Olathe/OP grab the Wizards and build them a Stadium

[GRID]

OK, I take all that back, I still want this project to happen.  I think this could be one of the nation's top soccer complexes, if not the top and it would truly benefit the entire area.  People will come to the facility and while in town, they will visit area attractions etc. We might build a stadium in another part of town, but I doubt it would be a high quality as what OP is proposing.

I will continue to try to ignore these clueless morons, but man, it's hard sometimes...

[mykem]

which of the two soccer complex renderings is the correct one? i found them on the skyscraper page.

[KC0KEK]

Site: Firm chosen for stadium
By Steve Vockrodt, The Olathe News

Without knowing which way the public vote on the proposed Johnson County soccer complex will fall on Nov. 7, it appears the Kansas City Wizards are moving forward with plans for a stadium in Overland Park.
NeighborhoodNet, an Internet site run by opponents of the countywide ballot question, Bob and Shirley Phillips, posted an internal memo from Lenexa-based Henderson Engineers, Inc. on Oct. 14 that says the firm, along with 360 Architecture, was awarded the job to work on a new stadium for the Major League Soccer team.
The memo states the project will include an 18,500-seat, $57 million stadium in Overland Park. It will include 1,200 club seats, 25 luxury suites and youth facilities, according to the memo reportedly written by Rich Smith, executive vice president of Henderson Engineers.
When asked about the memo on Monday, Smith said he couldn’t comment one way or the other about the memo or its contents, citing a non-disclosure agreement he has signed.
Wizards part owner Robb Heineman, though team spokesman Rob Thomson, denied that a contract had been given for the stadium.
Representatives from 360 Architecture did not return messages left by The Olathe News.
Bob Phillips, a Stilwell resident who has followed the soccer proposal and received a copy of the memo by e-mail, said that representatives from Henderson Engineers had asked him to remove the memo from his Web site, claiming it was an “internal, confidentialâ€

[KC0KEK]

Tracy Thomas says soccer moms don't vote.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 8109&hl=en

[KCFutbol]

If the details in the memo on the NeighborhoodNet are true, the Wizards stadium would fall somewhere in the middle of the pack for Major League Soccer stadiums in terms of cost and seating capacity.
The soccer stadium in Columbus, Ohio, cost $28.5 million when it was built in 1999 and seats nearly 13,000.
A new stadium for the Colorado Rapids, which also includes youth soccer fields and a civic center, is expected to cost roughly $130 million and seats approximately 20,000 fans.
The Chicago Fire started playing in its new stadium this year. Toyota Park cost $98 million and has a 22,000-person seating capacity.
Henderson Engineers has worked on hundreds of projects in all 50 states. The company has also worked on several sports projects, including renovations of the Louisiana Superdome renovation and a ball park for the University of Michigan.

Crew Stadium in Columbus seats around 23K, not 13K. Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL seats just over 20K.

Contracting with a design firm is a long way from building anything.

[KCMax]

MLS Soccer Only Stadiums (all from Wikipedia.org)

Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus, OH
Seats 22,500
Cost: $28.5 million (broke ground in 1998)

Home Depot Center, Carson, CA
Seats 27,000
Cost: $150 million (broke ground in 2002)

Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL
Seats 21,210
Cost: $98 million (broke ground in 2004)

Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, TX
Seats 21,193
Cost: $80 million (broke ground in 2004)

BMO Field, Toronto, ONT
Seats 20,000
Cost: $72 million Canadian (broke ground in 2006)

Rapids Stadium, Commerce City, CO
Seats 20,000
Cost $120 million (broke ground in 2006)

Red Bull Park, Harrison, NJ
Seats 25,000
Cost: $220 million (broke ground in 2006)

Sandy Stadium, Sandy, UT (stadium has not been given a name yet)
Seats 20,000
Cost: $150 million (broke ground in 2006)

Proposed MLS Stadiums

Poplar Point Stadium, Washington, DC
Seats 27,000
Cost: $40 million

Houston Texas
Seats 20,000 - 25,000
Cost: $65-80 million

Also talks in San Jose and Boston.

Other soccer specific stadiums:

Virginia Beach Sportsplex, Virginia Beach, VA
Seats 10,000
Cost: $6.8 million (broke ground in 1996)

SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC
Seats 7,000 - 10,000
Cost: $14.5 milion (broke ground in 2001)

PAETEC Park, Rochester, NY
Seats 13,500
Cost: $35 million (broke ground in 2004)

[KCMax]

Hearne Christopher's column:

Kansas City Parks & Rec commissioner Bob Lewellen is no soccer fan, he sure as heck isn’t a Jayhawk and, obviously, he won’t be voting on Johnson County issues next week.

But he does have plenty of experience running the area’s largest parks, in government affairs and real estate development. His Missouri-based take on the proposed soccer park and fields across the state line in Johnson County: “I think it’s a slam dunk that they’re needed. I can’t imagine Johnson County turning something down like this. This is something that’s needed and makes all the sense in the world that they build it, even if they never build anything else.â€

[staubio]

Hmmmmm, I think I'd rather see the Wizards in Riverside. I was going to vote for the soccer fields complex, but only because I want the Wizards to have a stadium. If there's a chance for them to play in Riverside rather than Overland Park, I don't know now.

Yup.  The new owners have always said they've had a back-up plan and Patterson is a Missouri boy with a lot of investment in the Northland.  Obviously it is good business to see what you can get first but I don't think a no vote is a terrible idea.  I'm happy regardless of what happens.

[KCMax]

Yea me too. I'm leaning voting no now.

Just don't give me shit about how Johnson County doesn't support area projects! I'm doing this for Kansas City!

[kard]

Where would the public subsidy come from if it were to go to Riverside?  Riverside has 3,000 living there.

[KCMax]

I think they're talking about having the stadium be privately financed. I can't imagine they would come back to Johnson Countians again and ask for a tax to pay for the stadium. The soccer fields ads specifically state "this is for the kids - nothing else." If they then ask for a tax for a stadium it would fail hard.

So the only subsidies you'd need would probably be tax breaks and infrastructure improvements. I wonder though if they want the same kind of youth fields/retail district proposed in Johnson County.

[staubio]

Where would the public subsidy come from if it were to go to Riverside?  Riverside has 3,000 living there.

There may not need to be a subsidy.  Hunt built Crew Stadium in Columbus, though he did it on the cheap.  It is a good investment for the owners even if they have to pay for it.

[kard]

Schadenfreude.

JoCo votes no, no soccer fields are created, and then Patterson et. al. privately build a stadium in Riverside.  Is it possible folks are NOT being taken advantage of, but refuse to believe it?

[KansasCityChiefs]

As long as they build a Wizards stadium somewhere i'm happy. I can't wait until Arrowhead doesn't have to support the Soccer games. 

[mykem]

it would be great if they built this stadium in o.p.but if this plan fails what are the chances they would look to stay in missouri?and what about dt kcmo,and washington sq.park? just a thought.

[kuwolde]

Yea me too. I'm leaning voting no now.

Just don't give me shit about how Johnson County doesn't support area projects! I'm doing this for Kansas City!

Why would you say that you are doing this for Kansas City?  I know that the proposed location might not be the first choice for a lot of people, but the youth fields along with the stadium would be a good deal for the county.  I want this to pass as much for the youth fields as the Wizards.

[KCFutbol]

I can't wait until Arrowhead doesn't have to support the Soccer games. 

Your wish has already come true. The Wizards have already played their last game at Arrowhead. For the next two years they will be playing somewhere else until the new stadium is built.

[eliphar17]

The soccer fields ads specifically state "this is for the kids - nothing else." If they then ask for a tax for a stadium it would fail hard.

There is no intent to get a public vote on a tax for the stadium. OP intends to build it with STAR bonds, which don't require a public vote - they only require the application of the city.

[KCMax]

Why would you say that you are doing this for Kansas City?  I know that the proposed location might not be the first choice for a lot of people, but the youth fields along with the stadium would be a good deal for the county.  I want this to pass as much for the youth fields as the Wizards.

Because I find it to be a highly inconvenient location for much of Kansas City, and I'm not entirely convinced a south JoCo location will help the attendance of the Wizards all that much. I also think a Riverside soccer stadium, if implemented correctly with the integration of some sort of other entertainment (outdoor ampitheater?), retail, or sports and recreation can be great for Kansas City. I don't think the proposed development in south JoCo would have quite the same impact - although that would also benefit KC, but much less so.

[KC0KEK]

Are STAR bonds subsidized by all Kansas taxpayers? Or just those residents and companies in the city where they're used?