Potential Soccer Stadium | Portland peninsula

Thanks Mark, there was plenty of minor league baseball played in that location during the past 138 years with some interesting names:

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Wikipedia
 
Wow the old Hadlock field looks similar to Gill stadium in Manchvegas. Capacity looks bigger than today's 7k. Great pics!
 
So it looks like the capacity of Fitzpatrick hasn't changed much since the 1930s. The teams that played there and still do are all local draws. With a population reach now of nearly 5 million (up to a 1.5 hour drive by car), events or sports that can attract fans or customers from out-of-state too is realistic with a much bigger and an indoor venue space. High School football and track in Maine is waning, so new sports (pro soccer) and bigger concerts (Bangor does in the summer with up to 16,000 seats) are the smarter way to go. Like I've said or implied, when you open up your mind and think about this, 32,000 for Portland, Maine can be relatively easy to fill if the attractions can draw outside the immediate population area. Within a 45 minute commute of Portland there are over one million people. And as I've also stated, indoors would almost double the capacity of TD Garden for indoor concerts for 7 months of the year. If you are in Southern NH (over one million people), why not drive to Portland instead of Boston? The traffic and parking are less problematic, and the food, drink, and lodging options outside the facility are just as fun. Portlanders, don't sell yourself short. There are new materials and techniques to use for building larger public venues now. And it takes intelligence and creativity and caring to not throw around money recklessly. Kaplan Thompson built the Friends School in Yarmouth for $4 million. It's won awards. Ask a city to build a school and the bill arrives at over $40 million.
 
Let's not forget that the area the Expo is located in was a pauper's cemetery. All of the bodies were moved to the Western Cemetery (often placed under the pathways/sidewalks). This led to the Western Cemetery falling out of favor (also it was running out of room) and Evergreen becoming more popular. Some even had ancestors moved from the Western Cemetery because of the pauper's moved there. So maybe the whole Expo area is just one big haunted cluster fuck.
 
Portland actually had TWO cemeteries that weren't located in Portland: Evergreen, which was in Westbrook or Deering when it was purchased (not sure which), and Forest City, in what is now South Portland. Both are still in use for burials, but I've never known anyone who went to Forest City.
 
Sports Business Journal named Portland the #1 Minor League Sports Market.

This is awesome recognition but I believe the dedicated fans that make this market number one deserve better in terms of arenas/facilities!

Sea Dogs (Hadlock (Delta Dental))- A nice venue and the only facility with improvements being made at the moment other than the new soccer team. A constant battle with the city to get things done or get any funding. The city flat out does not value the Sea Dogs which is too bad because it’s a big draw to the area. Certainly could use improvements to the aging concourse and would be great to see a canopy over the grandstands like many other minor league parks.

Maine Celtics/Red Claws at the Expo- not sure if I even have to say anything on the Expo, we all know what’s going on there. It’s a fun game environment because there isn’t a bad seat and you feel on top of the action. At the same time, the locker rooms are terrible, there is one place to get food, and it’s a very old, drafty building with awful restroom facilities.

Maine Mariners at the Cross Insurance Arena - Doing very well and in the best arena in the area. At the same time, that arena should not be the only large arena in the “best minor league market” there are plenty of improvements and additions that could be made to that facility. I could go on but I digress.

Hearts of Pine at Fitzy- I’ve shared my opinions here in how they should have spent more/built a completely new stadium. Portland loves soccer and Fitzy is just not a great stadium for a professional team.

What I’m getting at is it’s a huge draw to the city and not much money gets put into the sports! Let’s think outside of the box! I’ve said that before and I apologize for being a broken record. The Celtics, Sea Dogs, Mariners, and Hearts of Pine are proving to be successes and will be for some time. The city/state/leagues should appreciate these teams and invest more time and money into these huge economic drivers! Keep Portland alive, sporty, and a destination for all walks of life.
 
NR2Portland said:
Sports Business Journal named Portland the #1 Minor League Sports Market.

This is awesome recognition but I believe the dedicated fans that make this market number one deserve better in terms of arenas/facilities!

Sea Dogs (Hadlock (Delta Dental))- A nice venue and the only facility with improvements being made at the moment other than the new soccer team. A constant battle with the city to get things done or get any funding. The city flat out does not value the Sea Dogs which is too bad because it’s a big draw to the area. Certainly could use improvements to the aging concourse and would be great to see a canopy over the grandstands like many other minor league parks.

Maine Celtics/Red Claws at the Expo- not sure if I even have to say anything on the Expo, we all know what’s going on there. It’s a fun game environment because there isn’t a bad seat and you feel on top of the action. At the same time, the locker rooms are terrible, there is one place to get food, and it’s a very old, drafty building with awful restroom facilities.

Maine Mariners at the Cross Insurance Arena - Doing very well and in the best arena in the area. At the same time, that arena should not be the only large arena in the “best minor league market” there are plenty of improvements and additions that could be made to that facility. I could go on but I digress.

Hearts of Pine at Fitzy- I’ve shared my opinions here in how they should have spent more/built a completely new stadium. Portland loves soccer and Fitzy is just not a great stadium for a professional team.

What I’m getting at is it’s a huge draw to the city and not much money gets put into the sports! Let’s think outside of the box! I’ve said that before and I apologize for being a broken record. The Celtics, Sea Dogs, Mariners, and Hearts of Pine are proving to be successes and will be for some time. The city/state/leagues should appreciate these teams and invest more time and money into these huge economic drivers! Keep Portland alive, sporty, and a destination for all walks of life.
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It would be great to post an opinion in the Press Herald, this would work as a commentary
 
NR2Portland said:
Maine Mariners at the Cross Insurance Arena - Doing very well and in the best arena in the area. At the same time, that arena should not be the only large arena in the “best minor league market” there are plenty of improvements and additions that could be made to that facility. I could go on but I digress.
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Agree with all of your comments. However, the Cross Insurance Arena was renovated back in 2014 for a cost to Cumberland County of over $30M. As much as I would like to see some newer upgrades and added seating the odds are slim. Portland declined an opportunity for a new 10K seat venue by the Libra Foundation many years ago because the naysayers (Bill Nemitz) convinced the city that it would ruin the fabric of Bayside and also end up demolishing a few rundown housing structures. Architects and structural engineers previously determined that raising the roof to add around 3000 seats to the CCCC was possible but would cost almost as much as building a new arena. So our current facility will have to serve the region for at least another 15 to 20 years before anything new could be potentially built and that would require generous benefactors in my opinion.

A canopy over a portion of the grandstand at Hadlock would be excellent due Maine's inconsistent spring weather! Would also like to see the first base grandstands extended to the picnic area which would add around 600 more seats and some visual uniformity that now has an appearance of being unfinished.
 
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Thanks for the feedback and details guys! I’m doing a deeper dive and a presentation that I am working on that I’ll have to share when it’s complete. Would love to send in an opinion piece backed up with tons of data!
I truly think there can be a lot done to keep drawing great numbers!
 
Portland, Maine needs to be more like Boston and less like Manhattan....at least from a mentality perspective. The city seems a bit snobbish but also rudderless at the same time. Yes, you have the ocean and Old Port....but make Portland a bit more livable, friendly and inviting and don't take things for granted! Not sure who I am talking to here....lol. I just get a bit frustrated with Portland at times.🙂
 
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Here's a related story link below and it mentions the upcoming soccer team. Also, the more serious of fans in the Boston area will come up to Portland to see the up-and-coming players on the Seadogs, and now Maine Celtics. Why would this not happen with soccer? And, after the game you've got the Old Port to hang out at, some serious food experiences, and premium lodging. It's why I keep saying build a 32,000 seat indoor stadium (with the ends as giant windows that slide to the sides to open it up). Portland would have a max crowd count monopoly with a large indoor venue for nearly half the year (northeast U.S.) from a population pull of over six million. I've worked with Live Nation before. They are ONLY about profit. A big act that only has to perform for one night as opposed to two is an incentive, and so selling 34,000 tickets now as opposed to 20,000 is a substantial profit increase. And the hardcore fans will come and pay the same prices as TD Garden. Taylor Swift fans will even travel to Europe to see her. A 1-2 hour drive headed northeast up 95 is nothing, really. When I lived briefly in NYC, fans would drive from Queens to MetLife Stadium to see the Giants or Jets. That drive or commuting experience is up to two hours too--sometimes more, or in a car. Those in Portland and its outlying areas need to stop thinking about us as "up there in Maine." We aren't. We are a de facto suburb of Boston for most.

https://www.mainebiz.biz/article/we...he-us-in-ranking-of-minor-league-sports-towns
 
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