urbanSTL

coachjw wrote: I imagine the facility at SIUE would probably be a good site with some upgrades/improvement.

Access to Korte Stadium would be horrible if they are expecting 10,000-15,000 people to attend a game - there is only one road that services the stadium. Not only would you have to upgrade the stadium (only one grandstand on the west side of the field), you would have to make major improvements to the surrounding infrastructure - it can only handle a few thousand at best right now. Not that I would mind SIUE sharing a stadium w/ MLS - there are better, more open locations on campus that a bigger stadium could be built - like by the baseball field, but again there is only one road that runs along that area.



I would love to see a stadium built on this side of the river though. The East St. Louis riverfront would be great, but getting people to go down there might prove a bit difficult at such an early stage of development.



And the EJD is a horrible football venue - one of the worst in the country. There is no reason that a team in this region plays indoors.

ThreeOneFour wrote: I'm no fan of indoor facilities, including the dome. I think it makes for an insipid, uninspiring gameday atmosphere (even if the recent product on the field isn't helping matters any- ).

I've just got to disagree. I was raised in a cold climate and there's no joy in watching professional sports outdoors in sub zero temperatures. Imagine spending big bucks on a couple of Ram's tickets and holding your breath hoping the game isn't cnx'd or delayed due to poor weather. I've been to a half dozen Ram's games during the last two seasons and can't complain about the EJD as a proper football venue. Soccer wouldn't be a good fit, but again, its not a sport that was intended to be consistently played in cold or inclement weather.

I hate to continue the off-topic discussion, but football is not a comfortable sport. It's a war! You freeze your a** off and you like it. Let me quote George Carlin on some relevant points:



-Baseball is played on a diamond, in a park.The baseball park!

Football is played on a gridiron, in a stadium, sometimes called Soldier Field or War Memorial Stadium.



-Football is played in any kind of weather: rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog...

In baseball, if it rains, we don't go out to play.



-In baseball, during the game, in the stands, there's kind of a picnic feeling; emotions may run high or low, but there's not too much unpleasantness. In football, during the game in the stands, you can be sure that at least twenty-seven times you're capable of taking the life of a fellow human being.



And finally, the objectives of the two games are completely different:



-In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.

In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! I hope I'll be safe at home!



Even if all this about football being a "tough sport," where people will GLADLY submit to and endure ANY torture of climate, is a wrong assumption, my humble opinion is that the architectual design of the Edward Jones Dome is one of the blandest stadiums I've ever seen.

Mods-



Can we bust out the dome discussion into another thread so we can keep this one about the beautiful game?



Thanx

B.A. wrote:

coachjw wrote: I imagine the facility at SIUE would probably be a good site with some upgrades/improvement.

Access to Korte Stadium would be horrible if they are expecting 10,000-15,000 people to attend a game - there is only one road that services the stadium. Not only would you have to upgrade the stadium (only one grandstand on the west side of the field), you would have to make major improvements to the surrounding infrastructure - it can only handle a few thousand at best right now. Not that I would mind SIUE sharing a stadium w/ MLS - there are better, more open locations on campus that a bigger stadium could be built - like by the baseball field, but again there is only one road that runs along that area.



I would love to see a stadium built on this side of the river though. The East St. Louis riverfront would be great, but getting people to go down there might prove a bit difficult at such an early stage of development.



And the EJD is a horrible football venue - one of the worst in the country. There is no reason that a team in this region plays indoors.

I'm just throwing this out there... I believe this fall, SIUE was considering making the leap to Division I athletics. Not that this would be any kind of incentive for them but SIUE's athletic facilities received a huge facelift back in '93 - '94. The track stadium was turned into a (somewhat) world-class facility and hosted the '94 Olympic Festival. Since that time, the facility has hosted some top-level events such as the NCAA Division II National Track and Field Championships and the USA Track and Field Junior Nationals.



I understand the main road to the campus and facilities leave much to be desired but if it can happen for track (my favorite sport), which doesn't get that much love, it could probably happen for soccer. Just a thought...

coachjw wrote:I'm just throwing this out there... I believe this fall, SIUE was considering making the leap to Division I athletics. Not that this would be any kind of incentive for them but SIUE's athletic facilities received a huge facelift back in '93 - '94. The track stadium was turned into a (somewhat) world-class facility and hosted the '94 Olympic Festival. Since that time, the facility has hosted some top-level events such as the NCAA Division II National Track and Field Championships and the USA Track and Field Junior Nationals.



I understand the main road to the campus and facilities leave much to be desired but if it can happen for track (my favorite sport), which doesn't get that much love, it could probably happen for soccer. Just a thought...

From what I understand there are three options that they are considering (from least likely to most likely): Increasing the athletic budget to develop a football program at the DII level; increasing the athletic budget to bring some (if not all) of their existing programs back to the DI level (Men's soccer won the '79 DI championship); or increasing the athletic budget to make all of the athletic programs more competitive in DII on a national level.



The only scenario that they would definitely have to increase the size of Korte Stadium would be to bring in a football program. And I just don't see them going the route of football because of the amount of time and money required to start a program from scratch (even though many alumni, including myself, would love to see just that).

SLU and SIUE used to have a great rivalry in soccer - we played for the Bronze Boot trophy every year. Glad to hear that SIUE is considering an upgrade to their athletic programs - they should add football and become a DII powerhouse. Their b-ball team is looking great this year.

The only scenario that they would definitely have to increase the size of Korte Stadium would be to bring in a football program. And I just don't see them going the route of football because of the amount of time and money required to start a program from scratch (even though many alumni, including myself, would love to see just that).

SIUE began a football team last fall, actually it was more of a football "club". I doubt that any plans were made to continue.

I think that an MLS team in St. Louis would spark more interest in the Steamers. I think it is sad how the attendance levels have dropped over the years. I think an MLS team is just what we need to bring people back to Savvis for the Steamers. Rekindle the fire! This would require a soccer stadium either in the city or extremely close to it, because I think the Steamers lost attendance to the suburbs. They appeal to a younger, more family-oriented audience.

Does anyone know how the Steamers have been drawing? I've been meaning to go to one of their games, but haven't had time to do it.



One of my favorite childhood memories was going to see the Steamers with my dad or my soccer team. They used to pack the old Arena and it was so exciting - Slobo, Don Ebert, Carl Rose, Jeff Cacciatore, Ricky Davis, Bill Stallings (j/k ). Ah, the good old days...

I'm betting like 10 years from now when St. Louis' population is more like 4 million+ by then we should have all five major sports in the city or at least 4. (as long as the Blues don't move )

4 million plus. That would be nice, but just slightly on the high side I think.

Actually, it would only be an increase of about 130,000 a year. Much more feasible, but still not really possible at all. He meant 4 million total, not new.

I went to the Steamers game on Saturday night, and there were about 9500 people there. It was so much fun (and we beat Chicago 4-0) that I plan on going to the game this Sunday afternoon again.

stlpcsolutions wrote:How is this going to affect the Steamers since they are only indoor soccer? Won't that basically kill them?

The leagues play at different times, and really go for different crowds, indoor is faster, loud music playing, no where near the strategic set ups, it appeals to kids more. Outdoor is a game that demands your attention chants started by fans, no stops in the action, fewer penalties.



Hey DeBal- how could you leave out Tony Glavin? He still lives in town and is active in the local club team scene.

Hey DeBal- how could you leave out Tony Glavin? He still lives in town and is active in the local club team scene.

I knew I was forgetting someone!

10 years is a bunch with a city that is expanding and growing everyday. plus im an optimist so i tend to exagerate.

Just got back from a dinner party where the conversation turned to MLS expansion, a friend of mine pointed me to the following article. This is from Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber -



?The third expansion team will be in the Midwest, and Garber said St. Louis would not be a bad guess.?



No ownership group has been identified yet, but this makes me very optimistic.





http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/sp ... 067130.php

Beer City wrote:Just got back from a dinner party where the conversation turned to MLS expansion, a friend of mine pointed me to the following article. This is from Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber -



?The third expansion team will be in the Midwest, and Garber said St. Louis would not be a bad guess.?



No ownership group has been identified yet, but this makes me very optimistic.





http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/sp ... 067130.php

This is what has excited me most about the new Blues owner, Dave Checketts. He also own Real Salt Lake. If they were to struggle financially he could move them here. He could also potentially get an expansion team for us. They would probably have to build a soccer specific stadium. Hermann stadium at SLU would be a possibilty, but I had always heard in the past that SLU wasn't interested. But then, the right deal could change that I wold think. Otherwise, there's plenty of space between the downtown business dictrict and SLU. Maybe somewhere around the western edges of downtown or over by the Landing might be nice.

A new stadium in ESTL right on the river with great views of the skyline is my vote. North of the landing would be 2nd.