OT: Washington Freedom Cricket Stadium

Shame on them for partnering with a professional organization to help fund/pay for a stadium. I wish the poor citizens of Tysons could have purchased yard signs and made a website before they secretly made this deal!
They are just renting the use of the facility - It's a private stadium - that's how the ODAC and A10 get to use it for their conference tournaments. That's also how it got built in less than a year.
 

GSII

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They are just renting the use of the facility - It's a private stadium - that's how the ODAC and A10 get to use it for their conference tournaments. That's also how it got built in less than a year.
Private, as in all the neighbors chipped in? Right?
 

tblack33

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Hopefully all of yall huge baseball fans are attending our games this year to signal demand for a larger stadium. I’ve driven by a couple games and it looked like maybe a couple dozen folks in the stands. Luckily the state isn’t slated to put any actual money into this, otherwise it would probably surpass the Mason Inn as the biggest waste of funds in state history. Use of our most important resource like this (land), makes me question the decision making in the AD. This still feels shortsighted, there has to be a better/more economical way to improve the baseball/softball facilities.
 

dr. gunnie

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Hopefully all of yall huge baseball fans are attending our games this year to signal demand for a larger stadium. I’ve driven by a couple games and it looked like maybe a couple dozen folks in the stands. Luckily the state isn’t slated to put any actual money into this, otherwise it would probably surpass the Mason Inn as the biggest waste of funds in state history. Use of our most important resource like this (land), makes me question the decision making in the AD. This still feels shortsighted, there has to be a better/more economical way to improve the baseball/softball facilities.
It’s hard for fans to make it out to a lot of these games, because our stadium doesn’t have lights. The mid-day games during the week are pretty much out of the question to anyone that has to work for a living. Of course, the reason we don’t have lights is rumored to be because of a deal with the surrounding neighborhood. Imagine that. Luckily, I’ll be able to check out the team when they come to St. Louis since the Friday game is at 5:00 here… because St. Louis has lights… like 99% of college and high school stadiums do.

I don’t disagree with you, I’d much rather have a baseball specific stadium. 8,000 empty seats will be the equivalent to USF or Temple playing football games in NFL stadiums. Horrible look. But if there is something in writing that prevents Mason from adding lights to the current location, it makes zero sense to improve the current “stadium” without adding lights.

I think a great compromise for the surrounding neighborhoods would be no cricket stadium, but rip up the old “no lights” agreement if that’s even a real thing. Tear down the aluminum bleachers and build a brick stadium to match the new dugouts at about 2,000 capacity. Switch our home dugout from the 3rd base line to the 1st base line, and then build locker rooms and indoor batting cages/pitching areas behind the 1st base dugout - there is enough land on that side for it.

All I know is our baseball stadium is embarrassing compared other schools.
 

tblack33

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It’s hard for fans to make it out to a lot of these games, because our stadium doesn’t have lights. The mid-day games during the week are pretty much out of the question to anyone that has to work for a living. Of course, the reason we don’t have lights is rumored to be because of a deal with the surrounding neighborhood. Imagine that. Luckily, I’ll be able to check out the team when they come to St. Louis since the Friday game is at 5:00 here… because St. Louis has lights… like 99% of college and high school stadiums do.

I don’t disagree with you, I’d much rather have a baseball specific stadium. 8,000 empty seats will be the equivalent to USF or Temple playing football games in NFL stadiums. Horrible look. But if there is something in writing that prevents Mason from adding lights to the current location, it makes zero sense to improve the current “stadium” without adding lights.

I think a great compromise for the surrounding neighborhoods would be no cricket stadium, but rip up the old “no lights” agreement if that’s even a real thing. Tear down the aluminum bleachers and build a brick stadium to match the new dugouts at about 2,000 capacity. Switch our home dugout from the 3rd base line to the 1st base line, and then build locker rooms and indoor batting cages/pitching areas behind the 1st base dugout - there is enough land on that side for it.

All I know is our baseball stadium is embarrassing compared other schools.
Yeah I don’t disagree with anything here. The no lights thing is dumb. I’d much rather us spend money to reno what we’ve got then going down the path we are going.
 
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Pablo

Pablo

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"On Feb. 5, a public Facebook group called Concerned Neighbors of Washington Freedom Stadium project @GMU West Campus was created to track project updates and express their concerns.

According to a statement on the page, 'We, the community around GMU’s West Campus, have repeatedly asked to be included in these development discussions to express our concerns and get clarity on the plans…We are the taxpayers who will be burdened with the infrastructure, traffic and community costs….'

Additionally, students have joined the conversation, claiming the decision to construct the stadium is not in the interest of the Mason community.

According to an Instagram post by Student B4 Stadiums GMU, 'students were never asked about the project or were able to give ideas [about] what the land could be used for… students demand a say.'"
 

GMU79

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"On Feb. 5, a public Facebook group called Concerned Neighbors of Washington Freedom Stadium project @GMU West Campus was created to track project updates and express their concerns.

According to a statement on the page, 'We, the community around GMU’s West Campus, have repeatedly asked to be included in these development discussions to express our concerns and get clarity on the plans…We are the taxpayers who will be burdened with the infrastructure, traffic and community costs….'

Additionally, students have joined the conversation, claiming the decision to construct the stadium is not in the interest of the Mason community.

According to an Instagram post by Student B4 Stadiums GMU, 'students were never asked about the project or were able to give ideas [about] what the land could be used for… students demand a say.'"
Bottom line. NIMBY.
And when has a university ever asked it's students about anything?
 
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