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July 21, 2006
What features would you like in a stadium?
As noted in the message we just sent to our members, SSV is now collecting suggestions for design elements and other details that you'd like to see in a new stadium for the Quakes. We will be compiling these suggestions and passing them along to the new ownership group, in the hopes that the best of them can be incorporated into the team's new home.
Here's what I see when I close my eyes and dream the stadium dream...
I'd like the main entrance to the stadium to be adjacent to a transit stop--light rail, BART (in the South Bay), something like that. You exit the station and come onto a concourse with a series of light poles on either side with banners hanging from them. You'll find an entrance to the Epicenter Club Pub, the Stadium Shop, and the Earthquakes museum/hall of fame. (The team's offices are there, too, around the back side where you'll find the practice/youth soccer/Quakes Academy fields. Oh, and the Club Quake barbecue area, too. The lawn there is a nice touch.)
The stadium itself is relatively simple. It retains the intimacy of Spartan -- well, enhances it, really. The seats (not benches) are Quakes blue, the metal work is black, and the concrete retains its natural color to complete the standard Earthquakes palette. Seats begin right next to the field, like something you'd see in Europe. There's a canopy/roof over the stands to hold in the sound and the covering over the North End seems to have been designed to spread the sound all over the stadium. (A lot of people think it's odd that there's no canopy over the South End but they understand once you explain that's where the away fans sit. Any sound they make just dissipates into space.) Also, you can't see them from inside the stadium but the canopies are also covered with solar panels--over the course of a year, the stadium actually produces more energy than it consumes!
What's really amazing is that somehow they've managed to transfer the intrinsic energy of Spartan and all the historic matches that it's seen (the original Quakes, the Blackhawks, the inaugural MLS game, Women's World Cup, Bruce Arena's first game as US coach, 5-2, 3-2, and all the rest) so it seems like a stadium with a tradition and a history even though it's brand new.
And there's lots and lots of room for championship banners to be placed on permanent display...
How about you? Please leave your comments here or, if you prefer, there's also a thread devoted to the topic on BigSoccer. Thanks for your input!
Posted by Jay at 03:41 PM | Comments (44)
July 16, 2006
Bay Area shows its appetite for soccer
It's been a week since the World Cup final, I know, but I wanted to compliment the Bay Area on its fine showing during the tournament. Germany 2006 has had by far the highest profile of any World Cup since the U.S. hosted in '94, when Brazil chose Los Gatos as their home base.
The World Cup and soccer have been everywhere—on TV, the radio, and newspapers, certainly, but also in the break rooms of companies from Santa Rosa to San Jose. Getting into a conversation about the World Cup was as easy as donning your favorite team's jersey and going out in public.
Our favorite local image from the event is this one that appeared in the Chronicle, of a crowd estimated at 10,000 that watched the final in Mission Dolores Park in San Francisco.
Also of interest:
• Will World Cup lift U.S. soccer? Global game gains ground in America, also from the Chron
• U.S. Soccer, a World Cup Dud, Sustains Pro League With TV Deals, from Bloomberg
• San Francisco celebrates Italy's World Cup victory 2006, a low-quality yet deliriously happy home video on YouTube.
Posted by Jay at 08:33 PM | Comments (1)