September 27, 2005
Rapids break ground on new stadium complex tomorrow
The Denver Business Journal reports that Kroenke Sports Enterprises will break ground tomorrow on its Prairie Gateway sports complex in Commerce City, a suburb of Denver. The centerpiece of the $130 million complex, which will include 24 soccer and lacrosse practice fields, will be a 26,000-seat stadium for the Colorado Rapids, Denver's team in MLS. The stadium was designed by HOK Sport, best known locally for their work on SBC Park, home of the San Francisco Giants.
The Business Journal notes that "outside interest in the sports complex has prompted the possibility of a neighboring hotel, as well as 600,000 square feet of retail space. Adams County is interested in building high schools nearby, which could use the sports facility." The complex is due to open in April 2007.
Long-time fans of MLS will recall the hoopla that surrounded the 1998 groundbreaking of Columbus Crew Stadium, the league's first facility. It garnered national attention as soccer writers from around the country hailed the new stadium as a landmark for American soccer. Now, groundbreakings are coming along so frequently that they're only covered in the regional press—another sign of the league's recent growth and continued strength.
Posted by Jay at 07:10 PM | Comments (2)
September 22, 2005
Plane fakes emergency to land near U-17 World Championships
While I suspect that many of us have made extraordinary efforts to attend at Earthquakes games, the AP reports today on a story that surely tops them all. According to the story, an airplane chartered by the president of Gambia faked an emergency so that it would be given permission to land near a stadium in the Peruvian city of Piura, where Gambia's Under-17 team was about to play Qatar in the FIFA U-17 World Championships. The 289 fans aboard made it to the game on time and saw their side top Qatar, 3-1, but the jet was being held in Piura "while authorities determined what penalty, if any, to levy against the airline."
Posted by Jay at 11:19 AM | Comments (2)
September 19, 2005
Bond issue approved for Metrostars' New Jersey stadium
The Jersey Journal reports today that officials from Hudson County and the town of Harrison, NJ, have formally approved $40 million in general obligation bonds which will go towards the acquisition of land and construction of a parking garage as part of the MetroStars stadium project. The entire project, which will be built in the town's 275-acre redevelopment zone, carries a price tag of $170 million, the majority of which will be borne by Anschutz Entertainment Group, owners of the MetroStars, LA Galaxy, Chicago Fire, and the Earthquakes.
The story continues:
"It's now a done deal," Joseph Lauro, spokesman for the Harrison Redevelopment Agency, said of the financing deal. "There are no other hurdles in front of it that involves government."Under the terms of the deal, Anschutz Entertainment Group, parent company of the MetroStars, will put up $15 million and take out bonds on an additional $60 million through the Hudson County Improvement Authority. The partnership allows AEG to get the lowest possible interest rates without putting the county in financial jeopardy.
This marks the sixth stadium which has either been completed or is under construction for an MLS team. (Stadiums have been completed for teams in Columbus, Los Angeles, and Dallas and are in development in Chicago, Denver, and now New Jersey.) Additionally, significant progress is being made on stadium deals in Salt Lake City and Washington, DC.
As each of these stadiums come online, the league's viability increases and the financial risks to municipalities associated with stadium financing lessen. It's disappointing that AEG doesn't see the potential in San Jose that is obvious to so many of us but it's good to know that their commitment to the sport is still being backed up with their substantial checkbook.
Posted by Jay at 10:09 AM | Comments (4)
September 18, 2005
NY Times reviews 'National Pastime'
Today's New York Times (registration required) reviews National Pastime, a new book by Stefan Szymanski and Andrew Zimbalist that looks at the history of the USA's love affair with baseball and compares it to the world's relationship with soccer.
According to reviewer Jeff Z. Klein, the book makes a detailed comparison of the development of the two sports since their origins over 100 years ago. The paths have some similarities, he says, but have largely been taken independently of each other.
Klein find the book wanting, however, in one of its premises:
"...here is where Szymanski and Zimbalist fall short. While their interesting if dry book ably traces the differences between the businesses of baseball and soccer, it assumes the two sports can learn from each other. But they cannot. Baseball is not a global sport. It is more like rugby, cricket or hockey: wildly popular in a few countries, but obscure or unknown in most. Soccer, on the other hand, is the world game, with limitless capacity for growth... In the end, "National Pastime" marks the moment when Americans, having accepted soccer, seem ready to learn much more about it than this book contains."
Klein goes on to recommend a number of British books "about the culture, political history, and sociology" of soccer, including Simon Kuper's "Football Against the Enemy," Phil Ball's "Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football," Alex Bellos's "Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life," and David Winner's "Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football."
SSV blog readers -- do you have any comments about those books or additional titles to add to that list? Let us know...
Posted by Jay at 11:10 AM | Comments (3)
September 15, 2005
Roberto Baggio: U.S. can challenge now for the World Cup
When U.S. Soccer and Nike announced Project 2010 some years ago, many observers dismissed their plan for the U.S. to win the World Cup in that year as overly ambitious or even plainly naive. Roberto Baggio, the star of Italy's 1994 World Cup side and one of the few undisputed superstars of the game in that decade, has just added his opinion to the mix: Forget 2010 -- the U.S. could win it now.
The AP reports that Baggio "says Brazil will be the team to beat at the 2006 World Cup, but Italy and the United States can mount a strong challenge."
The story continues: "The United States has evolved into a very good team,'' said Baggio. "They have been getting better for years.''
Many fans will remember the 1990 World Cup, held in Italy, where an unheralded group of U.S. players--mostly amateurs and college students--defied expectations by limiting the hosts to a single goal in a match that most expected would be a one-sided blowout. Now, an Italian legend is touting the U.S. as capable of winning it all. How far we have come in so little time.
Posted by Jay at 10:54 AM | Comments (4)
September 14, 2005
More details on Milwaukee emerge as Wilt steps down from Fire
The Chicago Sun-Times checks in today with additional information about the potential Milwaukee MLS expansion team. The executive who has played such a key role in guiding the Chicago Fire since the team's inception, Peter Wilt, leaves that team this week to devote his full attention to securing a stadium deal in Wisconsin.
Wilt, already CEO of Milwaukee Pro Soccer, will become GM and part-owner of the new team if Milwaukee lands a franchise. He hopes to have the project -- which includes the building of a $60 million stadium in a $250 million downtown development -- done in time for the 2008 season. (MLS Commissioner Don) Garber has given him a November deadline to acquire land for the stadium."The onus is on us to secure the site,'' Wilt said. "We're looking at a privately financed stadium, and I'm cautiously optimistic. We're not there yet. We're still bringing in investors.''
SSV wishes Wilt--one of the genuine good guys in American soccer--the best of luck.
Posted by Jay at 10:28 AM | Comments (2)
September 12, 2005
MLS commissioner meets with Milwaukee officials, investors while Chicago stadium construction continues
With the rush to get the blog online, we missed a couple of interesting stories late last week.
First off, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Milwaukee Professional Soccer faces a November deadline to acquire land and identify a lead investor if it wants to be awarded an MLS expansion team for the 2008 season. MLS Commissioner Don Garber was in town to meet with investors as well as Milwaukee's mayor and other officials to discuss the project. The group hopes to build a 20,000-seat downtown stadium in Milwaukee as part of a $300 million mixed-use development with restaurants, retail outlets and commercial and housing space. A downtown stadium would be a landmark for MLS and it's interesting to see that the stadium is being discussed here as the centerpiece to a much larger revitalization project.
Also in the news is the Chicago Tribune's report on the Fire's new stadium. Officials from the team and the city of Bridgeview attended a special ceremony marking the completion of structural steel work on the facility.
It's interesting to note that the Bridgeview stadium is also being seen as a linchpin for additional economic development. The Tribune reports that "(Bridgeview Mayor Steve) Landek said the stadium also would help the village attract additional development in and around the 100-acre site, which was previously occupied by the old Consolidated Freightways shipping yard. Officials anticipate a redevelopment boom along Harlem Avenue between 71st Street and 79th Street. Landek said he has spoken with retailers, hotel chains and cinema owners interested in the area."
Posted by Jay at 09:47 AM | Comments (5)
September 09, 2005
Why are you a soccer fan?
Throughout the 17 months that SSV has been working to create a permanent home for the Earthquakes in the Bay Area, we've come across a broad spectrum of attitudes towards soccer. While all the elected officials we've met with have been open minded, few have had much knowledge of the sport and fewer still know about the extent of the worldwide popularity of the sport. For example, we were explaining that Ajax America has expressed interest in investing in the Earthquakes to someone recently and they expressed surprise that the Dutch--one of the most accomplished soccer nations in the world--were interested in the sport.
So we have some questions for you: What do you like about the sport? Why are you a fan? Why do you support the Earthquakes? Please let us know by leaving a comment. Several of SSV's founding members have done so already to help get the ball rolling (so to speak). Also, please let us know where you live. You never know when some of those elected officials might be reading and they'll want to know that voters in their area support the Earthquakes.
Posted by Jay at 08:03 AM | Comments (35)
Toronto stadium talks heat up
The Toronto Star reported on Wednesday that the Canada Soccer Association has chosen a site in Downsview Park, a neighborhood in the north end of Toronto, as the location for a new $60 million stadium (that's about $51 million in US greenbacks). The article also reports that talks have taken place between Major League Soccer and a potential ownership group in the city regarding a potential 2007 expansion team.
Posted by Jay at 07:18 AM | Comments (1)