When will the BULLS get an on campus stadium?

[VeryBullish]

Umm thank you for raising that point. We are getting ahead of ourselves talking about an OCS when we don't even have adequate playing fields for any team let alone the football team. Isn't half the O-Line out with injuries? Didn't Colby Erksin tear his ACL on the intramural fields? Building an OCS before we upgrade our athletic facilities (especially renovated the interior of the SunDome) is like paying $50k+ for a car when the house you live in is worth $60k.

[bull2saintleo]

M-A-B ...

Rentschler Field -- where the University of Connecticut Huskies play (in Hartford, 30 miles from their campus) holds exactly 40,000 people and cost more than $90 million to build.

So.

Since you seem to have answers for everything, please tell me how on God's green earth you expect to get a stadium of the same size for half the price??

- Note about UConn's stadium:  The original stadium funding plan was to assist in funding a new venue for the New England Patriots in Hartford.  When plans fell through and the Pats owner decided to build the stadium next door to the old one in Foxboro, Mass., Hartford/State of Conn. had a good chunk of dough to put the money down for UConn's Rentschler Field.

- Naming rights are almost becoming mainstream for any sporting venue this day and age, and college football is finally getting that message.  Since most teams have prior historical names for their stadiums, if a naming rights deal comes to play, usually the old name stays and the new corporate name is added to it (as in the case of Texas Tech's Jones AT&T Stadium.  Even Louisville's Papa John's Cardinal Stadium isn't a corporate-only name.  There are very few college football-primary stadiums built before the 1990's that have corporate names.  The ones that come to mind are Syracuse's Carrier Dome and Troy's Movie Gallery Stadium.

-Of the stadiums built since Louisville's Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, only 2 did not have corporate names:

- SMU's Gerald Ford Stadium (not named for the former president, but a Dallas Businessman who donated a large sum of money)

- UConn's Rentschler Field (named for the old airfield the stadium now sits on)

Expect naming rights to be tied to our new stadium, it could definitley assist in the funding of an OCS, we just need to get financial back from elsewhere as well.

[Guest JulmisteForPrez]

Yep.....yep.....all true.

That's why we have to learn to love pirates for at least a few more years.  Not arguing that point.

My main point of contention, ONCE AGAIN, is the "Build it like Ray-Jay or I don't want it" bufoonery.

[PitBull]

Yep.....yep.....all true.

That's why we have to learn to love pirates for at least a few more years.  Not arguing that point.

My main point of contention, ONCE AGAIN, is the "Build it like Ray-Jay or I don't want it" bufoonery.

exactly.  which is why the whole "we're the 11 year old who is trying to move out of mommy and daddy's house" argument is ridiculous too.  who cares how old we are, we can get it done if it was our priority.. if this was the case, rutgers (who absolutely sucked when they got their new stadium) was the old 100 year old man who had no job outside of working at burger king and wanted to move out of mommy and daddy's house.  I've been there when it 1st opened and it is MORE than adequate (bleechers and all).

[Guest]

Your sources must be wrong, because I'm never wrong. (kidding, of course)

Well then, if Louisville can do it, then so can we.  It might take us longer to do so, but we can do it.

And why not sell the naming rights like we're trying to do with the Dome of the Sun?

Now, I will agree with you there.  We can and WE WILL build an OCS.  The typical lifespan of a stadium or arena is 30-40 years.  RayJay turns 10 next year... (the Sun Dome, by the way, is almost 30).  Let USF finish building the other facilities, which won't take that much longer a year or three, tops.

Then you'll see a "feasibility committee" created -- much the same way the whole football program was started.  The committee will conclude that yes, it is feasible to have an OCS and will spell out how to make it happen.  At which time, USF will seek permission to build and the committee will turn into the capital campaign committee to raise $$ for the stadium.  Once enough $$ is raised, they will have a groundbreaking and you'll see the construction cranes.

Yes, it takes time.  USF is a public university, so there is some red tape involved.  Moreover, USF has also established other priorities that have to be completed first.

In my estimation, you will see a 50-60,000 seat stadium or near the Tampa Campus sometime between 2012 and 2016.  By that time, there will be more Bulls Club members, more season ticket holders, and maybe a few sell outs at Raymond James.

[Cardo4]

Once again we have only sold 18,400 season tickets so I kinda think the condition of the stadium (Pirate Village along with 24 K urinals) can't be dismissed at this point.  Sometimes the truth hurts. 

[Guest]

Yep.....yep.....all true.

That's why we have to learn to love pirates for at least a few more years.  Not arguing that point.

My main point of contention, ONCE AGAIN, is the "Build it like Ray-Jay or I don't want it" bufoonery.

You have to understand that a large segment of the people who attend the games want some comforts.  Seatbacks being the most important of all.  Cupholders and arm rests would be nice.  The student areas could be benches, fit more in that way.  (Sidebar: when my father was at Michigan state - they would sell 42 tickets per row for big games, all bench seating.  The benches only had 40 seats per row, tho.)

There will have to be some kind of club seating if you expect people to make the large donations necessary and vital to the program.  Also, selling sky boxes can help pay for some of the cost of the stadium.

Sure, we don't need the whole "pirates cove" facade... or the upper deck, for that matter.  But we don't want to build the Citrus Bowl or the Orange Bowl, just to save a little cash.

[Triple B]

who cares how old we are, we can get it done if it was our priority..

Exactly ..... and the facts are that it's NOT a priority and doesn't NEED to be a priority at this time, so stop all the teeth gnashing about not having one...... and WHEN the time comes to build one, it won't need to be replica of RayJay but it is going to need to be more luxurized than the Brighthouse Fryng Pan.

[Knight_Light]

Building an OCS now that USF could afford (which wouldn't be much of one) would set the program back not move it forward.  Maybe you should stay at home with the folks a little longer before you move out and have the home foreclosed on. 

Yeah, because that's how all the big-time programs did it, right?

They built a palace for their first stadiums, right?

Uhhhhhhh, yeah.........no.

Many stadiums in the Big 10 and other BCS conferences were first built in the 1920's and 1930's...and look MUCH different today...vs what they looked like on opening day.

Heck...even Florida Field and Doak Campbell Stadium look MUCH different today ...vs their opening day.

Here's what FSU's Doak Campbell Stadium looked like on opening day from the 1950's:

http://fpc.dos.state.fl.us/commerce/c014204.jpg

Bottom line...msot schools "grow into" their own stadiums...and continue to upgrade/expand/improve them every decade...while in the meantime...collecting all the REVENUE that these stadiums help bring in...(from donations to sky box sales to club seating to ad revenue, etc..)

UCF Athletic Village Today:

[Knight_Light]

M-A-B ...

Rentschler Field -- where the University of Connecticut Huskies play (in Hartford, 30 miles from their campus) holds exactly 40,000 people and cost more than $90 million to build.

So.

Since you seem to have answers for everything, please tell me how on God's green earth you expect to get a stadium of the same size for half the price??

Some of that cost (which the State Legislature of Connecticut paid 100% of the total cost of the Stadium...UCONN didn't spend one dime on that stadium) was for "clean-up/prep work" since the previous site was a former Engine plant...with a lot of hazardous waste.

Just like UL had to use a good portion of their $60 Million it took to build Papa John back in '97-'98 was for clean-up of the former rail yard site that PJ sits on today.

UCF was fortunate that so little $$$ went to prep work since UCF built BHNS right on top of their former practice fields which required zero clean-up and so little prep.

UCF's Athletic Village Today: