i wonder what youth soccer field they'll have to share a field with.

I understand people’s concerns about our tax dollars. I like this project because it’s something I support. I’d have voted yes if it had come to that. Our state motto is “Hope” and like many of my fellow Rhode Islanders, I’m excited to have a soccer team we can call our own! I have all the hope and faith in the world for this

If they’re planning on playing, and they’re looking for a field then a new stadium is NOT needed. All the stadium was - was a promise to the unions in exchange for votes. Soccer YES - stadium NO!! Test the waters, see what the demand is like them determine if a stadium is needed.

I'd be a little wary on the project right now until the financing seems to be in order. At the very least, 2024 seems ambitious.

On a more long-term note, the more I've dug into the USL, the less confident I am in the long-term viability. A league that's been around a decade and has more former teams than active ones just strikes me as not a model for long-term success.

They can play at Pierce Field in EP until tidewater is finished!

Probably very successful for whoever is running the league.

The financing issue seems to me to be largely Pawtucket wanting to wait out the current bond environment - i.e. not issue bonds at 5% interest if by summer they are back down to 3% or lower.

I think it is ok to be against the project and skeptical of its value and still not be a dick to the people that are excited about the team though. Like place the aggression where it belongs which is not against the people that want it (having been approved) to succeed.

Like I'm a dick to the fane tower believers but if it was approved I would still shit on fane and the 195 commission but I would try my best not to shit on people that liked the building and wanted to see it occupied, if that makes sense.

I appreciate your perspective. I completely understand people who aren’t happy about the way the stadium is being financed, but I’m excited to actually have my tax dollars going to something that I want and I care about, you know? I really believe in the potential of RIFC to be something that unites people and brings them together and gives us all a lot of joy, and I just want to share that with everyone

Franchise fees seem pretty good.

I’m reading these comments right now and I’m dying. Our state is so fucking corrupt. 🤣

The USL has actually been around 1986. USL Championship, its first division, is only a decade old, though. Its more successful teams tend to be poached by MLS

Alot of people were saying this and I don't think it's a bad idea. It's a good place to host a few games ti the stadium is built.

It’s a great idea, I live in that neighborhood and would love to see it

I just want this team to play I know this state loves its soccer so having a stadium for it would be great. Either way along as the team plays I'll be a supporter.

It looks like a whole lot of defunct in the middle. A league going from 12 teams to 36 to 24 in a decade just doesn’t scream sustainability to me. I really am wishing for the best but that makes it hard to inspire confidence. Even accounting for COVID killing a lot of that growth, there’s just ponzi scheme vibes

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I understand your issues, but I’m a taxpayer here too and I’m glad we’re funding something I love. Our tax dollars often go to things we don’t care about or even that we don’t like, but again I am happy to help build this and excited for what it could bring to Pawtucket and to Rhode Island as a whole

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I understand your concerns, but the USL Championship has been relatively stable, at least compared to other minor soccer leagues in the US, and again the teams that performed well tend to be poached upwards, where there’s more money and more stability. Rhode Island is a top 10 television market for soccer and the team has already set the League record for season ticket deposits, and I think those markers taken together with soccer’s rapidly increasing popularity (now even with ice hockey and expected to outpace both hockey and baseball by 2040), the potential for this team is huge.

At the end of the day I understand people’s concerns, but I love the idea of a professional soccer club in Rhode Island and I’m going to be there on opening day, hopefully with 10,000 other fans, to cheer this team on.

I’ll be buying tickets to see them wherever they play!

I’ll be showing up to support them wherever they play. I hope construction goes to plan and this stadium opens in March, 2024. I know that can be a big ask for a state like Rhode Island but I believe in it wholeheartedly!

Just say you hate soccer It's easier then just complaining. The state loves its soccer and the numbers shows. It's never gonna please everyone ( you included ) So just keep it to the point. You hate soccer Move along.

There used to be a soccer team that played there when I was growing up, The Stingrays.

OP mentions "my tax dollars going to something that I want and I care about."

On one hand, I get this. I don't want my tax dollars to go to something I don't want and don't care about. It's my money, so it should benefit me.

But that's not primarily what tax dollars are for. They're not for me, they're for the public good, and it's "better" (by some public definition) for tax dollars to fund things that the public needs and will use. I don't think a soccer stadium in Pawtucket does as much good as infrastructure or investment in community benefits that directly help citizens generally.

You could have both – say, a stadium AND adequate law enforcement, good roads, public transportation, etc. But the latter group of things benefits everyone, and the stadium is of direct benefit only to the users (and a few vendors who sell stuff there).

I get what you’re saying, but I think having the team (and the stadium and larger project) will be good for Pawtucket, hopefully it will help revitalize the area, which badly needs it. I also think having the team is gonna be good for families, for kids. One underrated thing people don’t really talk about is the soccer academy that comes with the team, which will give kids from all income brackets across RI an opportunity to develop and potentially become professional players. I also don’t think it’s really an “either/or” thing. Other possibilities weren’t really being seriously considered, and this is a major economic development for Pawtucket that I think will help people. Ultimately I just love the whole thing, and I want to share that love and excitement with people

I hope it succeeds, really. You make good points about the positive impact. I just hope it’s not trickle down economics.

Thanks man, I appreciate your input on it, and I hope it’s not, too. It’s not often this state gets something people can get excited about, you know? When I post about RIFC in r/soccer, they ask if the team will play in Quahog, you get me? I really want this to be a good thing for us and for the city and for the state

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Maybe you’re right, I’m choosing to hope for the best but I’ll show up wherever they play so it’s almost immaterial for me

Yes sir that's what people say so Bringing a soccer team there with so much great soccer history wouldn't bother me until the official stadium is done. It would be a great homecoming.

I think that’s significant hyperbole. I’ve had to be seen in the emergency room twice in the last year at Miriam and was seen in under an hour both times. I also hardly think a privately owned hospital shutting down without negotiating with the city or state or following proper procedure of notifying the state boards before closing departments can be equated with building a soccer stadium, and frankly I don’t see how they’re related, considering a hospital was never an alternative competing proposal. We just love soccer, we love the team, and we want to share our excitement and hopefully get other people excited, too. If it’s not for you, it’s not for you, but we’re gonna be there cheering either way!

>You know what I hate? Having to wait 12+ hours to be seen at RI hospital emergency room.

I'm not sure how soccer impacts that. You ever watch one of those games? Those guys break bones and tear every ligament and then heal themselves like Wolverine within 90 seconds.

I can't see them impacting the hospital capacity one way or another.

There’s teams like Orlando, Cincinnati who were directly bought by MLS. Austin Bold and Charlotte Independence who self-relegated/went on hiatus when MLS’ Austin & Charlotte FC came around.

The 8 teams that left over the last 2 seasons are MLS reserve sides whose departure is ultimately great for USL. Everyone else folded due to financial issues of their own and not the league

USL is where many MLS markets got their start and teams like San Diego, Sacramento, Louisville + more will be looked at the same way. They aim to include underlooked soccer markets and we’re perfect to be an inclusion. If you’re gonna have reservations don’t take it on USL, they’re a solid league