How to get a stadium

[Rover]

Tobias Lopez of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has written a piece that should be required reading for anyone with an interest in how to get a stadium built.

The article is here.

It details how Lamar Hunt went from rejection by the City of McKinney to success with Frisco. The big difference? Frisco city leaders had vision. Imagine that.

From Clark Hunt, Uncle Lamar's son:

"One of the things that my father knows and that my family knows is that stadium projects aren't easy. They require a lot of perseverance. Even though that was a dark day when it didn't work out in McKinney, we knew we'd be right back in it working to make it happen some place else."

The piece also includes a bonus--a letter sent by LH to the City of McKinney detailing lessons learned from his construction of Crew Stadium.

If you visit the Frisco site, you realize just how smart their city leaders are. They are using the stadium as a key element in the development of a new city center, and everything is being done first class not just at the stadium but with the entire area. I saw it last fall, and even then it was obvious that these folks knew what they were doing. Even as a construction site it was clear that they had planned a project that would be appealing in its own right, let alone as a home for FCD.

Worth considering as we go through the opening stages of the same process for Salt Lake City

[Aerick]

That is a very interesting article. Also very interesting is the public record communique that Hunt sent to McKinney officials on things he would have done differently when building the Columbus stadium.

[SoccerPrime]

So basically, Checketts should play the cities of Deseret against each other?

[Rover]

Originally Posted by SoccerPrime

So basically, Checketts should play the cities of Deseret against each other?

Well I think he's already doing that.

What I get from the article (other than you should build bigger locker rooms) are two main points:

1. Getting a stadium built is a rollercoaster ride. McKinney was in the bag, and then the whole thing fell through. Frisco seemed to come out of nowhere, but the finished product will be superior to anything planned in McKinney.

2. The best proposal is the one with the broadest scopel. Any deal that isn't visionary--as opposed to utilitarian--is not a good deal. Hold on for the city that sees the stadium as part of a bigger development that integrates the stadium into the city that makes it something more than just a sports facililty.

What does that mean for what we've got on the plate in Salt Lake? I'm not sure yet. But you can be sure that Uncle Dave is aware of all this, and when the deal is done it will be a good one.