Syracuse veut déménager

[Bxl Boy]

Source : The Post Standard


A group that includes the president of the Salty Dogs soccer team hopes to build a roughly 10,000-seat stadium for sporting events and outdoor concerts in downtown Syracuse.

Right now, the project is conceptual. The group is looking at a variety of sites in the Syracuse area, but would like to build downtown if the project is feasible, said Tim Kuhl, president of the Salty Dogs.

That strikes a chord with many Syracuse business owners and residents, who felt the county-owned P&C Stadium should have gone downtown instead of on the city's far north side behind the Regional Market.

"We had an opportunity before to have a stadium downtown; hopefully we won't mess it up a second time," said David Hoyne, the owner of Kitty Hoyne's pub and restaurant in Armory Square. "Any major city you go to nowadays, they have a stadium downtown."

The cost of the project, as well as the design, varies with each site and could depend on what kind of financing could be made available, Kuhl said. He declined to estimate how much it would cost.

The proposed stadium would not be owned by the soccer team, but would lease space to the Salty Dogs, which currently play in P&C Stadium, Kuhl said.

"This wouldn't be just a soccer stadium; it would be multi-use," he said. "It would be the community's place."

The group has also made a presentation to Syracuse University to see if it was interested in using a more intimate venue than the Carrier Dome to host the school's national champion lacrosse and other sports teams, SU spokesman Kevin Morrow said.

"The university has been approached about the downtown stadium," Morrow said. "We have not responded yet and, frankly, it would be inappropriate for us to respond publicly before we respond to the people who submitted the proposal."

Talk about building a stadium began last year when the newly created Salty Dogs ran into difficulty negotiating for space in P&C Stadium, home field of the Syracuse SkyChiefs baseball organization, Kuhl said.

The idea percolated into a different concept, and Kuhl pulled together a committee of 10 local people to look at the feasibility of building a second multi-use stadium - this one with a rectangular field - for the Syracuse area.

Kuhl Thursday would not divulge the names of any other committee members, saying he wasn't sure which ones were ready to have their involvement with the project made public.

The group is looking at what could be done at each site and looking at the possible funding streams available from private and public sources, he said.

They are trying to decide what type of entity could be created to build and run the stadium, and are evaluating the possibility of combining the project with retail shops, offices and apartments.

"For this to succeed, it needs to be more than a field where a ball is kicked around," said Tim Carroll, director of communications for the downtown committee. "Wherever housing goes, good things happen. It's a very exciting proposal with a lot of upsides for downtown."

The stadiumgroup has met with a variety of local, state and federal officials to see what kind of public assistance might be available.

The stadium would be a public and private partnership, with its construction dependent on finding enough revenue sources on both sides of the equation, Kuhl said.

That's similar to what's being done in Rochester, where the Rochester Rhinos professional soccer team is building a $22 million stadium downtown with the help of a $15 million state grant.

So far, there are no commitments of any money for the Syracuse project, but the idea has piqued the interest of local politicians.

"It's no secret that Jim Walsh is an avid soccer fan, and he has worked hard to assist and promote professional soccer in Central New York," said Dan Gage, a spokesman for Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Syracuse.

"Mr. Walsh will commit to the project if it benefits professional soccer, provides a new venue for other sports and community uses, and serves as a catalyst for new economic development and commerce in the city," Gage said.

Syracuse Mayor Matt Driscoll had not been personally briefed by the stadium group, but said they had approached the city's economic development department with the concept.

"It's a great idea," Driscoll said. "I think we only have to look at what happened with P&C stadium, which should have been in the heart of downtown really, to see this would be a good location for another venue. "

The site that had at one time been proposed for P&C stadium, a parking lot on the other side of the OnTrack line, is now the proposed home of an Onondaga County sewage treatment facility.

At least one other potential site has been identified in downtown, Kuhl said. He would not identify any of the potential locations being looked at.

The Salty Dogs,entering their second year, have done well with attendance. That could get even better if the games were played in a vibrant, urban neighborhood, Kuhl said.

Kuhl remains president of the team, but said he has stepped back from day-to-day operations of the organization to focus on the stadium and avoid any appearance of conflict.

[Corbin]

Expansion en MLS... et ça parle pas des Rhinos!
Sounders
MLS commissioner discusses expansion in visit to Seattle

By José Miguel Romero
Seattle Times staff reporter


Don Garber, Major League Soccer commissioner, was in Seattle on Wednesday to discuss possible expansion to the city, an MLS spokesman confirmed yesterday.

Garber met with Adrian Hanauer, Seattle Sounders general manager, and MLS press officer Simon Borg characterized the conversation as another in a series of meetings between the two. Hanauer is considered the lead official hoping to bring a top-tier professional soccer franchise to Seattle.

Garber and Hanauer had most recently discussed expansion May 27 at the MLS offices in New York. MLS currently has 10 teams and is looking to expand to 14 by the 2006 season.

Chivas USA, the American version of the popular Mexican club, is already confirmed as one of the new franchises to begin play in 2005. It will play out of Chicago or Los Angeles, two cities that already have MLS teams but also have large Mexican and Mexican-American populations. MLS is expected to announce the home of Chivas USA later this month.

The other new team for 2005 will be from Seattle, Houston, Philadelphia or Salt Lake City. MLS will name that franchise at either the end of this month or in early July. If Seattle does not get a 2005 team, it will be considered for 2006, when MLS will name two more expansion teams.

Hanauer seeks an ownership partner to take on part of the financial responsibility of owning an MLS team.