New Downtown Boise Stadium is Still an Option
Here we go again. It's on, it's off, it back on. The Boise Hawks and the plans for a brand new downtown stadium location are starting to pick up the heat again. So what's changed?
11 acres of prime real estate just a walking distance away from the heart of Downtown Boise could soon become the NEW home of the Boise Hawks and an unnamed Pro level soccer team. Yes, we have talked about this before, and the idea had been poo-pooed by many business leaders around the Treasure Valley. The tides look like they are a changing thanks to the Atlanta based Greenstone Properties. The new digs would house the NEW Memorial Stadium and be the home for the Boise Hawks who have spent over a few decades out on Glenwood near the Fairgrounds...AND could be the new home pitch to a pro soccer team, the first in the Treasure Valley.
According to the IdahoStatesman, the new project would "would generate almost $1 billion worth of investment and lead to the creation of 1,240 jobs over a 22-year period starting at the groundbreaking." This is HUGE and would be a big advantage, in my opinion to the city. Let's be very real, if just for a minute. People are moving from out of state, from really big cities and making our once small town an up and coming metropolis that should be entertaining our tax paying sports loving festival going Boiseans with top-notch performers on and off the sports fields. The new stadium would do just that! We are growing, so let's not stay 10 years behind everyone else. So the BIG question, how much should all of this cost? Anticipated cost somewhere between $33 million and $45 million big ones. That is what is making it hard for some to swallow the thought of adding to an already growing downtown scene.
For those who are concerned about the new project will have a chance to voice their worries 3 different times around the city.
Oct. 5: 6-8 p.m., Boise Centre, 850 W. Front St.
Oct. 10: 5:30-7:30 p.m., Payette Brewing, 733 S. Pioneer St.
Oct. 16: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., City Hall Lobby, 150 N. Capitol Blvd.
What do you think about it? Should they build it?