Soccer in Somerville
Professional soccer may be coming soon to Somerville's Inner Belt.
In case you missed the Somerville soccer stadium article by Eric Moskowitz in yesterday’s Globe, here’s a recap:
The Kraft Group — which owns the New England Revolution soccer team (and the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium) — is once again focusing on the Inner Belt area as the location for a 20,000-seat soccer stadium. In fact, Revolution COO Brian Bilello discussed this at length in his June 28 blog post.
Some other tidbits from Moskowitz’s story:
- The Revolution rank 13th among the 16 Major League Soccer teams in attendance.
- The team currently averages 12,000 fans per game at 69,000-seat Gillette.
- The Krafts have already invested more than $1 million to explore the Inner Belt site and three others around Boston.
- Bilello called building the stadium “a top priority.”
In short: the prospect of a soccer stadium is regaining steam, now that the state and Somerville have agreed precisely where in the Inner Belt to locate the 11-acre maintenance facility needed for the Green Line extension. When it comes to the Inner Belt’s redevelopment, the stadium may be the next significant puzzle piece to fall into place.
photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons
