OT: Washington Freedom Cricket Stadium

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Pablo

Pablo

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"George Mason University is poised to complete the construction of a functional cricket field at its Fairfax campus by the end of this summer and a new ballpark by 2025."

"According to a presentation shared by the university, the proposed stadium will accommodate 7,000 to 10,000 spectators on a 15-acre site between Braddock Road and Campus Drive, adjacent to the parking lot.


The possibility of thousands of new spectators traveling to watch cricket matches and baseball games alarmed many town hall attendees, who expressed concerns about traffic and questioned the university’s approach."
 

GSII

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Pretty sure not one of us understands cricket.
 

Falco

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"George Mason University is poised to complete the construction of a functional cricket field at its Fairfax campus by the end of this summer and a new ballpark by 2025."

"According to a presentation shared by the university, the proposed stadium will accommodate 7,000 to 10,000 spectators on a 15-acre site between Braddock Road and Campus Drive, adjacent to the parking lot.


The possibility of thousands of new spectators traveling to watch cricket matches and baseball games alarmed many town hall attendees, who expressed concerns about traffic and questioned the university’s approach."
Looks like graduation will be hosted on a cricket field lol. And Mason can finally get a smaller more intimate basketball arena!
 

GSII

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But, if you are a Mason baseball fan, how about this - "As part of its agreement with GMU, Govil said Washington Freedom would fully fund the new stadium’s construction."
This is by far the best outcome for Mason. The baseball team deserves a real stadium.

Coach Camp was at the HC game going all out for the bball team. His players were raging and making life miserable for the Rhody bench. You can see and sense their spirit and energy.
 
OP
Pablo

Pablo

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“'This has the potential to be transformational,' said Marvin Lewis, George Mason’s newish athletic director.

The university’s baseball team currently competes in the 900-seat Spuhler Field, which since its debut in the mid-1980s has seen only limited additional investment. One example: Dugouts didn’t make an appearance until 2016.

'The facility is missing two key items – we’re missing a video board and we’re missing lights,' Lewis said, suggesting that a bigger, modern baseball stadium would be 'critical' to aid recruiting of both athletes and staff.


(Even with the minimalistic facilities, the team – initially competing in the Colonial Athletic Association and now in the Atlantic 10 – has had success, including multiple NCAA-tournament appearances, nearly 50 student-athletes selected in the Major League Baseball draft and five currently playing in the Major League system.)

Sanjay Govil, a tech entrepreneur and owner of Washington affiliate in the year-old Major League Cricket circuit, said that while this might be the first baseball-cricket combo stadium anywhere, there are ways to make it work seamlessly."

'“It was a no-brainer for us,' Govil said of teaming up with the university.

The six-team cricket league plays its matches in the summer months, with George Mason baseball needing field access in autumn and spring. The proposed facility would include fixed seats plus a low berm for additional seating, and would have VIP seating and hospitality facilities."

"Jackie Ferree, senior vice president of operations and business services (and like Lewis a relative newcomer to the university), said the stadium partnership could unlock 'wonderful benefits,' but acknowledged community concerns about adding more facilities to the university’s original campus.

'Event planning and logistics have been at the forefront' of the process, Ferree said of developing the proposal, with the goal of 'ensuring the least amount of disruption' to the lives of students, staff and neighbors."


My personal comments:

(1) While there will be community opposition, I believe that it will be less than the other MLC teams without a stadium will face. Their proposed stadium site is either at a public park or fairgrounds that will require local governmental approval.

(2) The capacity of the stadium evidently will be less than originally proposed and will include fixed and bleacher seating and lawn berm seating.

(3) The plan is to play Mason baseball games at the permanent stadium in spring 2025. The original proposal was to have the stadium ready by the summer 2025.

(4) The Environmental Impact Report refers to the Washington Freedom Field. Will this be the name of the stadium?
 

MasonSAE4

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This is such an insane boondoggle. Take it and run if someone else is paying for it though.
 

Old Ram

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Not true.
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I think I have it.
 

gmubrian

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At risk of repeating what has been said a million times before... What in our school's history gives you the confidence we could successfully fund a football team?

The most likely outcome is that it would drain resources from basketball team. Then we'd have a really bad basketball team to go along with a really bad football team.

If you get someone to show up with $500M and agrees to fund everything for a football team out of his or her own pocket, I'd be all in. Otherwise, I am a hard no! I won't hold my breath for that to happen, though.
 

GMUgemini

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Please, enough with football already. Let's get our bball house in order first. Then, maybe. But now? Please no.

Don’t get sucked in to football talk!!!!

Anyway our chance to start football was in 97 or 98 (whenever the last serious proposal went across the desk) and the university said no.

We do not want to be ODU and we do not want to be UMass and no one here wants to be stuck in FCS land (outside of the CAa because they’ll never let us be affiliate members).

We are in one if the best basketball conferences outside of the Power 6, competing at one of the highest levels of division 1 in men’s and women’s basketball. Let just enjoy being a basketball school for once.

It’s a fools errand.
 
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