SEC Athletics Facilities Race

[NoNC4Tubs]

Wow, they're not wasting any time.

Why are they digging up the middle of the field?

[Chic-Hog-Oh]

Why are they digging up the middle of the field?

Sometimes it's hard to know exactly WHAT the people at Texas A&M are doing.....

[harley spoon]

Playing field is being lowered six feet and moved sixteen feet south. 

[Chic-Hog-Oh]

Playing field is being lowered six feet and moved sixteen feet south.

I guess that's easier than raising the entire stadium six feet and moving it 16 feet further north.

[NoNC4Tubs]

I guess that's easier than raising the entire stadium six feet and moving it 16 feet further north.

Beat me to it.

I get the lowering part, but why North 16 feet? When they built the place, did they not center the press box to the fifty yard line or something? 

[Chic-Hog-Oh]

Beat me to it.

I get the lowering part, but why North 16 feet? When they built the place, did they not center the press box to the fifty yard line or something? 

Hmmm....maybe allowing for the curvature of the earth?

[harley spoon]

Beat me to it.

I get the lowering part, but why North 16 feet? When they built the place, did they not center the press box to the fifty yard line or something? 

90% of the entire stadium is being torn down over the two-year construction period.  Only the north end zone (built in 1999) is really remaining.  All seats are being widened (axxes have grown since 1927), huge number of suites and premium seating being added.  South end zone is being added.  Corners being bowled in.  Lowering of field allows the above to happen and to enhance sight lines for all.  Also the lowered field and bowl should increase volume significantly.  Incremental cost of increasing bleacher capacity is low so total capacity of actual seats is going from 82,000 to 102,500.  31,000 student tickets issued to student body of 54,000....still students are turned away for season tix.  New seating sold out immediately and there is a waiting line....even some existing season ticket holders could not get new season tix for 2015.  Will continue to sell out for big games...probably not for all games (paid attendence yes...butts in seats no.)  Third highest attendence in Kyle Field history against MSU last Saturday.  12,000 aggies a year graduating...3,000 a year departing this world.     $450M total cost.   Will be 109,000 for one year only next year when south end zone is added before east side is torn down and refitted with premium seats.   Kind of fun to watch it live (especially from the north end zone camera): 
http://kylefield.com/constructioncams

[NaturalStateReb]

Artist's renderings of the new Tad Pad at Ole Miss, set to replace the current Sad Pad in January 2016.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[NoNC4Tubs]

90% of the entire stadium is being torn down over the two-year construction period.  Only the north end zone (built in 1999) is really remaining. 

Where did you get that drivel?

If that were true, then why lower the field? Simply build the new stadium further out. 

[harley spoon]

Existing buildings....more premium seating closer to field.

[NoNC4Tubs]

Existing buildings....more premium seating closer to field.

The bleachers will have to be much steeper than it is now.

[Inhogswetrust]

A&M breaks ground on its new $80M equestrian facility:

http://www.aggieathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205708282

80 million for that? That's a bunch of horse hockey................................

[Inhogswetrust]

90% of the entire stadium is being torn down over the two-year construction period.  Only the north end zone (built in 1999) is really remaining.  All seats are being widened (axxes have grown since 1927), huge number of suites and premium seating being added.  South end zone is being added.  Corners being bowled in.  Lowering of field allows the above to happen and to enhance sight lines for all.  Also the lowered field and bowl should increase volume significantly.  Incremental cost of increasing bleacher capacity is low so total capacity of actual seats is going from 82,000 to 102,500.  31,000 student tickets issued to student body of 54,000....still students are turned away for season tix.  New seating sold out immediately and there is a waiting line....even some existing season ticket holders could not get new season tix for 2015.  Will continue to sell out for big games...probably not for all games (paid attendence yes...butts in seats no.)  Third highest attendence in Kyle Field history against MSU last Saturday.  12,000 aggies a year graduating...3,000 a year departing this world.     $450M total cost.   Will be 109,000 for one year only next year when south end zone is added before east side is torn down and refitted with premium seats.   Kind of fun to watch it live (especially from the north end zone camera): 
http://kylefield.com/constructioncams

All that and yet they are still the aggies...............................

[jbcarol]

How's the addition to the stadium coming? Is there a buzz and demand for those new seats for next year?

The renovation to Davis Wade is on schedule to be complete by opening day next season. The demand for the new seats has been high. Mississippi State sold out all of the box seats and only a few loge seats remain. The construction in the north end zone has come a long way, but still has even further to go. It doesn't look like much, but MSU officials are excited about the results it will bring.

Mike Bonner is the new State beat writer for the Jackson Clarion-Ledger.

[jbcarol]

]] .com/robbies-hog-blog/arkansas-break-ground-academic-center-early-next-year]Construction of Arkansas' indoor baseball/track facility is underway with completion set for next summer. The Razorbacks will break ground on the long-awaited basketball practice facility early next month, too.

Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long has now revealed it won't be much longer before construction on the third athletic facilities project begins.

Long said the Razorbacks have plans to break ground on the Student-Athlete Success Center in early 2014. Long announced those plans — without setting a specific date for the ground breaking — during the beam signing ceremony for the baseball/track facility on Tuesday afternoon.

[jbcarol]

MrSEC on the projected future of SEC football stadiums

The SEC announced in May that it had taken notice and created the "Working Group on Fan Experience."  That team of SEC administrators found that cell and Wi-Fi service needed to be upgraded at each stadium (at a cost of about $2 million per).  They decided more replays were needed inside stadium.  Student attendance would have to be improved.  The quality of games was also a topic of discussion (which gets back to our old push for a nine-game conference slate).

In Santa Clara — where the San Francisco 49ers will soon be moving — the new stadium under construction is at the forefront of technology, too.  In addition to massive boxes and suites for the wealthy, the 49ers new home is being built with the 21st century sports fan in mind: (video at link above)

How long before an SEC school decides to replace 10,000 to 20,000 seats with larger, more opulent skyboxes?  How long before a school goes all-in with technology? ...

[jbcarol]

http://kylefield.com/constructioncams

Looks like they could put on a monster demolition derby on Kyle Field.

[jbcarol]

Part of the announcement today detailing plans for the Commonwealth Stadium renovation, which is to be complete for the start of the 2015 season, revealed that stadium capacity will be reduced from 67,000 to 61,000.

The reason is that seats will be removed for such things as more luxury boxes, a new in-stadium recruiting room, etc. That flies in the face of almost all SEC schools, which have expanded football stadiums in the past. Reducing capacity for a more "intimate setting" may be the wave of the future, however.

Also attendance is way down.


Credit: James Crisp

[Hogfaniam]

Part of the announcement today detailing plans for the Commonwealth Stadium renovation, which is to be complete for the start of the 2015 season, revealed that stadium capacity will be reduced from 67,000 to 61,000.

The reason is that seats will be removed for such things as more luxury boxes, a new in-stadium recruiting room, etc. That flies in the face of almost all SEC schools, which have expanded football stadiums in the past. Reducing capacity for a more “intimate setting” may be the wave of the future, however.

Also attendance is way down.


Credit: James Crisp

how do you make your post a link like that?

[jbcarol]

For those who need help with this....

[ url=http://somesite/]descriptive link[/url]

will make it where you can click on "descriptive link" and get to where you need to go.  Just take out the spaces.

[Inhogswetrust]

Part of the announcement today detailing plans for the Commonwealth Stadium renovation, which is to be complete for the start of the 2015 season, revealed that stadium capacity will be reduced from 67,000 to 61,000.

The reason is that seats will be removed for such things as more luxury boxes, a new in-stadium recruiting room, etc. That flies in the face of almost all SEC schools, which have expanded football stadiums in the past. Reducing capacity for a more "intimate setting" may be the wave of the future, however.

Also attendance is way down.


Credit: James Crisp

They aren't reducing capacity for a "more intimate setting". It is for more suites and thus more large donors. Especially since they can't increase attendance in football. 6,000 less bleacher seats is only about 10% less. Yet suites will bring in more money due to higher donations and ticket prices for them.

[jbcarol]

Story: The University of Kentucky ethos in major athletics facilities has always been bigger is better.

On the basketball side, Kentucky went from Alumni Gym (2,800 seats) to Memorial Coliseum (11,500) to Rupp Arena (23,000-plus).

UK's football program left the 37,500-seat McLean Stadium for 59,000-capacity Commonwealth Stadium in 1973. In 1999, Kentucky expanded Commonwealth to some 67,000.

Now, as part of the $110 million renovation designed to bring Commonwealth into the 21st century, Mitch Barnhart is betting big that smaller will be better for UK football. When it debuts as a finished product for the season opener in 2015, the "new Commonwealth" will have shrunk to around 61,000 total capacity.

"When you guys kick me out of here and I'm gone, you guys can say that knucklehead downsized our stadium," Barnhart said Monday, minutes after UK had unveiled its plans in the Nutter Field House. "But our thought process was, let's make (Commonwealth Stadium) better. More (good) seats. Bring people closer to the action, create a better environment, make the seats more valuable."

Spending $110 million to downsize one's stadium is not as counter-intuitive as it sounds.

On Saturdays this fall, as one has fired up one's 70-inch, high-definition TV to watch the 137 college football games that are broadcast each week, one has had ample opportunity to see vast expanses of open seats in stadiums belonging to football programs far more successful than Kentucky.

Average fan to get "expanded concourses, improved restrooms, and concession stands".

They can rent a chair back.

Target fan will pay the majority of the freight.

[Inhogswetrust]

Story: The University of Kentucky ethos in major athletics facilities has always been bigger is better.

On the basketball side, Kentucky went from Alumni Gym (2,800 seats) to Memorial Coliseum (11,500) to Rupp Arena (23,000-plus).

UK's football program left the 37,500-seat McLean Stadium for 59,000-capacity Commonwealth Stadium in 1973. In 1999, Kentucky expanded Commonwealth to some 67,000.

Now, as part of the $110 million renovation designed to bring Commonwealth into the 21st century, Mitch Barnhart is betting big that smaller will be better for UK football. When it debuts as a finished product for the season opener in 2015, the "new Commonwealth" will have shrunk to around 61,000 total capacity.

Average fan to get "expanded concourses, improved restrooms, and concession stands".

They can rent a chair back.

Target fan will pay the majority of the freight.

Interesting the article said that the reduction in seats primarily will come from the students section.

[jbcarol]

Dan Wolken ‏@DanWolken 2h
Is Georgia the biggest program left without an indoor facility?

[jbcarol]

Construction finally begins on new facility for women's rowing team at University of Alabama

$4.4M building on Manderson Landing will house sculls, support boats

The University of Alabama has begun construction on a new one-story building at Manderson Landing for the women's rowing team. The new building will allow the 8-year-old program to move from temporary structures to a state-of-the-art facility.

"It just allows us to provide an edge," UA Athletics spokesman Roots Woodruff said.

UA is constructing an 11,163- square-foot facility that will include storage space for the team's sculls and support boats. The project also includes a specialized floating dock complex at the park. The program also will have space for offices and indoor training facilities in the new student recreation center in the Presidential Village residential community being built across Jack Warner Parkway, Woodruff said.

The rowing facility will be located on the west side of Manderson Landing, and the floating dock will be accessed from the west side of the landing, according to plans approved by the UA Board of Trustees. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of May 2014, according to Tim Leopard, UA's assistant vice president for construction.

The total budget for the facility at the landing is about $4.4 million and is being financed with UA's Intercollegiate Athletic Quasi-Endowment Funds.

[NoNC4Tubs]

Dan Wolken ‏@DanWolken 2h
Is Georgia the biggest program left without an indoor facility?

Florida has no indoor facility........and proud of it!

[NaturalStateReb]

Interesting the article said that the reduction in seats primarily will come from the students section.

Not really.  Those bums don't contribute.

[Theolesnort]

Not really.  Those bums don't contribute.

You never treat your students badly, they are your future leaders, businessmen, lawyers, doctors and politicians of tomorrow. Especially they are the big contributors of tomorrow. You want them buying season tickets as soon as they graduate or as soon as they can afford it when they leave school. You want them to feel a connection to ole alma mater.

[jbcarol]

UGA's trip to Flowery Branch finally re-ignites indoor facility discussion

The Bulldogs are currently down in Flowery Branch practicing in the Atlanta Falcons' indoor practice facility. That, of course, reignited the discussion about whether or not Georgia should have a similar facility already on its own campus.
Georgia Tech has one, which it was utilizing on Tuesday. And so does almost every other team in the SEC (with the exception of Florida, I think, which used to be the argument against having to have one).

The truth is, the Bulldogs truly are inconvenienced by not having a full 120-yard long, 60-yard wide indoor facility about a half-dozen times a year. But now even Vanderbilt and South Carolina have them. And while the Gamecocks very rarely utilize theirs, I'm told, it's still sitting their as a recruiting advantage they can flaunt every time a prospect makes a visit.

Georgia, of course, has it's "Nalley Multipurpose Facilty," named after the Atlanta car dealer. It was included in the nearly $40 million expanision of Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall a few years back. But it's only 55 yards long by 20 yards wide and useless to conduct a full-scale practice or even to run one live-action pass play.

"It would be wonderful," Richt said of having an indoor faciltu. "I think that would be a great thing. ... South Milledge is closer than Flowery Branch. And we wouldn't have to ask permission to use it."

With Florida's recent tail spin, Georgia is mildly arguably the largest program in college football without an indoor facility.

[NaturalStateReb]

You never treat your students badly, they are your future leaders, businessmen, lawyers, doctors and politicians of tomorrow. Especially they are the big contributors of tomorrow. You want them buying season tickets as soon as they graduate or as soon as they can afford it when they leave school. You want them to feel a connection to ole alma mater.

I wasn't serious.

[NaturalStateReb]

Ole Miss closed on the loan to build the new Tad Pad.

http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-sports/2013/11/ole_miss_closes_loan_on_new_ba.html

[jbcarol]

A&M University officials confirmed that Angel Garcia, 25, died Tuesday afternoon after falling four stories at the Kyle Field construction site.

Several media agencies reported the confirmation around 4 p.m. Tuesday citing an OSHA spokesperson, who said they were investigating a fatal accident at the university.

[jbcarol]

State one of three SEC schools to eclipse stadium capacity for 2013 season

Rank      School   Total Att.   Avg Att.   Stadium Cap.   % Cap.   Games
1   Texas A&M   697,003      87,125        82,589           105.49        8
2   S. Carolina   576,805      82,401        80,250           102.68        7
3   Miss. State   389,868      55,695        55,082           101.11        7

[jbcarol]

WholeHogSports ‏@wholehogsports 2h
Here is a look at the setup for Arkansas' basketball practice facility groundbreaking Saturday pic.twitter.com/tFL5k77BN2

[jbcarol]

Razorback Foundation ‏@RazorFoundation 6m
The future of @RazorbackMBB & @RaozrbackWBB takes a big JUMP w/ Basketball Performance Center groundbreaking at 11a Saturday. #NeverYield

[jbcarol]

Alex Box will have a slightly new look when LSU takes the diamond in the spring. But only on part of the diamond.

The school is in the process of installing artificial turf in foul ground on both sides of the field. The only "real" surface in the non-playing areas will be the pitcher's mounds in each bullpen.

"It's going to give the field a more pristine look," Tigers' coach Paul Mainieri said.

[jbcarol]

Story: Why the griping over UK's Commonwealth Stadium plan is well placed

The amount of agitation over the fact Kentucky is downsizing Commonwealth Stadium from a capacity of 67,606 to some 61,000 in 2015 as part of a $110 million remodeling project continues to fascinate me.

Some Kentucky backers are fuming over the pending loss of the same seats that no one has been using on a consistent basis since 2009.

UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart is betting that smaller crowds at big-time sports events are the 21st century's "new normal."

NFL team owners, for one, seem to read the future in the same way. Of the 31 NFL stadiums (the Giants and Jets share), 18 have seating capacities of less than 70,000.

It is true that in the football-mad Southeastern Conference, the prevailing football ethos always seems to be bigger is best.

While overall attendance at FBS college football games was down some 3 percent nationally at mid-season, the average crowd size in SEC stadiums actually rose from 75,444 in 2012 to 76,193 over the whole of 2013.

At least five SEC schools, Texas A&M (82,589 to 102,500), LSU (92,542 to 100,000), Arkansas (72,000 to 80,000), Missouri (71,009 to 77,000) and Mississippi State (55,082 to 61,337), are now in the process of enlarging their stadiums.

When those expansions are complete, the league will finally have four schools with stadiums that seat 100,000 or more and eight with capacities above 80,000.

Plan is to expand to 68 luxury suites and brand new club and loge-level seating.

[Inhogswetrust]

Florida has no indoor facility........and proud of it!

Yes they do:


9 / 13

"... Now Donovan has a facility that would make a recruit want to start school yesterday. The most aggressive athletic director in the country can be proud of the most striking basketball facility in Division I, and perhaps, in all of basketball."
- Andy Katz, ESPN

SERVICES PROVIDED ON THIS PROJECT:
Architecture,Interior Design
ARCHITECTURE OVERVIEW:
This dynamic facility has complete practice venuesfor both men's and women's varsity basketballteams. More than a collection of spaces, this structure is the centerpiece of the University Athletic Association's plan to build a national championship-caliber program. References to the game of basketball are evident throughout the exterior and interior spaces of the building, making it a showcase for one of America's most popular sports.
CLIENT: University of Florida
COMPLETE: August 2001
SIZE: 48,000 Sq. Ft. of New Construction
LINKS: UF Gatorzone Facilities - Basketball Practice Complex
VIEW

[Inhogswetrust]

Construction finally begins on new facility for women's rowing team at University of Alabama

$4.4M building on Manderson Landing will house sculls, support boats

They are planning to give out snorkels, goggles and miniature oars to all 4 of the season ticket holders.

[jbcarol]

Coming down Limestone Street last night on the way to the UK-Boise State game at Rupp Arena, I actually saw people out on the corner of Limestone and High Street holding up handfuls of tickets. They weren't buying. They were selling.

There's no getting around that, through the first seven homes games, Kentucky basketball attendance is on the decline at Rupp Arena.

All things are relative, of course. Kentucky still draws more fans to an intrasquad scrimmage than most schools do for an actual game.

But blame it on television, or the lack of an enticing home schedule, or a lack of connection with the ever-changing roster or the students — I don't blame the students; they have terrible seats — you can't argue with the numbers that say the attendance at Rupp Arena is declining for the fourth straight year.


2009 was an NIT team in BCG's last season.

[mizzouman]

I've been saying for a couple years now that TV will and has killed attendance on average. 

[CDBHawg]

I've been saying for a couple years now that TV will and has killed attendance on average.

Blackouts are on their way!!!!

[mizzouman]

Blackouts are on their way!!!!

I don't know.  Blackouts are kind of a damn if you do, damn if you don't.  Blackouts will help schools attendance, but hurt TV revenue. 

[jbcarol]

Brian Broussard@broussardbrian
First draft 3D version of South EZ expansion. Hope to have more in the new year. pic.twitter.com/ocI09yJIm3

[jbcarol]

South Carolina

[Chic-Hog-Oh]

South Carolina

SEC workout facility meets "American Pie"?

[jbcarol]

He is the Ball Coach.

[Chic-Hog-Oh]

He is the Ball Coach.

If so, I don't think I'd want to be "under" his tutelage.

[jbcarol]

Regarding the future of bigger basketball arenas:

NCAA.com named Allen Fieldhouse the loudest college basketball arena. The website noted that about 6,000 students sit near the court at Kansas home games. The motto is "Beware the Phog."

The other arenas in the list of five were:

■ 2. Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium. Does anything else need to be said?

■ 3. Syracuse. The Carrier Dome is the nation's largest on-campus site for basketball games.

■ 4. Oklahoma State. Gallagher-Iba Arena aka "The Madison Square Garden of the Plains."

■ 5. New Mexico. The court at "The Pit" sits 37 feet into the ground.

NCAA spokesman Cam Schuh said there was a panel vote taken among NCAA.com staffers and Turner Sports employees, "based on first-person experience".

For the big-is-better crowd (that's you, UK fans), the five loudest arenas have an average capacity of 18,193. Taking the Carrier Dome out of the mix, the four other arenas' average attendance is 14,088.

Factoids to ponder as Lexington and UK officials ponder a nine-figure "re-invention" of Rupp Arena:

■ Allen Fieldhouse was dedicated on March 1, 1955, with a 77-67 victory over Kansas State. Tradition and sentiment reign.

■ Kansas has sold out its last 200 games dating to the 2001-02 season.

■ Kansas' record in Allen Fieldhouse is 703-168. (.807 winning percentage). UK's record in Rupp Arena is 502-62 (.890). So, in this case, bigger is better.

Kentucky is looking to renovate Rupp by putting fat cats who fund a lion's share of the athletic program into luxury suites, opening up more floor seats for more students and less well-heeled season ticket holders, and keeping the overall capacity about the same though the upper deck will have chair seats.

[jbcarol]

SEC Sports ‏@SEC 19 Dec
RT @KTHogs: This week's column on Coach Norm DeBriyn. Razorback Road: A legendary pinch hitting role http://www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=6100&ATCLID=209345386#.UrOCyBfITKE.twitter ...

In the fall of 1969, Coach Wayne Robbins, the Arkansas baseball coach at the time, quit to pursue a political career.  When interim coach Bob "D Altman" Sluzarek stepped down after only one day, DeBriyn, a physical education teacher got the call to be the 10th Razorback baseball coach.

And while this was a tremendous opportunity, the job was nothing like it is today. Arkansas was playing baseball as an independent and the Razorbacks played their games at Fairgrounds Field, a modest pile of dirt located at the Washington County Fairgrounds.

Through the years, DeBriyn literally built the program from the ground up guiding the Razorbacks into the Southwest Conference and to the luxurious George Cole Field. Later as the program blossomed it was his relationships that helped catapult Razorback Baseball into what it is today.

"The success of our baseball program can be directly attributed to Norm DeBriyn," former Arkansas Athletic Director Frank Broyles said. "His long-lasting friendships with the Baum and Walker families made the new stadium possible. They trusted Norm. Trust is the number one factor in every relationship. Baum Stadium stands as a tribute to the work ethic and honesty of Norm DeBriyn."

DeBriyn will receive the Lefty Gomez Award. Today he is the Associate Director for the Razorback Foundation.