Latest Stadium Info

[dysko]

Originally Posted by StarsOnSunday

Parking is not an issue as I will be taking the train from Fort Union. It's cheaper and more convenient for me. I see very few reasons to ever drive downtown, especially for a soccer match.

Think about this; the best downtowns in the nation are not driver friendly. (San Diego's Gaslight District, San Fransisco, The Riverwalk in San Antonio, The Strip in Las Vegas, Manhattan). What makes a great downtown scene is foot traffic. The most driver friendly cities are also the most boring. (Phoenix, Sacramento, etc.)

You left out Deep Ellum in Dallas... several blocks that are foot traffic only... It doesn't get less driver frindly than that. 😉

[Neil]

Originally Posted by StarsOnSunday

Parking is not an issue as I will be taking the train from Fort Union. It's cheaper and more convenient for me. I see very few reasons to ever drive downtown, especially for a soccer match.

Think about this; the best downtowns in the nation are not driver friendly. (San Diego's Gaslight District, San Fransisco, The Riverwalk in San Antonio, The Strip in Las Vegas, Manhattan). What makes a great downtown scene is foot traffic. The most driver friendly cities are also the most boring. (Phoenix, Sacramento, etc.)

The problem is that Salt Lake isn't yet foot traffic friendly. A lot of the things you want to see are spread out over quite a distance where you have to walk past a bunch of commercial buildings, booooring. Main Street is getting really nice and it's starting to get better, however, Salt Lake is a relatively young city, and also not as densely populated. It'll happen, it's just going to take a little more time.

Having the stadium downtown would be a great addition to the downtown area, it would be our Madison Square Garden. And we all know who ran MSG.

[Jim Umber]

Personally, I think the Murray site would be better. It's still close enough to downtown, but it's a lot closer to those of us in the south. Plus it would avoid some of the worst of the traffic.

[clarette]

Trib article from today with a few new interesting points regarding public funding and a possible CSTV deal:

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2490338

[the cup]

One interesting note from the article is the goal they have set for attendance.

They want 16,000 a game.
7,000 season tickets
5,000 group tickets
4,000 walk up tickets

Now, 7,000 season tickets seem possible, maybe not the first couple of years but once the ball gets rolling I see that as an achieveable goal.

5,000 group tickets? I guess. Thats going to depend on how good of a sales force you have. I think it again is achieveable after a year or two.

Now, 4,000 walk up tickets? I don't know how the other MLS teams do with walk up tickets but I suppose its possible if the stadium is in a location that is easy for an average fan to get to. I don't know if downtown Salt Lake is going to make it easy or hard for 4,000 people to walk up. I think it would be more hard than easy.

Murray I would think would make it easier to get those 4,000. For the simple fact that it would be closer for more people and easier to get to. Especially for those to the south.

I'm torn between Downtown and Murray, but I think I'd have to say Murray is more realistic for success.

[Jose Luis Luviano]

>>Now, 4,000 walk up tickets? <<

Maybe someone in the RSL front office has the real statistics on this. But if I had to guess, I would say that the MLS record is about 40,000 walk up tickets for the Galaxy's opener in 1996.

The California Highway Patrol had to shut down the freeway because so many people decided to Walk Up.

Goats Lite & His Freddyness will generate big Walk Ups.

[Rocky J Squirrel]

Now this is a new idea: a TV sports network opperation center and home studio as part of a stadium! This makes a lot of sense, toss in the offices and you can finance a bit of the stadium on a non-attendace based business plan or even a separate corporation. When you have such a opperation here are associated enterprises that would like to be near (transport, equiptment sales/repair, advertising agencies, and news groups and media/internet hub/server organisations. They pay rent! Just as do resturants and sporting goods/team merchandise outfits.

I like Murrey: Big site, drainage, room for trees, park land tied to Big Cottonwood Creek Trail/park (if it hasent been built, it needs to be!) and for commuters from the North It is just as quick to get to as RES. Its lots closer to the centrix of soccer players both in distance and travel time and culturally for good measure. Murrey also is part of UTOPIA the Fibre Optic to the home (TV, phone, internet and other sevices yet to be invented with hyper bandwidth) unlike SLC, which means ties to national services will be available to all tenants of the stadium complex. Its the ultimate site for Park and Ride on TRAX to Downtown, RES and the E-Center and the fast food and banking Pad type businesses that would be attacted. (Hey! more renters.) Are we talking Tax Increment Financing? Yes!

The Stadium needs to be done by 2008 to pick up one or two Men's World Cup qualifiers and there after a Men's or Women's friendly or Qualifier every year. Games between October and April are reserved for Caribbean and Central American Teams.

[Czar Jake]

From the Trib
Article about Real's stadium proposal
seems like a pretty fair article.

[the cup]

Good article indeed, and I'm happy they didn't bash soccer.

More and more I'm thinking Murray is the best and most likely site.

[Jim Umber]

Good Article. I wonder if they're ready to proceed anyway, if the taxpayer won't pay for it? Personally, I have the idea that if the government gets to pay for it, they're gonna want to control it. 😲