With the Revs and the rest of MLS on break for another week before the end of the World Cup group stage, now seems like as good a time as any to discuss an issue not specifically related to the 2010 Revolution season. I’m talking, of course, about the long-term possibility — some might say necessity — of a soccer-specific stadium in New England.
There are two sets of reasons for an MLS team to build the big Triple-S. One is pure aesthetics: soccer is best played in a stadium designed for it, with the appropriate size and shape and fan-experience. The other group of reasons is financial: A team that owns its own stadium controls more of its gameday revenue than a team that rents its space from another entity. This second set is the reason I suspect we won’t see the Revs moving out of Gillette Stadium any time soon.
Like the Sounders in Seattle, the Revolution are owned by the same group that owns the local NFL team, and thus the local stadium. For the Kraft family, there’s no financial incentive to move the Revs into a stadium of their own. Whether it’s football or soccer or music occupying the Gillette Stadium turf, at the end of the day, all the money’s going to the same place.
Without a monetary imperative, the only remaining arguments for a new Revs stadium are aesthetic. And while I do believe the team’s front office takes these arguments seriously enough to desire a soccer-specific stadium, I don’t believe they take them seriously enough to make it a priority. Honestly, I’m not convinced they should. Let’s unpack some common pro-SSS arguments that don’t involve money and maybe you’ll see what I mean.
First, there’s the problem of playing soccer on a field painted for (American) football. Like most Revs fans, I dread the day in mid-July when the team first takes to a field with big Patriots logos in front of each net. I think it’s tacky, amateurish, and a poor reflection on the team and the league as a whole. That said, it’s not a reason to build a new stadium. The much cheaper solution (which is employed by the Sounders for every game at Qwest, and has been done by the Revs in the past) is to take the extra time to repaint the field between football and soccer matches. There’s really no excuse for not doing this before every game.
Second is the argument that a smaller (soccer-specific) stadium translates to a louder, more crowded environment. A 20,000-seat stadium with 17,000 fans inside looks almost full. Gillette stadium swallows up 17,000 fans and still looks sparse. But the fact of the matter is that the Revs don’t draw 17,000 fans most of the time. In fact, their high for the 2010 season so far is 13,611, which would only amount to a little over half of a 20,000-seat stadium. Moreover, attendance has only cracked 13,000 once this season, and it’s more commonly hovered around the 11,000 mark. Sure a soccer-specific stadium would feel less empty than Gillette, but on nights like the 4-0 loss to Chivas USA in April, when attendance was a measly 5,990, even an intimate stadium wouldn’t save the lackluster environment.
Would a new soccer-specific stadium become a draw in and of itself? Possibly. Particularly if it were constructed at or near a T stop. I have to admit, I’m personally conflicted about this one. As a sports fan, I much prefer stadiums that are built into an urban neighborhood setting. But as a Rhode-Island-based Revs fan, I’d much rather drive to Foxborough (and be assured of parking) than Somerville. It’s likely that more people would be attracted to the stadium by the convenience of taking public transit there than would be put off by having to drive an extra hour from Providence. But once the novelty of a new stadium wore off, I’m not confident the improvement in attendance would be dramatic. One need only look at the (mostly empty) stands of Pizza Hut Park for proof that a soccer-specific stadium alone doesn’t equal larger crowds.
On the other side of the filling-up-stadiums coin you have Seattle. I hate to keep bringing them up, but they’re the league’s model franchise, and they happen to be in a very similar situation to the Revs. No one complains about Qwest Field not being a good environment for soccer because 36,000 fans standing and singing would turn any venue into a good environment for soccer. Similarly, when Gillette Stadium fills up it’s a great place to watch a soccer match. The atmosphere for USA-Haiti in last year’s Gold Cup was absolutely electric, to say nothing of the 61,000 who showed up for the 2002 MLS Cup Final. A much more important task for the Revolution than building a shiny new stadium is finding ways to better fill the one they’ve got.
Would it be nice to have a soccer-specific stadium in New England someday? Definitely. Is it necessary right now? Definitely not.
My first MLS game was the 2002 MLS Cup final… and it was in the new Gillette Stadium, not the old Foxborough Stadium.
Brian,
Thanks for pointing that out. Embarrassingly, I wasn’t at the match, and thus reported it wrong.
The post has been corrected.
Thanks for reading,
Ian
Good post – first one I’ve read from this site. Although I can agree with what you’re saying, location does in fact play a HUGE factor I believe into driving traffic to the stadium. Obviously being successful like the team the Revs share a stadium can trump location. But I think the location, in addition to the wow factor of a brand new stadium could attract quite a nice crowd. Just think being able to take the T from the city to a game (or into the city, depending on exact location).
Maybe growing this fan base, even if only for a few years would give the front office a better reason to go out and get a well-known DP.
This can go in circles, but I do think a SSS would be more beneficial then the current razor.
This can definitely go in circles, so instead of repeating my own arguments or anyone else’s, I’d just like to add a tidbit that I couldn’t find a place for in the original article:
MBTA commuter rail does go to Foxborough. Not to Gillette, obviously, but to Foxborough. And in the past I believe the Patriots have operated a shuttle from the train station to the stadium, thus making games accessible (not convenient, but accessible at least) by public transportation.
I’d like to see this happen for Revolution games too … Actually, I’d like to see them re-route the tracks so that a new station could be built in or near Patriot Place, but that would be just as cost prohibitive as building a new, downtown stadium for the Revs, which I’d be way more excited about.
If you’re going to keep bringing up Seattle as an example, you probably should mention that Qwest is a downtown urban stadium with public transportation access. You also can’t really assume the Revs would continue to draw the lackluster numbers they draw now if they were closer to the city. Attendance would almost definitely go up just because:
01.) you’re closer to where a majority of people live
02.) you’ve just made it easier for them to get there
Now getting their own stadium is a first step, and one even the Krafts have said in the past they want to make (Jonathan is on record as saying he knows Gillette isn’t great for the Revs), the next step would be actually acting like a professional franchise. Better marketing, better promotion, having gear readily available somewhere in Boston (you can outfit yourself in Celtic or Barcelona from NikeTown but you can barely find a Revs jersey anywhere in the city), and signing exciting players.
Do I think either of these things are likely to happen? No. The sad truth is the Revs exist to fill Bob’s stadium when the NFL is playing and now double as something to bring people to his privately funded (and struggling) mall. Another reason an SSS is unlikely. Seeing as he, and he alone, is on the hook for the $250 million he sunk into Patriots Place he is not about to build a stadium (and move one of the things bringing people to Foxboro).
Oh, P.S. the commuter train stops right next to Gillette for Patriots games. Its directly near where the Midnight Riders tailgate. The T won’t run this train for the Revs, citing lack of interest (talk about a vicious cycle- no public transport keeps the interest down). The trains are usually very full for Patriots games.
P.P.S I meant “when the NFL ISN’T playing”…sorry.
I have to echo and amplify a few points. The Commuter Rail runs a special train to Foxboro Stadium for at least Sunday games. While it is crowded, it is a pain to operate for the Commuter Rail as it is on a spur, which means the last part is painfully slow to get in and out of. There is no way that anything close could be operated for the Revs on such an irregular basis when you are dealing with scheduled Commuter Rail lines and there is a lot less demand.
By saying you are from RI, you miss the whole point. The purpose of a SSS in MA is to make it easier for the biggest POTENTIAL supporters of Revs soccer to get to games. If the Krafts think that the Metrowest immigrants would come out in droves, put the stadium in Medway, Framingham, Milford area. If you think that younger urban dwellers and immigrants in Boston area are your best bet at fans, put it on the T.
Foxboro is just a bad location for soccer fans. Demographically, in terms of population, wealth, and immigrants, the western suburbs are the best place to be. Going to Foxboro on a Tuesday night doesn’t appeal to anybody around there.
Jim, Rick, your points are well taken. I’d much rather experience a Revs game in Somerville than Foxborough, even though it’s less convenient for me as a Rhode Islander.
But I’m not convinced location is the only hurdle here. While I appreciate that a stadium could be the first step toward building a large, passionate fanbase of adult sports fans (which as been a stated goal for Revolution marketing in recent years), it’s an unlikely step for the reasons Jim listed, and an unnecessary one in my opinion.
If you’re a dedicated enough fan, you’ll find a way to get to the game, no matter where it is. That doesn’t mean some locations aren’t better than others, but I don’t see why a better location has to be the first step. Starting to “act like a professional franchise” now is a more practical (not to mention much more likely to actually happen) step that could eventually lead to the groundswell necessary to force the Krafts to build the Revs their own stadium.
Thanks again for reading and discussing. This is the kind of stuff the team (and this blog) needs more of.
[…] Finalize plans for a soccer-specific stadium. I know I said it wasn’t essential just a couple of weeks ago, and I stand by that assessment. But there’s a difference between […]
Well in Seattle, the top stands are closed so as the remaining fans dont look sparse and the atmosphere stays intense
thats something they could do at gilette, tarp the top sections off with the rev colors and the place will look professional