Stadium

[twillybull]

Okay, Steel went up about 150% since then, concrete inflation isn't that far off... copper increase was even worse (gotta have that for plumbing those nice water fountains).  Add in construction cost elevations to everything else down, construction cost should be up around 230-260 million now.

[Sunil]

uh oh....methinks Jim is working with his "crack team of researchers" formulating an in-depth response any minute now...... C'mon Jim, we're all waiting with baited breath...

[Orlando Bull]

Stadium threads are fun...

Well, I don't "know" anything, but...

- Though we will likely have good numbers this year, we need to see what it is like for the long haul. Tampa fan's aren't necessarily loyal. If the boys start losing, will everyone still be there?

- Softball and Baseball are first.. There was a fundraiser for the softball stadium a while back on here, and they are still working to get the money for that. If you don't think they need it, go to a game this year, it's depressing for a program that is consistently in the top 25 and has been for the last 10 or so years (how long has Eriksen been there?)

- It's hard to say "we're going to spend $300 million on a stadium" when your classes are excessively large, and there is a hiring freeze at the school. USF is above all, a University, and until the economy turns a little bit, I don't see the University making that move. While there could be behind the scenes things going on, it would be a PR nightmare to announce anything (including softball and baseball probably)

- CJL isn't ready for a stadium, not that he can say he is and it will happen, but it definitely won't happen until he is ready to push it. When he starts making a push, the money will start coming in a little faster.

Again, I don't have any inside knowledge, and I want a stadium as bad as anyone, but logically, these seem like current obstacles.

My suggestion is that we all make any push that we can to get Coach Eriksen a softball stadium. That will be the beginning of  bringing the facilities up to the standards that our athletes and coaches deserve.

[USF Bulls Football]

Nice post Orlando, agree with everything you said. I'd add that Basketball has some "goings on" in the near future as well.

[cmhatter]

i'd like to see that updated as well. hopefully someone with some sort of inside informaiton can enlighten us.

[Guest]

Okay.  UBF was right, the info was a bit dated -- the post was from 2006...  So I have updated it... just not sure about the current lease with TSA (see that thread for details).

---

OB is right about a few things:

USF will not raise a penny for an On Campus Football Stadium until the other capital campaign is completed:

* New Basketball practice facility

* Practice football fields

* New Softball stadium

* Renovated baseball stadium

* New Soccer Stadium

* New Track

* New Varsity Tennis facility

CJL loves Raymond James stadium, one of the best in the NFL ... and the BEST playing surface in the league as voted by players...  He has called it one of his best recruiting tools.

As for the bandwaggoners...  USF won't be looking to build a stadium before the fan base is ready... maybe 30,000 season ticket holders... selling out RayJay for a whole year... those kind of bench marks.

---

There are obvious benefits to having an on campus stadium... but the costs are currently a bit higher than USF can afford, given the other priorities and relatively low cost of playing in a state of the art facility.

[Guest]

i'd like to see that updated as well. hopefully someone with some sort of inside informaiton can enlighten us.

No inside information, sorry.  I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

>  :      ;D  ;D  ;D  ;D

[USF Bulls Football]

Thanks Jim, just lookin out for the people

[USFishin]

Okay.  UBF was right, the info was a bit dated -- the post was from 2006...  So I have updated it... just not sure about the current lease with TSA (see that thread for details).

---

OB is right about a few things:

USF will not raise a penny for an On Campus Football Stadium until the other capital campaign is completed:

* New Basketball practice facility

* Practice football fields

* New Softball stadium

* Renovated baseball stadium

* New Soccer Stadium

* New Track

* New Varsity Tennis facility

CJL loves Raymond James stadium, one of the best in the NFL ... and the BEST playing surface in the league as voted by players...  He has called it one of his best recruiting tools.

As for the bandwaggoners...  USF won't be looking to build a stadium before the fan base is ready... maybe 30,000 season ticket holders... selling out RayJay for a whole year... those kind of bench marks.

---

There are obvious benefits to having an on campus stadium... but the costs are currently a bit higher than USF can afford, given the other priorities and relatively low cost of playing in a state of the art facility.

That's definitely next year.  We're already over 26k and next year's home schedule is awesome!  Over 30k next year no questions.

[Paisa el Toro]

Jim explained that the lower bowl would have to be sold out for the entire year, prob in about five years. Drum roll please.... dadadadada- looks like we are there folks.

Honestly, we'd have to consistently sell-out the lower bowl for 5 straight years before we even start discussing revenue sources for an oncampus stadium. Five years from now, we may start doing serious feasability studies, but how about we just get through this year and see what happens?