A Sea Of Red

I couldn't figure out where to post this, so I put it here.
Was anyone at The Flames Club Luncheon yesterday?
A friend was there and told me that Barber was there after being out sick for quite a while. He aparently got up and said that he knew there had been a lot of questions and comments about possible athletic facility improvements. He said that there had been some progress since he came, but it was time for the next big step. Then my friend says he said that within the next 2 or 3 weeks he would have a shocking announcement re: facility improvements. Nothing specific, but maybe Sly's hints are here after like a year. My friend asked him and KK for more details but only got that it was really big.

Anyone else hear anything?

Can I play "guess the improvements". REALLY BIG would mean:
1. Baseball Stadium
2. Football Stadium enlargement
3. New seats and configuration in the Vines Center.
4. Better stadium-like seating for soccer

(for anyone lurking and accusing me of leaking inside information...this is all a GUESS).

It has to be the addition to Williams Stadium, the only other thing is a new convocation center, but that would be more of a University improvement than just an athletic improvement.

My friend tried to get them to narrow it down by guessing, but they just kept it broad. I'm thinking this is a bigger announcement than 1 facility. I'm most likely wrong, but that's my opinion!

Fumblerooskies wrote:Can I play "guess the improvements". REALLY BIG would mean:
1. Baseball Stadium
2. Football Stadium enlargement
3. New seats and configuration in the Vines Center.
4. Better stadium-like seating for soccer

(for anyone lurking and accusing me of leaking inside information...this is all a GUESS).

I don't think in any rumor ive ever heard a baseball stadium has ever been brought up......

Rocketfan wrote:

Fumblerooskies wrote:Can I play "guess the improvements". REALLY BIG would mean:
1. Baseball Stadium
2. Football Stadium enlargement
3. New seats and configuration in the Vines Center.
4. Better stadium-like seating for soccer

(for anyone lurking and accusing me of leaking inside information...this is all a GUESS).

I don't think in any rumor ive ever heard a baseball stadium has ever been brought up......

Like I said...just a guess...not even an educated guess.

Only place I've heard anything about a baseball stadium was Storm saying he had been promised one within 5 years on a radio interview!

what would you guys like it to be? I can't decide. I personally would want stadium expansion for football, but I think our baseball stadium is kind of embarassing so that would be pretty cool. Same with soccer/track.

Rocketfan wrote:

Fumblerooskies wrote:Can I play "guess the improvements". REALLY BIG would mean:
1. Baseball Stadium
2. Football Stadium enlargement
3. New seats and configuration in the Vines Center.
4. Better stadium-like seating for soccer

(for anyone lurking and accusing me of leaking inside information...this is all a GUESS).

I don't think in any rumor ive ever heard a baseball stadium has ever been brought up......

We've all seen the Liberty 5-year plan, and, with the exception of the football enlargements, none of these others have come up. Baseball just got its improvement; soccer isn't a revenue-sport (and neither is baseball, I'd imagine); and the Vines Center, while plausible, isn't as cost-efficient as more football seats.

Here's a question: What can they do with the baseball staduim? They've got a somewhat new building on one side, so no expansion there. They've got a road going in on the backside so no seats there. And they've got a road behind the current seats so no expanding them back. They can pretty much just extend the current bleachers down to outfield. And they just sunk a bunch of money into those lights so it's not like they can just build one somewhere else on campus.

Did you guys not even look at the five year plan? That road is getting closed when the perimeter road is finished. They're building concessions and more seats there that stretch around behind home plate and down the line, along with a press box. We've already had a thread on here about The Vines getting renovated. The five-year plan shows that Williams is getting expanded. We know all of this stuff is happening. The announcement is probably just specifics and what is happening when.

LUconn wrote:Here's a question: What can they do with the baseball staduim? They've got a somewhat new building on one side, so no expansion there. They've got a road going in on the backside so no seats there. And they've got a road behind the current seats so no expanding them back. They can pretty much just extend the current bleachers down to outfield. And they just sunk a bunch of money into those lights so it's not like they can just build one somewhere else on campus.

for one of my class projects, I photoshopped what a concourse & seats would look like at the right field fence. it was pretty sweet...similar to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park seats in RF.

http://www.dbulls.com/stadium/seating_map.html

blwall1416 wrote:

LUconn wrote:Here's a question: What can they do with the baseball staduim? They've got a somewhat new building on one side, so no expansion there. They've got a road going in on the backside so no seats there. And they've got a road behind the current seats so no expanding them back. They can pretty much just extend the current bleachers down to outfield. And they just sunk a bunch of money into those lights so it's not like they can just build one somewhere else on campus.

for one of my class projects, I photoshopped what a concourse & seats would look like at the right field fence. it was pretty sweet...similar to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park seats in RF.

http://www.dbulls.com/stadium/seating_map.html

Did you happen to work with Dan Ferrin on that? Ive seen photoshop drawings of that dating at least 5 years back.

SuperJon wrote:Did you guys not even look at the five year plan? That road is getting closed when the perimeter road is finished. They're building concessions and more seats there that stretch around behind home plate and down the line, along with a press box. We've already had a thread on here about The Vines getting renovated. The five-year plan shows that Williams is getting expanded. We know all of this stuff is happening. The announcement is probably just specifics and what is happening when.

adding a few seats into the side of a hill and calling something a "stadium" i think is where the difference of opinion exists.

Rocketfan wrote:Did you happen to work with Dan Ferrin on that? Ive seen photoshop drawings of that dating at least 5 years back.

Ha, ha, ha. Good call.

Actually, now that you mention it, I remember it wasn't my project, but my friend, Carley's. Dan was one of her partners in that project. Sports Marketing class, IIRC.

SJ is right. once the road behind worthington is closed with some excavating you can put a nice stadium there. the vines work is supposed to be done this summer with replacing the seats and painting, and obviously williams stadium expansion. the only one i can verify is the vines seating, but im sure the other could quite possibly be the football/baseball projects.

blwall1416 wrote:

Rocketfan wrote:Did you happen to work with Dan Ferrin on that? Ive seen photoshop drawings of that dating at least 5 years back.

Ha, ha, ha. Good call.

Actually, now that you mention it, I remember it wasn't my project, but my friend, Carley's. Dan was one of her partners in that project. Sports Marketing class, IIRC.

Yeah ive seen those drawings and when we both worked for Proto there was even some prelim work done to get a cost associated with the project and possible people to pitch it too i believe.

it does say that raod will be closed, but how will you get to that parking lot? And the small additions seem to incorporate that road being there. I'm sure the school would love nothing more that to get rid of that money pit of a road but that's the type of thing that with this school I say, I'll beleive it when I see it.

Gentlemen, If I cared about this sort of thing I would have shared my great insider knowledge with you sooner. The announcement is that they are putting a dome similar to the vines center over Williams Stadium by the 1st home game this year!

Dr. Phil, you're nuts.
Sly is this the Second Deck that you've hinted to before?

I would speculate they would fill in the scoreboard endzone before adding a 2nd deck...and find/build a new place to locate the current tenants of the old fieldhouse.

couldn't they just build on top of the field house? I would love to be in the front row dumping my coke all over them as they walk into the locker room.

I say they announce the purchase of River Ridge Mall, and are building a new 15,000 seat Civic Center multipurpose facility there. Basketball, along with convocation will be held there. (I doubt it would happen, that would be pretty cool IMO!!)

belcherboy wrote:I say they announce the purchase of River Ridge Mall, and are building a new 15,000 seat Civic Center multipurpose facility there. Basketball, along with convocation will be held there. (I doubt it would happen, that would be pretty cool IMO!!)

and then we purchase the railway so we can shuttle students back and forth

LUconn wrote:couldn't they just build on top of the field house? I would love to be in the front row dumping my coke all over them as they walk into the locker room.

And I'll be on the 50 yard line watching you escorted out of the stadium.