UAZipster0305 Posted February 10, 2006 Report Posted February 10, 2006 The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that there are talks of building a new MLS soccer stadium on route 8 in the Macedonia area:http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/...4050.xml&coll=2UA administration should be all over this trying to make it a collaborative effort to build a joint stadium on campus. It would be such a waste to build two new stadiums less than 30 minutes apart when both parties are struggling to find resources. The UA campus is the ideal location because it is at the crossroads of route 8 and two other major interstates (I76/77) and would also be able to draw from the Canton area.I would imagine that having an MLS team on campus would also work wonders for soccer recruiting and winning a national championship!...i've already got a team named picked out for the MLS team if it were to be on campus...CAC United...Cleveland/Akron/Canton United...United We Stand in every sense of the phrase.If you have connections, please contact UA officials about this venture!I definitely want to read fresh posts about this issue as well! Quote
Kangaroo Craig Posted February 10, 2006 Report Posted February 10, 2006 This is the second time that this story has surfaced. About two years ago, Bart Wolstien was talking to developers about this same project. They were looking at building it in the Boston Heights area. Bart died and the project was tabled. I believe that Bart did not want to go to Akron because he felt that a Boston Heights location could draw fans from Cleveland and its suburbs as well. I do not know who is trying to develop this now or what their opinions are on Akron. I'm with you though. It certainly could be quite a boost for the university. Quote
UAZipster0305 Posted February 10, 2006 Author Report Posted February 10, 2006 The name of the man is Paul Garofolo, president and general manager of the Cleveland Force. Quote
Wally B Posted February 10, 2006 Report Posted February 10, 2006 The name of the man is Paul Garofolo, president and general manager of the Cleveland Force. Is the Force still playing???All reports I get from the MISL no longer mention a teamin Cleveland. Quote
zen Posted February 10, 2006 Report Posted February 10, 2006 The UA campus is the ideal location because it is at the crossroads of route 8 and two other major interstates (I76/77) and would also be able to draw from the Canton area. The proponents of their plan would say that it is near the crossroads for Rt.8, I-271, and I-80 (turnpike), so they got yours matched, plus it's closer to Cleveland. Those developers are cleve-centric, and they would prolly snicker at your "we can draw from canton" comment.I'm not taking their side.... Just injected some cold reality. Quote
KeeprOFtheHous Posted February 10, 2006 Report Posted February 10, 2006 The other reality of the sharing idea is that a pro team does not want a huge roo head in the middle of their field, our answer is to paint it. Then it cost more and does not have that great look everytime you see it. plus a soccer field dimentions are much diff. and you cannot paint out of bounds lines for football. At least this university is not ready to spend that money for each game. so good thought but itll never happen Quote
bobbyake Posted February 11, 2006 Report Posted February 11, 2006 Macedonia is a great location. It's exactly in the middle of Cleveland and Akron. Macedonia is 2 seconds from Hudson and Hudson is traditionally known for soccer. But I don't know if many Akron and Cleveland people will want to drive 20 minutes to go watch soccer Quote
AkronURocks Posted February 11, 2006 Report Posted February 11, 2006 This will NEVER happen. 1. They are not interested in sharing their new stadium with us and we are not interested in sharing our new stadium with them.2. Our new stadium will be ON CAMPUS. It has to be. This is an old topic that has been beaten to death. If there ever does end up being a MLS team in NEOhio, it will not have anything to do with AU. Quote
UADavid Posted February 11, 2006 Report Posted February 11, 2006 This is an old topic that has been beaten to death. If there ever does end up being a MLS team in NEOhio, it will not have anything to do with AU.Auburn is far removed from NE Ohio so I agree with you! Quote
liljc Posted February 11, 2006 Report Posted February 11, 2006 I'd be happy to share our new stadium with any tenant who wanted to play there. So long as everyone understands that it is to be BUILT ON CAMPUS and it is OUR stadium. If a pro soccer team wants to come to Akron to play, I say bring 'em in, collect the rent. Why not? The more the merrier. I don't claim to know the first thing about the state of professional soccer in this area, but, my best guess is that they aren't gonna want to contribute to our project. Quote
Zipsrifle Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 There are a few key differences I see. Akron is an ESTABLISHED SPORTS PRGRAM, this Pro Soccer team is not. Akron WILL BUILD a new ON CAMPUS stadium in the near future. So, as I see it, if they want to build a soccer stadium closer to Cleveland, great. If and when it will happen is anybody's guess. I'm not willing to wait around for a bunch of if's. More likely than not, the stadium in Akron will be built well before any pro soccer stadium. IMO, I would like to see the Zips Soccer team use the new stadium too (Though I have no idea how big a soccer field is). If that happened, I wouldn't be suprised if a pro team would also become a tennant. I see a possability to have 3 teams using a facility than one team for 5 days a year. Quote
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