FanNation - The Republic of Sport

The MLS is going to look like a goat in this. Chester might be a fine place to put a team, but the city itself is in financial and domestic trouble. Plopping a soccer stadium in the middle of a town whose infrastructure is falling apart is a major crapshoot.

I highly doubt a soccer stadium is going to revitalized their downtrodden areas. Maybe if it were a giant stimulus package (like a stadium, housing, offices, shopping center, community center, parks, etc). But if it's just a stadium... I don't think it's going to get the support everyone thinks it'll get.

They wouldn't be putting the team in North Philly...

From what I know of the stadium, they are putting a casinos, shopping, and other entertainment outlets in the same or approximate complex.

Me personally, I wish they would put it in South Philly with the other stadiums because the subway would make it more accessible to people, but I think they probably want to set up the SSS that can host tournaments and have multiple fields for use.

While I agree that the huddle of South Philly stadiums would be the best location for the proposed soccer stadium, there's no telling what factored into the decision to place it in Chester. Maybe the investors wanted it outside of Philly. Maybe Philly didn't want anything to do with it. Who knows? As a devout soccer fan living within 2 hours of both Philly and Harrison, NJ (the location for the new Red Bull Park), I really hope the state government approves the $30M in funding.

P.S. I am also a signatory of the Sons of Ben petition.

First off with Street out and Nutter in, the city will revitalize. Second, the Spectrum needs to come down and put the entertainment complex up, which draw more revenue to the city. Third, I agree that Chester is a dump. They should have a built a sports arena in NE Philly at the old Byberry site. It would be easy access from 95, turnpike and the Blvd.

&%#$@... wtf do you know about any of this stuff? If your reality is based on stuff you read in the newspapers and what politicians say, you really are more daft than everyone here thinks.

More so, who cares what the state's politicians want and don't want... Harrisburg is absolutely clueless as to what both Philly and Pittsburgh want because they are in the middle of no where reaping all the taxes from two major cities, but are clueless as to how each runs.

As far as building a complex like that, regardless of if you hate soccer or not, is good for the economy because it not only creates jobs by building it, it also stimulates the surrounding area with growth as shopping, entertainment, and private business. This isn't even considering the various events a complex like this would host (like tournaments, concerts, and other things). The Home Depot Center just hosted the X-Games, so to think of these places as just a place that houses a soccer club for 18 games is pretty narrow minded.

As much as I don't want it in Chester, I can recognize the upside of what they could do with it. It is also waterfront property, so that would be an added bonus.

25 people huh, that will make some noise. =)

Chester is becoming a hotbed for real estate investors, and in that sense, it makes sense to put a new complex there. But it won't work. You're taking a huge risk by putting a sport that most Americans are indifferent towards in a town that will scare people off in droves. The risk of getting robbed might somehow become a deterrent to those that would attend an MLS game simply out of curiosity.

Frankly, as someone that used to do business in Chester, I think the whole idea was doomed from the getgo.

That is why the legislators are very hesitant to dump money into a project that will fail.
&%#$@ | 01/18/08

It didn't stop your parents from trying to raise you.

Nice try. Very original.

The whole idea is to create a touristy riverfront area in Chester that will attract people for reasons other than soccer. Soccer has some strong roots in the Philly area and people will travel to Chester for games, especially if there is other entertainment around, such as bars. (One of the other reasons why they are planning on putting the park is Chester is because it would be more accessible to South Jersey and Delaware than the current sports complex in South Philly).

The company that designed the Inner Harbor in Baltimore was a Philly company. They originally proposed doing something similar along Penn's Landing but the Philly government shot them down because it was too much money and nobody thought it work. Now the city of Philly looks at Baltimore's Inner Harbor and thinks why can't we do something like that. The plan in Chester is attempt to build something similar.

Those 25 people - members of Sons of Ben - are traveling down to Baltimore for the MLS SuperDraft. That is but a small drop in the bucket compared to the overall membership SoB has gained in their 1 year of existence (close to 1,100). There were at least 3 times that amount who took the trip to DC for the MLS Cup in November ... who also managed to out-chant, out-sing, out-cheer the few hundred NE Revolution fans sitting in the same section.

Chester is an ideal location for a Philadelphia MLS team. First of all, one must look at the other MLS teams and the location of their stadia. There are few who play within the limits of the city they call home. Secondly, and more specifically for Philadelphia, adequate parcels of land that would be capable of supporting the stadium and its associated infrastructure either does not exist, or costs an insane amount. Third, the stadium is the linch-pin in a $500 million redevelopment of the Chester Waterfront. With Harrah's casino to the north, the proposed site to the immediate south of the Commodore Barry Bridge would contain mixed-use, residential, retail, entertainment, and commercial spaces. The renovated and revitalized PECO Energy facility to the south of the stadium site has already brought in tens of thousands of square feet corporate office space to the city. Lastly, the SEPTA regional rail line (R2 Wilmington to be exact) has stops mere blocks from the site. At the same time, I-95 is there as well, perfect for bringing local fans, as well as rival fans from NY and DC to the area.

As the fourth largest media market in the country, and the largest one without a team, Major League Soccer NEEDS to have Philadelphia. Given your preference for or disdain towards soccer as a sport, it is truly the "world's game". Soccer matches hosted at Lincoln Financial Field (Celtic v Manchester United, and Barcelona v Manchester United - the stadium's FIRST ticketed event), were completely sold-out. That's more than can be said for some Eagles' games. And with the sport's history in Philadelphia, with the Atoms and Fury most notably, there is a hunger and desire to bring the sport back to the City of Brotherly Love.

Is anyone at all considering the ramifications on the league of adding yet another team? The product on the field sucks...hard to imagine that the league will remain financially solvent if they keep adding teams just because a small subset of people want them too...

By "small subset", do you mean Don Garber and the other league execs? How about the ownership group comprised of Jim Nevels, Nick Sakiewicz, Jay Sugarman, the Bolin/Puccini Group, et al?

I think the "small subset" you are referring to represent the passionate fans a soccer team in Philadelphia can expect to have at each and every game. This "small subset" will bring the intensity, cheering the team on for 90 minutes straight, regardless of the result. Why? Because they'll be OUR team, one which is congratulated when they win, and urge to do better when they do not.

Is the product MLS puts on the field comparable to that which plays in England, Spain, Italy, Germany, Scotland, etc? Of course not, as MLS is still in its infancy when compared to the 100+ years teams in Europe have been in existence. MLS will never break into the "top four" sports leagues in this country, but it's a far cry from being minor.

While commendable, I dont think that your intense cheering for 90 minutes will offset the financial outlay made by potential investors. I was not commenting at all about Philly fans or Philly in general...I was just trying to address the league wide issue. The fact of the matter is, only a certain percentage of a family income is slated towards entertainment. With the economy on a downslope, the MLS is fighting an uphill battle.

Settle down SoB VP...dont be so defensive, unless the MLS is and was your brainchild.

OMG please bring an Expension team to philly we need one really badily. And with that Expension team we hoping to get youth sqaurd for the team. MY friend would be able to tryout for its u17 or u16 team by the expension time.