The Red Bulls held a focus group meeting among current Red Bulls Season Ticket Holders prior to the team’s Aug. 24th match against the Houston Dynamo at Giants Stadium to discuss issues surrounding the club. From this forum, several questions were raised by members of the focus group. Recently, our Managing Director Erik Stover took the time to answer these questions. His answers are below:
1. What is the latest on Red Bull Arena?
Since August, when vertical construction began, there has been significant progress. Work has continued on the erection of structural steel for the lower bowl. Workers have completed the lower bowl structural steel and placement of precast concrete planks for the concourse along the east side. Structural steel has started to close in the lower bowl along the north and south sides of the stadium with placement of precast plank for the north side concourse scheduled to start in the next week. Preparation work continues in the West Building for the placement of concrete floors.
Make sure you check out www.redbullarena.us and click on the “Webcam” link for real-time updates.
2. What does Red Bull have in store for the team on the field?
Obviously, this has been a rollercoaster season for us, but we should all be proud that we are still in a good position to qualify for the playoffs. Juan Carlos Osorio and Jeff Agoos have done a nice job retooling the roster during the season and we believe we have a core group of players to build around.
With the open designated player slot that we have (due to Claudio Reyna’s retirement), we will be aggressive in shopping for top tier talent after the season is over. We have to be careful to find a player who has the right mix of talent, fan recognition and commitment to MLS. We have clearly struggled with this process over the years, so we will be extremely careful and meticulous when signing a player. It is difficult to speculate on who this might be, but we hope to make a big splash during one of the next three transfer windows.
Additionally, Red Bull has made an enormous financial investment into soccer worldwide. We have academy teams here in the New York/New Jersey market and our training center will be completed in 2009. Red Bull Salzburg has a large academy system and there are new academies being developed in Brazil and Ghana, with further expansion expected. The goal is to identify and develop our own talent and to promote those players to the first teams. It will take time to see the fruits of this labor, but the potential is enormous and we are very excited with the future.
3. Where can we find more news and content from the team? The website doesn’t have good information.
We recognize that our website is not ideal and our options have been limited with our current contract with the MLS Network. We will be taking greater control of newyorkredbulls.com and also be putting in new human resources to the project so that the site constantly has fresh and updated information.
Right now, we understand that our supporters do not feel that our site gives them the information they want in a timely and unique fashion. The new site will be a huge step towards our goal of making newyorkredbulls.com the online destination to stay up on everything about the club.
4. Why can’t you get rid of the football lines at Giants Stadium?
Trust me, we are just as frustrated by this as you are. When the new FieldTurf field was installed a couple of years ago, it was put in with permanent football lines. The MetroStars-Red Bulls argued vehemently against this but our contract with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) does not allow us to block such a decision.
The NJSEA does a nice job of painting over the lines during the first half of our season, but once football season starts, we have no control over this issue. It is very distracting for our fans and our players. It is one of the reasons why we have been so aggressive in pushing forward our stadium project.
5. Getting in and out of Giants Stadium is very difficult. What can be done about the traffic?
I wish I could give you a better answer on this one, but there’s not much we can do. There is obviously a lot of construction going on at the Meadowlands which has led to blocked roads and closed lots. My best suggestion is to arrive at the game early to give you plenty of time to navigate the highways and parking lot.
The good news is that Red Bull Arena is located about three blocks from the Harrison Path Station. This will be an excellent alternative to driving and one that we strongly recommend. In addition, Newark Penn Station is just on the other side of the Passaic River from our site. With so many great public transportation options, we expect the trip into Red Bull Arena to be far more convenient and affordable for our fans. More information on the rail services is available on the stadium website, www.redbullarena.us.
Tags: Uncategorized
October 13, 2008 at 11:20 AM |
Um, while I do agree that the current roster is the result of hard–and good–work by the entire organization, that DP slot disappears after next season. If we use it and Angel sticks around (something I’m not sure I would do were I him given he does on average three times the work on the pitch that his closest teammate does), that leaves us with two DPs and one available slot after next season. Maybe pointless to even worry about now, but still.
And the whole “next three transfer windows” thing really bugs me. Why? Because if we don’t get a DP in the next two we’ll only have one slot left. And if we don’t get a DP in the NEXT transfer window we are looking at a late summer acquisition at best. I really don’t understand this at all. It is painfully obvious that said DP simply MUST be acquired in the next transfer window in order to maximize it. Otherwise we are waisting it by getting only a partial season out of the player. Beckham signed in the winter, there is no reason our next DP can’t do the same.
This team is frustrating.
October 13, 2008 at 12:41 PM |
Cough*Thierry Henry* Cough Cough
October 13, 2008 at 3:03 PM |
umm here is a hint to get
THIERRY HENRY
other websites for METRO FAITHFUL ARE:
metrofanatic.com and soccerbyives.net
October 13, 2008 at 3:05 PM |
THIERRY HENRY COME TO NEW JERSEY
October 13, 2008 at 7:22 PM |
You better root your arses off for Barcelona this season because if they win it would give him a better reason to come here.
October 13, 2008 at 7:25 PM |
Win the league this season I mean, he would have won pretty much everything where ever he played.
October 15, 2008 at 10:04 AM |
What’s the latest on the Hanover training center?