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Kraft pitches new soccer pitch study for East Somerville
By Kaz on Thu, 10/16/2008 - 7:11pm
The Kraft Group would like to move the popular New England MLS franchise, The Revolution, to a new, smaller, soccer stadium in East Somerville. This has worked well for other MLS teams and the location is already under consideration for development as part of the Green Line expansion and repair yard by MBTA officials.
Kraft funded a $150,000 study in June to develop working ideas for the site after contacting the city of Somerville one year ago about where it might be able to locate such a stadium near the largely immigrant populations of Boston that might be some of the team and venue's biggest fans.
One idea to come from the study is to combine the Green Line extension and stadium by placing the stadium in the "air rights" above the proposed repair yard.
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Comments
a whole different experience
just as going to fenway park is a totally different experience than going to a baseball game elsewhere in the country, so too can be the tradition of going to a soccer game. in many stadiums in england, you have people converging on the grounds from all of the streets around, from pubs and from restaurants, all wearing the colors, singing, and not beating each other up or anything like that. even in north america, you see that kind of thing happening in places like toronto, where they've recreated that kind of communal experience impressively. as for what's in it for the city? well, instead of driving down 95 and 1 and sitting in a 1/3-full gillette stadium, people converge via public transit and spend time enjoying neighborhood amenities, like bars, and pubs, and um, bars. it's good for parking, restaurants, shops, you name it. and bars.
That would be awesome
Having the Brazilian/Portuguese and Hispanic communities of Somerville all gathering before the game at Foss Park or Assembly Square and marching through the streets to the stadium in Revs gear with scarves held high to fill in one of the sections.
This is probably the greatest idea for that area. All of the over-priced condos going in over by Charlestown Ave just feel completely wrong for that area and there's little reason to ever be in that neighborhood except as a cut-through to get in and out of the city. This would be a terrific addition to the area and provide a great northern outdoor venue for sports, concerts, and other events with very intelligent linkage to the new Green Line work for public transportation options. If they did combine it with the repair yard by elevating the stadium above the yard, I imagine this could also be a good source of funds for the MBTA by selling/renting the rights to the Krafts.
Isn't Somerville Ground Zero
Isn't Somerville Ground Zero for the Committee to Stop Everything? In the last 20 years, all I've heard out of S-ville is NO.
To a certain extent
Not as much as the medfordites who are doign their best to handicap the green line extension. But the stadium idea has a sitting mayor on its side so hopefully it will be approved.