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Revolution in Somerville?
By adamg on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 9:02am
No, nobody's planning a coup against Mayor Joe (that we know of). The New England Revolution is looking at the city as possible home for a new stadium.
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Comments
Oh, for Pete's sakes:
A huge Foxborough-type stadium is about the last thing that's needed in Somerville.
C'mon--it'll just create more noise and more traffic. This in the face of the yet delayed-for-the-third-time MBTA Green Line expansion into Somerville and Medford, which, imo, is much more important than a big new stadium, for crying out loud! They resisted it down in Southie...and with ample reason. Somerville should resist the idea also. That stadium should stay in Foxborough, where they belong!!
The reason they want to move
The reason they want to move out of Foxborough is because it's too big. There has been a move afoot in recent years amongst stadium designers to move away from the giant multi-use stadiums of the past, and towards amaller sport-specific stadiums. Look at the ball parks in Cincinatti and Philidelphia, as well as the soccar stadia in Columbus and Chicago as prime examples.
Anyone got a shoehorn?
Where would they put the thing? Isn't Somerville something like the third most crowded city in the US?
Inner Belt
Somewhere in or around the 'Inner Belt Industrial Park'. But what businesses would it displace, and what would happen to them? The reporters need to dig deeper.
It wouldn't fit...
... because I can guarantee that the UPS depot ain't gonna move. No way, no how. Which would be kinda the minimum requirement.
The last time someone proposed a stadium it was to replace the
ghost mallAssemby Square Mall, but the redevelopment there is already under way.Na ga ha pen. Sorry, y'all.
Dilboy Fits
Check a map - along the mystic near the Arlington and Medford lines there is a large stadium already. It might even be useful if the Green Line delays stop any time soon!
Dilboy Field
was just rebuilt last year, but I doubt it's anywhere near large enough for the Revolution. It's also not near any transit stop and there is absolutely no place to park.
Penalty Kick?
I didn't mean to imply that the Revs could play at Dilboy - although Dilboy would be big enough if it were fully built out. The point was that a facility of that size can fit in Somerville.
One place they could go would be to fully build out Hormel Stadium in Mefuh. That would mean it would be next to #1 son's junior high and might be a problem, and they would have to let the High School play there still.
As for stadium size, think Lowell Spinners - LeLacheur Field fits into a rather tight spot in Lowell.
Hormel Stadium?
I dunno, doesn't it get awfully chili there?
FRANKly, I don't think it
FRANKly, I don't think it matters.
If you really want to know, however, there is a meteorological station onion of the light towers.
Awesome
As a car-free soccer fan I love this idea. I'll totally get season tickets if the Revolution play at a T-accessible stadium. A soccer-specific stadium will be nowhere near as large as that Patriots' stadium in Foxboro and should the proper public transit connections be made (I know that's a big if), auto traffic shouldn't be a problem.
I'm totally in favor of this idea.
Good point
I think some people might be confused here. You've got it right: they're not planning to rebuild Gillette Stadium in Somerville. They're suggesting a soccer stadium sized appropriately for the Revs. The stadium they're suggesting is only 20-25K seating, compared to over 68K seating at Gillette. And it's not going to have acres and acres of parking lots and thousands of square feet of knick-knack shops.
One of the reasons they're looking to build a new stadium somewhere in metro Boston is that this is where their fans are. A lot of their fans are Hispanic and Brazilian immigrants. That means Somerville makes good sense, because it's one of the biggest Brazilian populations in MA (which has about 25% of the Brazilian immigrants in the US).
Putting the Revs somewhere in metro Boston would greatly increase their attendance, as their urban fan base would be able to take the T to the games.
Mixed feelings
Josh Ourisman explains his mixed feelings on the idea.
This would totally change
This would totally change the New England revolution and the city of Boston for 3 reasons: First soccer is the most popular sport among immigrants to this country, many of whom live in boston. Therefore a more accessible stadium would increase home attendance. Second, soccer's largest potential fan base is in the 18-30 age bracket. Having a stadium 30 miles outside the city as resulted in a large disconnect between the hardcore soccer fans who live in the city; very few young people live in the burbs. Third, having the revolution in Boston would provide a great low-cost alternative to inflated ticket prices available at Fenway and the TD Banknorth Garden. Assuming the stadium were not built in hopes of future T expansion, meaning the stadium was built close to a current T station (for example the large chunk of real estate next to Andrew Square off of Dot Ave), Revolution games would be a huge draw. Further, it being off the Red line, people from the burbs could park at Alewife or Braintree/Quincy to get to the games.