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 .
I hear you Dwight and I know how you feel about Atlantic League baseball. If MLB were off the table I wouldnāt 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 (wonāt be easy, but doable) and then youād need to have Kane basically build a baseball stadium that could house soccer, since the dimensions of a soccer stadium canāt also hold baseball.
I think NCFC/Courage are likely to be a bigger draw than Atlantic League and they are already established. So youād be asking them to build a stadium that makes viewing soccer a secondary setup.
Logistically and financially I just donāt see that making much sense. If it came down to that, Iād 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 canāt envision a situation where it would make financial sense for Kane. But I might be missing something, Iād love to hear your thoughts on how that setup might work.
Hey Lou , I have been to High Pointās 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 . Iām not sure about Mr. Kaneās 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 .
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.
As a Japanese-American, this is fascinating! Makes sense that she chose Courage, too, with her activist streak.
Was getting ready to send the same link it to all of the Malik/soccer stadium naysayers.
If you think Malik is just āwinging itāā¦you have not been paying attention.
Not a naysayer, butā¦ uhhā¦ this doesnāt directly translate to anything about future stadiums? This could just be circumstantial evidence, at best.
Osakaās involvement is with the womenās team, and weāre living in a country where itās menās pro sports teams that get all the top billings. (Not that I agree with that; Iām often more hyped for the womenās world cup than menās, butā¦)
That is all kind of cool! For anyone who doesnāt 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. Iām hoping for a pro tournament here when the new Swing raquet club opens.
I think we should thank rapper Corde for the Raleigh assist!
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!
Whoās that, never heard of him?
Yeah I was today years old when I learned he exists, too lol. Apparently Cordaeās been rapping since at least 2014, and was good enough that he got a Grammy nomination last year.
Heās been featured with big names like Logic in āMama/Show Loveā and H.E.R in āLord is Comingā.
Hereās 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 Osakaās still the one calling the shots.
Ohhh I didnāt realize that was his name.
Itās possible to be born in Zebulon? I mean, other than a home birth?
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 " .
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.
This also makes good sense but as you can tell , Iām 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 Richmondās AA minor league team on sharing a new stadium project . I wish that NCSU would do this with The Atlantic League .
Article on the talks whether to develop the area around PNC or build a downtown stadium.
Thank you!
That is actually a very go read by the N&O!