hands, waiting.
Now, take your NIMBY bullshit down the Riviera where you belong.
Also, your contention is that
By MattyC
Thu, 06/23/2016 - 9:20am
Also, your contention is that there is not enough parking at a commuter school (student & faculty population of 17,500) to facilitate night and weekend events for a 20,000 person stadium? Lets see your numbers, genius.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Massac...
Commuter school?
By adamg
Thu, 06/23/2016 - 9:22am
They now have a fair number of students from outside Dorchester who rent apartments nearby. And remember that even before the Olympics, they were planning to build dormitories (on, well, the Bayside Expo land).
I think we're quibbling now,
By MattyC
Thu, 06/23/2016 - 9:27am
I think we're quibbling now, but a school with no dorms is by definition a....
"Boston deserves to host the Revs"
By anon
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 4:11pm
What does that even mean? Why?
I'm in Southie and heres an idea.
By TommyJeff
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 1:11pm
Pave the entire McCormack projects. Build bus/shuttle stations and a walkway over the rotary. Parking solved.
Have Kraft foot the bill for displacing the tenants.
If he wants it bad enough get him to pony up the cash.
why public land for private enterprise
By PrivateSector
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 4:39pm
there are privately owned parcels available that Kraft family could buy to locate their stadium. Why is the discussion always around publicly owned sites?
Build it in Chestnut Hill
By DapperO
Fri, 06/24/2016 - 12:37pm
Let the visionary Mr. Kraft build it at the site of the Chestnut Hill Mall. That's right near the Green Line and his own neighborhood.
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