Not-Stadium News

Bad news. I read an article in The Sun Chronical, via MatchFitUSA.com, that Brian Bilello is "being patient" (his own words) with the search for a new stadium. Bilello also posed the question, "Why should we spend $100 million on a new stadium and have our attendance increase only 10 percent and have to pay that off?" Bad news.

I want a new stadium in or right next to Boston (by right next to I mean on the red line, or at a midrange stop on the green line). This is a selfish wish. I don't actually live in Boston at the moment, or this area we're talking about, but I plan to do so soon. I like walking on Boston streets in the Fenway/Kenmore area during Red Sox night games, and seeing the Fenway lights, hearing the crowd react, etc, right smack in the middle of an otherwise hectic city where the streets make very little sense. Yes, I am the poetic type.

I want to experience that same thing, except with a soccer stadium. To be clear, I'm a baseball fan, and a Red Sox fan, and I'm not saying I don't appreciate it with Fenway. I'm saying I want the Revs to play there too. Somerville would suffice, however, as long as it's located close to the Davis Square T stop.

I don't particularly like Gillette Stadium. It doesn't feel like home to me. You go into the apparel shop-- which is called Patriots Pro Shop-- and you immediately see all the Tom Brady-signed helmets and Tedy Bruschi photographs, which are deliberately displayed front and center to mock me. You have to walk by them in order to get to the Revolution jerseys and scarves, which are crammed in a corner in the back. In the stadium there are Patriots championship banners on the top stairwells overlooking the field. (EDIT: at the TFC game this weekend, I didn't see the banners. This is good.) It's not the Revolution's stadium. It's not even a soccer stadium. It's Bob Kraft's Patriots empire. It's called Patriot Place.

Another disclaimer: I'm a Patriots fan too. Sort of. But we're still talking about the local US-top-flight soccer team having to deal with this dependence. Know what I mean?

Back to Bilello's comments: it doesn't sound like the Revs will be moving to such a stadium anytime soon, and the main reasons for this are financial. That is understandable, but disappointing. MLS guards its finances pretty closely, in case people haven't noticed, so I'll have to take Bilello's word for it that it's not financially feasible.

John