New 3-D Stadium View

After tonight's announcement, I got the chance to talk with Dave Ficklin about the rebranding and everything that was going on. While speaking with him a few people from Populous came up and began talking with us about the event and other things while talking Ficklin mentioned the new 3-D Virtual Venue that the team has. The Virtual Venue is now up on the Sporting KC website and is absolutely amazing. I've been playing with it for much of the night and it's amazing, it's great to get so many views of what the view is going to look like from all the different positions. It also gives a great feel for what you're going to see from each different spot on the field. It's going to be a great way for fans (sorry members) to try and decide where they are going to get their season tickets in the new stadium. Check it out it's amazing.

Inside the Stadium

This past week, season ticket holders had their first opportunity to go inside the stadium on tours and hear from both Robb Heineman and Dave Ficklin as they answered questions about the stadium itself. Unlike the Bannister site where I could stop by on my way home from work it's been harder for me to get inside the stadium in it's location. So Saturday was my first opportunity to really get inside the stadium. I'd heard from talks with Thad at The Back Post, and James at KCWFans.com about how great it was inside. So I was excited to finally get inside myself and I was not disappointed. I didn't the indepth tour that they've previously gotten (I hope to sooner than later). I took a few photos of the event from different locations around the stadium and there are certainly isn't a bad spot in the stadium judging by the views that I saw. It truly will be one of, if not the best stadium in the league and I'm absolutely looking forward to when it opens.

I had planned this post to be a bit of an uplift after the Seattle game, but unfortunately other commitments got in my way and it's a nice addition to the win last night against Chicago. Here's the rest of the photos I got.

Some Looking Ahead

Today, Pete Grathoff posted bits of an interview he did with the Wizards vice president of development, David Ficklin. The 3 main topics discussed were the Omar Bravo rumors, the stadium opening and naming rights. First with regards to Bravo, Ficklin plays a little coy when asked if Bravo is going to be a Wizard, first saying he's our player, then when pushed about it says "isn't he?" This seems to be a bit of a joke based on all the information that's come out lately about Bravo coming to KC. Ficklin said that "Bravo is playing in this stadium next year." Which again could certainly be read as that he's signed with KC. Course he also says that he doesn't know what color uniform he'd be wearing. That's either a point towards the rebranding rumor that continue to make the rounds, or it could possibly mean something else. Another thought that was brought up was that maybe Bravo would be here playing for Chivas Guadalajara in a friendly. If the sign and loan deal that was talked about in the Mexican media is true, maybe part of the deal was that Guadalajara would play a friendly here.

The second part that Ficklin and Grathoff talk about is the opening event at the stadium. Previously Robb Heineman had mentioned that they were trying to get a national team game here as the opening event. Ficklin elaborates on that comment saying that they are trying to bring in the US national team as part of the Gold Cup. The 2011 Gold Cup begins on the 5th of June and runs through the 25th. It would be part of a double header with a Wizards game. I love the idea of bringing in the national team, it'd be great to bring the US team back to KC for the first time since 2001. I'm not sure I do like the idea of a double header with the Wizards though. I'd like the Wizards first game at the new stadium to have them be the main attraction, not a game involving the national team. I'm not against the US team opening the stadium, I'm just not sure I'm a fan of the double header idea.

Finally, it sounds like the Wizards are close to finalizing naming rights for the stadium. The team hopes to have it announced this year. Currently 2 companies are bidding for the naming rights of the stadium. The revenue from that would certainly be a boost to the club. The next step would likely be to bring in a jersey sponsor as well.

Mr. Ficklin, the Doubt is Gone

Since the announcement that the Wizards were going to build their stadium out at the Legends I've personally still held a bit of skepticism about the move. I haven't hid my feelings that I'll still have my doubts until I start seeing concrete poured and the stadium go up. I've even had the Wizards front office give me trouble about it, including the Wizards Vice President of Development, who jokingly asked me on the day of the ground breaking whether this was enough for me. At the time I responded back the same way I have for a while, that I'll feel good about it once concrete has been poured. I felt I had a right to be nervous about the development, I mean I'd seen the Wizards already tear down Bannister Mall expecting the stadium to go there, so who should seeing some dirt move at another site impress me that much?

Today according to Thad at The Back Post, we find out that concrete has been poured. With this news comes the title of the post tonight. I can officially say my doubt is basically gone, and that we will be seeing the stadium actually built out at the Legends site.