First off, I speak for everybody when I talk about the area directly outside the arena. This is the area that the first time fans, first see when they walk up to the stadium. And it's a horrible first impression, when the first thing they see is two blocks of dead grass, mud, or in some cases construction machinery that coincidentally is present, despite no real construction seeming to be going on. We've heard of what seem like fairy tale stories of mall plazas and restaurants, but we don't have time for those right now. We just need to fix the problems we have, and we need to fix them now. So what I propose for outside the arena is flattening out the land on both sides of Riverbed Drive. On one side you could make a grass soccer field, and the other side making a proper parking lot. Not a gravel parking lot, I'm talking real cement parking lot. For the grass field, nothing crazy, doesn't have to be an expensive turf field (but of course not opposed if the money is there), just a simple grass field where the kids can play, and maybe a small little shack to the side where the soccer moms and dads can chat and maybe share a bit to eat. Can't you imagine, a warm summer evening with the children playing 11v11, fantasizing about being Thierry Henry as they score a goal against their friends, as therr parents look on in their fold up chairs, in the freshly cut grass, as they gaze at Red Bull Arena just ahead! That's the image I want for my Red Bull Arena! Instead of walking across a worn down road into the stadium, where the only pregame entertainment is a couple corny activities that attract a hoard of people and no real enjoyment.

My other problem consists of something inside the arena, the consessions. Now while the concessions have been heavily criticized in the past, I never saw them as quite the problem in the early years of Red Bull Arena. But it just seems as though, as the years have trugged on, things have gotten drastically worse! I cringe when I hear of stories of fans leaving their seats at halftime to grab a quick bite to eat and a snack, and not returning until the 65th minute. Many of these fans, first timers, and after an already dreadful pregame experience, and now an atrocity at the concessions, you bettet hope the on the field performance was one for the ages if you hope for those fans one day returning. And that's why, when I continue to hear about this highly anticipated friendly between New York Red Bulls and Arsenal, I can't help but think how this could be such the perfect storm...or a very badly missed opportunity! So I ask for Red Bull to listen to this message, listen to your fans, and here's to a better rest of 2014, and beyond!