The official statement from the Battery:
The Charleston Battery were contacted by the Post & Courier yesterday concerning the future of our club and whether or not we would be remaining at MUSC Health Stadium on Daniel Island for the foreseeable future, to which we gave the following response -
"If there were an opportunity to move the team downtown Charleston where the club started, the Charleston Battery would be extremely excited. The possibilities to benefit the local community and the energy it would bring to the nation's longest running professional soccer team are invigorating"
“There is an ongoing dialogue with a number of parties concerning securing the best long term future for the Battery in Charleston. At this moment in time, we have no further comment - if and when there is anything further to report we will announce.”
I know CBSC parents were caught unaware by the news. There were whispers last summer that the Battery were going bankrupt. While they have tried to deny that, this news certainly lends credence to the whispers.
Where downtown could they hope to go, except back to Stoney field? That field is set to be improved and turned into turf.
http://www.live5news.com/2018/11/05/downtown-charleston-football-field-see-major-renovation/However, CCSD owns that field to my knowledge and no improvements to the infrastructure are included. Outside of Stoney, I do not see a viable home for a professional club on the peninsula. Besides, a new stadium would likely cost more than double the $8.5 million I saw quoted for the current site.
I do not see the silver lining here.
