Revolution Continue Stadium Hunt

[XenonDesigns]

https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/06/21/kraft-umass-talks-for-stadium-dorchester/aM8JJ8w0Qq6lmx3vE1gyiK/story.html

So there has been huge news concerning the Kraft's search for a soccer stadium for the Revs. Okay, it isn't "huge" but we haven't had anything for almost 1-2 years. The new site is north of BC High at the Bayside Expo Center. The land currently belongs to UMass and the Krafts would lease it, although I'm not exactly sure how it would work.

 

The new site is much more southern than the past one is Widett Circle as this one is in Dorchester.

I'm not too sure how I feel about it considering it's quite far from downtown but it could help clean up the neighborhood and it is right next to the T. This news comes after I finished working on renders for what I thought Widett could look ideally look like. <--I'll see if I can do another render for this location but it could be difficult. Any suggestions would be appreciated

I would like to see any of your guy's opinions on this. Will this happen? What impact will it have? What should the stadium look like? And I'm also curious to see what you guys think about the Krafts or maybe even NYCFC's plans with a stadium. 

[neo_prankster]

What's wrong with Gillette Stadium?

[XenonDesigns]

36 minutes ago, neo_prankster said:

What's wrong with Gillette Stadium?

Too much to explain.

[slapshot]

1. It's too large for a team that draws somewhere between 20,000-25,000 at best. Half the seats are tarped off, so it's not that welcoming. A stadium of their own could be built to accommodate the 25,000-30,000 fans in a more fan-friendly environment, inviting even more season ticket holders, possibly becoming an intimidating place for opponents to play.

 

2. Even though Kraft owns both teams, it's the Patriots' stadium first, the Revolution are a secondary tenant.

 

3. I'm sure MLS teams would prefer grass fields. Gillette is artificial turf. Having a stadium of their own would allow a permanent grass field, and also be less likely football teams coming in and tearing it up.

 

4. Owning their own stadium allows the team to control its use, and make money from concessions and rentals.

[rams80]

5.  It would give Kraft's spawn experience in (mis?)managing a stadium, which is basically the next step in how the Revolution are run now.

[MJWalker45]

10 hours ago, slapshot said:

1. It's too large for a team that draws somewhere between 20,000-25,000 at best. Half the seats are tarped off, so it's not that welcoming. A stadium of their own could be built to accommodate the 25,000-30,000 fans in a more fan-friendly environment, inviting even more season ticket holders, possibly becoming an intimidating place for opponents to play.

 

2. Even though Kraft owns both teams, it's the Patriots' stadium first, the Revolution are a secondary tenant.

 

3. I'm sure MLS teams would prefer grass fields. Gillette is artificial turf. Having a stadium of their own would allow a permanent grass field, and also be less likely football teams coming in and tearing it up.

 

4. Owning their own stadium allows the team to control its use, and make money from concessions and rentals.

Are they leasing just the land from UMass then?

[dfwabel]

4 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

Are they leasing just the land from UMass then?

Time will tell, but a public-private partnership (PPP) like this for a university has become more common. Student housing is the most common application, but a stadium/arena isn't a new.

 

To me, the bigger issue is how Kraft Group is going to fund this since reports last week were that they were partnering to purchase the UFC.  With a possible sale price at $4.2 billion or more, their share has to be fairly substantial.