Boston wants Revolution
On Friday, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino expressed his interest in having MLS's New England Revolution build their new stadium in the city.
"I am excited by the opportunity to showcase Boston to Major League Soccer and look forward to a long productive relationship moving forward," Menino wrote to soccer's commissioner, Don Garber. "Soccer is truly a universal game -- no matter what language you speak or what team you are rooting for."
The MLS likes the idea of the team playing in downtown, but they stressed that they have also heard from other suburbs and that no decision has been made.
Menino suggested that the city would not use public funds to build a stadium, however he could see the city getting reimbursed for money it puts out via a tax on hotels and rental cars (or similar items).
I love the idea of having stadiums located in downtown areas. It gives thousands of people easy (short drive or public transportation) access to the team, gives the team a feeling of being part of the city and makes the league look more professional (TV shots with the city skyline in the background are always nice).
As we have seen in other towns (Salt Lake, Kansas City, New York, etc), initial talk is always good, but it means very little. Until the details get flushed out and the ground is broken, all the words in the world equal nothing. However, having the mayor say such positive things about the game and suggest a possible way of funding the work, is a wonderful start.
"I am excited by the opportunity to showcase Boston to Major League Soccer and look forward to a long productive relationship moving forward," Menino wrote to soccer's commissioner, Don Garber. "Soccer is truly a universal game -- no matter what language you speak or what team you are rooting for."
The MLS likes the idea of the team playing in downtown, but they stressed that they have also heard from other suburbs and that no decision has been made.
Menino suggested that the city would not use public funds to build a stadium, however he could see the city getting reimbursed for money it puts out via a tax on hotels and rental cars (or similar items).
I love the idea of having stadiums located in downtown areas. It gives thousands of people easy (short drive or public transportation) access to the team, gives the team a feeling of being part of the city and makes the league look more professional (TV shots with the city skyline in the background are always nice).
As we have seen in other towns (Salt Lake, Kansas City, New York, etc), initial talk is always good, but it means very little. Until the details get flushed out and the ground is broken, all the words in the world equal nothing. However, having the mayor say such positive things about the game and suggest a possible way of funding the work, is a wonderful start.
Labels: Don Garber
posted by Mike H at 10:50 AM
1 Comments:
I'd like to see the club set up shop downtown -- but as you say, words by themselves don't mean much.
Boston would be wise to build that stadium.
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