Raleigh Stadium/Arena/Sports Discussions

Lou , I still think The Atlantic League & Soccer would be a good fit for Downtown South . Minor League Baseball & Minor League Soccer are very affordable for families . 70 + baseball & 30 + soccer games , plus high school sports would keep this stadium busy .

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I hear you Dwight and I know how you feel about Atlantic League baseball. If MLB were off the table I wouldnā€™t hate that idea. However, logistically how would you see that playing out?

They would have to get approval for an Atlantic League team (probably not that hard), get funding for an Atlantic League team (wonā€™t be easy, but doable) and then youā€™d need to have Kane basically build a baseball stadium that could house soccer, since the dimensions of a soccer stadium canā€™t also hold baseball.

I think NCFC/Courage are likely to be a bigger draw than Atlantic League and they are already established. So youā€™d be asking them to build a stadium that makes viewing soccer a secondary setup.

Logistically and financially I just donā€™t see that making much sense. If it came down to that, Iā€™d bet Kane would just scrap baseball and go all in on NCFC/Courage, making the stadium built for the most optimal viewing experience for them.

Anyways, not trying to dismiss this idea, but I just canā€™t envision a situation where it would make financial sense for Kane. But I might be missing something, Iā€™d love to hear your thoughts on how that setup might work.

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Hey Lou , I have been to High Pointā€™s Stadium that is built for both sports & it looks like to me that fans of both sports would be satisfied . If Rick White has not changed his mind , he said that Raleigh has been on their radar & that a stadium was the only thing keeping them from coming here . Iā€™m not sure about Mr. Kaneā€™s current thoughts but in 2013 & 2015 , he came Super close to bringing ALPB to Raleigh . He has discussed this with Mr . Malik & Mr. Malik was not interested .

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Lou , I sent you a email with more information on everything .

Not a soccer fan (but am a tennis fan) - thought this could be interesting to people.

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As a Japanese-American, this is fascinating! :smiley: Makes sense that she chose Courage, too, with her activist streak.

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Was getting ready to send the same link it to all of the Malik/soccer stadium naysayers.

If you think Malik is just ā€œwinging itā€ā€¦you have not been paying attention.

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Not a naysayer, butā€¦ uhhā€¦ this doesnā€™t directly translate to anything about future stadiums? This could just be circumstantial evidence, at best.

Osakaā€™s involvement is with the womenā€™s team, and weā€™re living in a country where itā€™s menā€™s pro sports teams that get all the top billings. (Not that I agree with that; Iā€™m often more hyped for the womenā€™s world cup than menā€™s, butā€¦)

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That is all kind of cool! For anyone who doesnā€™t know, Osaka is a fantastic player, she has won three majors since 2018, including two US Opens. At the most recent she wore a mask with the name of a different victim of police brutality or race-based killing for each match and spoke emotionally on the issue.

Imo, her being involved in the Courage is great for the profile of the team and league. As a tennis fan I love that the Triangle is on her radar. Iā€™m hoping for a pro tournament here when the new Swing raquet club opens.

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I think we should thank rapper Corde for the Raleigh assist!

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I had not heard of him, but looked him up and now that I see he is dating Osaka and is from Raleigh I think you are right!

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Whoā€™s that, never heard of him? :face_with_monocle:

Yeah I was today years old when I learned he exists, too lol. Apparently Cordaeā€™s been rapping since at least 2014, and was good enough that he got a Grammy nomination last year.

Heā€™s been featured with big names like Logic in ā€œMama/Show Loveā€ and H.E.R in ā€œLord is Comingā€.

Hereā€™s one of his own songs (T/W: cockroaches):


To bring this back on topic, though, Cordae was born in Raleigh (Zebulon, to be more precise), but his rap career started just outside of DC. So I think he may be supportive of this, but Naomi Osakaā€™s still the one calling the shots.

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Ohhh I didnā€™t realize that was his name.

Itā€™s possible to be born in Zebulon? I mean, other than a home birth?

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A development team , 5 members , in Knoxville , TN . have plans to build a new baseball / soccer stadium in their downtown & they will ask for public funds . This will be for AA baseball & USL soccer $65 million project . This information is in " Ballpark Digest " .

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We should focus on getting the PNC arena replacement to go near downtown instead. That would bring in more development to downtown than a minor league baseball park will. At least with public funds.

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This also makes good sense but as you can tell , Iā€™m so pro-baseball ! I sent this same information to Mr. Kane & Mr. Malik & they both sent me a Thank You . At this point more new baseball stadiums are including soccer . High Point , Gastonia , a city that I can not remember out west that is the size of Raleigh , I think that it is Tulsa , is doing this . The University of Richmond is working with Richmondā€™s AA minor league team on sharing a new stadium project . I wish that NCSU would do this with The Atlantic League .

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Article on the talks whether to develop the area around PNC or build a downtown stadium.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/wake-county/article248977420.html?fbclid=IwAR09ma9_c-F1G0XvFEiLDDiykJbGVkrne5DQO6vcX5LDYrsmYDP8GBOlNAw

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Thank you! :+1:

That is actually a very go read by the N&O!

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