It's not about the size of the stadium...
- Thread starter RUSK97
- Start date
I obviously haven't sat everywhere but I don't think there are bad sight lines at HPPS. The only thing I would reconfigure would be build and sell out luxury boxes, use that profit to regrade the end zone opposite the students, and shrink the seat size(yes it sucks for us fatties but our seats are much larger than everyone else's).
Are there that many rich people supporting Baylor? It's a smallish private college in Bible Belt Texas. The new McClane Stadium only seats 45k, but it's arguably one of the nicest college stadiums now. So they obviously don't make a ton of revenue from seat sales and B12 revenue is not among the top. So is it all off of private donations?
Regrading the end zone, lowering the field, reducing seat width, and adding luxury boxes, makes the little house 65k+
Only problem is fire code -- otherwise I think it would have already been done
Only problem is fire code -- otherwise I think it would have already been done
We're a generation away at least from needing 65K seats.
The upper deck of the Eastside of the stadium should be removed to make way for luxury and press box expansion above the hale center. There should be a "C shape stand between the current lower and upper deck starting from the southside, extending through the Westside and ending at the north side. This one move can add 15-20k great site line seating that is currently none existing in the stadium. Don't believe me?
The answer is yes.
There is a different vibe in Texas than New Jersey. Part of that is the low tax nature of the state, so people tend to be more generous with their personal dollars. New Jersey tends to have an entitlement attitude – the state should pay for it rather than individuals, particularly because the cost of living is higher. Plus, the Texas schools grind out a lot of folks who made huge money as entrepreneurs, not just in oil and gas, but also in technology, manufacturing and services.
Put another way, people in Texas see their universities as points of pride and economic engines, and support them with their own money. In New Jersey, too many people see the university as just another government agency draining tax dollars.
I think the current stadium size and alignment is fine. Until RU can put 52,000 into the stadium for every home game regardless of opponent and record for a few years straight, there is no need for expansion. They can upgrade on the existing structure if necessary.
I was up in the nosebleed Rutgers section at Beaver Stadium (first time at an away game that wasn't a Pro stadium). I was surprised that the seats could be so close together. Someone's knee was in my back, and my knees were in someone else's back, etc. It was truly uncomfortable. (The rain didn't help.) I have to say, I have been enjoying the "roominess" of our stadium ever since...
If becoming a big-time stadium means giving up the comfort, I don't need a stadium that would resize all of the seating...
If becoming a big-time stadium means giving up the comfort, I don't need a stadium that would resize all of the seating...
Not that we need more seats in the foreseeable future, but this is an interesting concept. But I don't see how you can get 15-20k seats in between the current upper and lower decks. On the east side right now, the Audi Club deck in between the upper and lower tier only seats 1000. Even if it weren't premium seating, I don't see how you could get more than 5k.
Those Penn St seats were tight and uncomfortable. We don't need more seats or to reconfigure anything. We need a full house every game at kick off, including the students and more wins.
Meh - long term TCU and Baylor or in a sweet spot. It wont last. The teams with all of the money (because of the big stadiums) will revive by hiring better coaches.
Look at Michigan - made two bad coaching hires in a row - spends big money to bring in a sure shot - now looks like a top 15 team. How could they do that - because they have enough money to not only fire two coaches mid contract, but to bring in an NFL coach at an NFL salary.
If we ever win, we will expand, just like TCU has and Baylor has. Both are playing in bigger stadiums than they were a decade ago - because winning brings fans. We have a naturall higher level than them because we are a the only state school in a more densely populated state- we just need to win to show it off.
That's the odd thing. Both TCU and Baylor are smallish private schools without humongous alumni bases. AND Baylor's new McClane Stadium is only 45k capacity while its previous facility was 60k I believe. They both pay their head coaches in excess of 3.5 million. Their top paid assistants make almost as much as Flood.
Where the heck is this money coming from??
BTW, the old thinking was if you're a private school not named ND or SC, your days of top 25 competitiveness were over. Now we've got TCU, BU, NW, Stanford, Duke in addition to ND.
The key is that they are private schools in Texas.
1. They don't have to justify spending the money, they just spend it how they see fit.
2. It costs a 1/3 the money to build down there as up here because of union wages.
3. It's Texas, they love their football.
Probably from the large number of rich Texans who end up at those schools and continue to be rich after they graduate.
I agree - the paradigm seems to have changed. I suspect that TV has alot to do with it. Back in the day you needed to be very popular to get on TV - which generally helped good teams in large states with big schools.
Now everyone is on TV. So if you are a smart kid who is also good at FB - you no longer have to go to some lowly state school. You can go to NW or Stanford or Duke - which are top 15 schools.
TCU and Baylor probably benefit from being in such a recruit heavy state.
