MLS update

Since Wolstein's bid for an MLS franchise was accepted there's been a lot of silence on the subject in the media. One presumes Wolstein and Force president Paul Garafolo are hard at work looking for a location to build a stadium. I've heard on bulletin boards that Wolstein has set a deadline of about June 2004 to find a site and start construction, or else the whole project may get shelved.

Most of what we know came courtesty of Bob Roberts back around Thanksgiving:

• The stadium will be in the city of Cleveland (hooray!)
  
• Wolstein envisions the stadium to be part of a larger complex including additional soccer fields (and presumably the centerpiece for plenty of youth leagues and high school games)
  
• There's a rumor that the stadium would be shared for Ignatius football games. As an Ignatius grad that sounds pretty cool, but it might be sort of, uh, unfair. But still pretty cool IMO because it means the new team is trying to be active in the community.
  
• If a stadium is built, the team will work to attract about a "half dozen" international matches each year, and World Cup qualifying matches would seem to be likely as well. This is perhaps more exciting to me than the actual MLS team!

Since then things have changed a bit... Though the team is scheduled to start play in 2005, it could be pushed back to 2006 if a deal is made to build a stadium downtown. Well worth the wait IMO. Wolstein describes city and county officials as optimistic and sharing his view that an MLS franchise could be a nice economic gain for the city.

Other possible stadium sites? Orange Boulevard and Broadway Avenue has been looked at. The Boston Hills CC has been another.

All this makes me regret not posting something I wrote out back in August but never got around to putting up here. For what it's worth, he's an "archived" post and my original thoughts about a nice stadium location. Of all of them I'd like to see an Ohio City location because I think it offers the best combination of visibility, accesibility, nearby restraunts and nightlife, Cleveland personality, and housing. It's also one of the best "renewal" areas in Cleveland. Someplace visible from downtown or at least the west shoreway would be especially nice.

From Roger Brown today:

Why do plenty of informed folks think former Force indoor soccer owner Bart Wolstein, now trying to land a 2005 MLS outdoor expansion franchise, would just love to build a stadium in downtown Cleveland?

Interesting. Obviously the first question about a possible MLS team is where is would play -- and a possible downtown spot would be great, but I wonder if it'd be prohibitively expensive. Of course, the right location might also crucial to the possible success of the team -- having eateries and bars close by would be helpful. The most important thing is something soccer proponents often forget -- an MLS team will likely attract the diehards no matter where the stadium is, but the measure of success will depend on building an environment attractive to "regular" people who may be current sports fans but not soccer buffs. I really think if you meet the average guy even halfway then he'll show up for some games and give MLS in Cleveland a shot. And if going to an MLS game can be turned into a fun night out, then this could be a very big success. (I'd note that the excellent Crew Stadium in Columbus is marred by a suspect location in terms of non-soccer entertainment; little is within walking distance. It does, however, have a nice central location. Though it's a mixed bag, the stadium is considered one of two crown jewel MLS stadiums.)

Some possibilities:

• West Bank of the Flats -- back behind the Powerhouse there's enough empty space, and it'd be a highly visible location to weekend party-goers. The proximity to Ohio City would probably be a good thing. It'd also provide a reason to overhaul the Shoreway's West 25th street exit and perhaps even refurbish the scary housing just to the northeast of there. That's really all that's holding the neighborhood back.
  
• Ohio City -- a longshot, but there's some attractive land from when Ignatius bought up a few city blocks about 10 years ago. A facility here would allow the new team to latch on to the community in multiple ways -- great visibility with Market Street customers (Great Lakes, Market Street Wine Bar, etc), the West Side Market, the upper-middle class from all over the city at Ignatius, and the thriving neighborhood community in Ohio City that houses some of the most ecletic people in town, who, by the way, would probably be very receptive to giving soccer a shot.
  
• Tremont -- Build the Wrigley Field of American soccer stadiums. Seriously. Kind of like Ohio City, but a slightly better neighborhood but less exposure to people from other parts of the city. If they build a facility visible from downtown, however, that'd be pretty cool.
  
• East of Galleria -- This area does have a few things going for it, though there are lots of question marks. What will happen with the Galleria over the next 5 years? There's some thriving nightlife here, but not the mainstream kind (a huge gay bar and strip club, but drive by on Saturday night you won't believe the crowds). It's close to some other attractions. It's pretty close to a place like Reserve Square. There's land.
  
• Edgewater Park area -- this is a possibility because MLS plays in the summer. But there's not much in the way of eateries and the like.
  
• Euclid Ave East of Playhouse Square -- I'm split on this area. I like it geographically, but for years this has been the pet project of various pie-in-the-sky city council members and urban renewal types. It's nice to envision a beautiful corridor out towards University Circle, but it's a long stretch and there's no attractive housing anywhere nearby. Nevertheless, it could provide an interesting place for a stadium and there's a chance it would be part of a larger effort.
  
• Little Italy -- I think the best area on the near-East side, but I'm not sure what exact sites might be a possibility. It'd be nice for some of the Eastern suburbs and it brings back good memories of festivals in the neighborhood.