Riverhound Stadium deal in the works

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds, now know as "Riverhounds FC" are closing in on a deal with Allegheny County that would put them in their own soccer-specific stadium by the year 2007. The stadium referred to in preliminary designs as "The Beagle Barge" would seat 75,000 and will be located on a floating vessel that would patrol the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers. When asked about the project County Chief Executive Dan Onorato stated "This is a deal that the whole county can get behind, the floating stadium is an ingenious idea. Imagine if you will the 'Beagle Barge' floating down the Mon stopping to host a match between the Braddock PeeWee CornerKickers and Fox Chapel United. This is another way that I'm bringing the communities of the county together. I've always been known as a uniter, not a divider". It is unclear how the barge will produce revenue for the County as the Riverhouds currently only draw a few dozen fans per game but City of Pittsburgh mayor Tom Murphy is fully behind the barge, pledging to raise the city parking tax to 700% to help fund this ambitious project.