[Schfourteenteen]

Seth Curry is leaving.

[jcmanson]

Seth Curry is leaving.

[SuperJon]

Liberty University Director of Athletics Jeff Barber has announced that Liberty will play its 2010 football season opening game on Sept. 4 against St. Francis, Pa., at Lynchburg’s historic City Stadium.

Further details about the game, including season and single game ticketing information, game start time, Flames Club events and parking, will be available by Monday.

Full story

[SuperJon]

Part of the reason for the delay:

Examples of these changes include, an upscale student dining facility that will be available on the club level and conference rooms on the top floor of the tower. The dining area will create a 700-seat banquet facility, the largest in Region 2000. The conference rooms will showcase our campus with unparalleled views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

[Schfourteenteen]

Where were the 24 hour shifts? The snowstorm was in January. Enough time to put some all-nighters in and catch up.

I knew of the contingency plan, but I'm still a bit disappointed that this won't be finished.

[ALAFlamesFan]

I know folks are going to start throwing food at me in a minute but I have to point out:

A week ago the gentleman from LU's athletic dept overseeing construction stared at a channel 13 news camera and said there would only be some painting left. Two frightening options here. 1. He had no idea what he was talking about or 2. he knew exactly how far behind we were and towed the party line all the while laughing at what suckers we were.

Oh well, gonna be a nice place when it is finished. When does phase II start?

Third option: He embellished his resume and we failed to catch it. (too harsh?)

[BJWilliams]

Id go with the first one

(Chucks large honey glazed ham at ALA's head)

[jcmanson]

From the Flames Club:

Flames Club,

Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr and Athletics Director Jeff Barber have announced that our Football season opener on Saturday, 9/4, will be played at historic City Stadium, home to the Liberty Flames Football team from 1973 to 1989.

The delayed grand unveiling of the expanded Williams Stadium will permit the project to be completely finished for our second home game on Saturday, 10/2. Despite continued admirable efforts by Branch & Associates, Inc. and Liberty’s own Department of Planning & Construction, the project suffered with delays from months of record snowfall. In addition, with an eye toward the long-term use of the facility over many decades, improvements were added to the original design that caused some short-term delays but will further enhance what will be among the finest stadiums in all of NCAA Division I FCS Football.

As a result of the change of venue for the first game, season ticket and luxury suite holders will receive a proportionate credit toward their investment. Flames Club members with season tickets will receive preferred seating for the game at City Stadium, and there will be preferred parking and pre-game hospitality based upon the same membership qualifications as would apply at Williams Stadium. Full details will be announced on Monday, 8/9.

The return for one final game at City Stadium will be nostalgic for long-time Flames fans, and permit others to appreciate where the Liberty Football tradition began. The Flames will open the 2010 season as the three-time defending Big South Champions and are expected to be ranked in the FCS Top 25. The support of a growing and dynamic fan base has been critical to the 17-2 home record posted by the Flames over the past three seasons, and we are counting on that same support to help propel the team in their effort to secure the conference’s first automatic playoff bid.

Please stay tuned for more information on Monday, 8/9, about the season opener against St Francis, PA on Saturday, 9/4.

Thank you for supporting Liberty Athletics and Liberty Football---GO FLAMES!

[SuperJon]

Where were the 24 hour shifts? The snowstorm was in January. Enough time to put some all-nighters in and catch up.

With these changes, the 24-hour shifts wouldn't have mattered. There were structural changes and in a building this big, one change causes another change and so on and so forth.

[SuperJon]

Two frightening options here. 1. He had no idea what he was talking about or 2. he knew exactly how far behind we were and towed the party line all the while laughing at what suckers we were.

Third option: He embellished his resume and we failed to catch it. (too harsh?)

Mickey knows his stuff. As of that interview, everything was on schedule. Some of the plans changed after that interview which caused it not to be ready.

[Schfourteenteen]

They made structure changes 7 months into an 8 month project?

[Kolzilla41]

If you read the article, it gives an example

"Examples of these changes include, an upscale student dining facility that will be available on the club level and conference rooms on the top floor of the tower. The dining area will create a 700-seat banquet facility, the largest in Region 2000. The conference rooms will showcase our campus with unparalleled views of the Blue Ridge Mountains."

[BJWilliams]

Is that any different from even a home renovation project? My family back home had made plans to renovate just the kitchen at our house and before you knew it, the renovation took up the entire first floor...and there were still things being changed even in the couple months before we moved back in. Now I know this is a MUCH larger scale undertaking but how many renovations regardless of size dont have some adjustments made as the process goes along?

[Schfourteenteen]

If you read the article, it gives an example

"Examples of these changes include, an upscale student dining facility that will be available on the club level and conference rooms on the top floor of the tower. The dining area will create a 700-seat banquet facility, the largest in Region 2000. The conference rooms will showcase our campus with unparalleled views of the Blue Ridge Mountains."

I read the article. I'm certainly glad I didn't buy a plane ticket for this game. I'd be really poofaced if I set this trip up 6 months ago only to be undone by "an upscale student dining facility" run by SodexHo.

I wonder who pushed these changes.....none of them are football related. When SuperJon gets married and has his reception at the bill, who gets the $$$?

[Schfourteenteen]

Is that any different from even a home renovation project? My family back home had made plans to renovate just the kitchen at our house and before you knew it, the renovation took up the entire first floor...and there were still things being changed even in the couple months before we moved back in. Now I know this is a MUCH larger scale undertaking but how many renovations regardless of size dont have some adjustments made as the process goes along?

No one pays $3,000 to sit in your kitchen. Except your parents if they paid $3,000 to renovate the kitchen. Your mom's cooking is probably great, but it's not that great.

[BJWilliams]

I dont know but they obviously saw the potential for use outside of football for the tower. Would you rather it just been used for football only and then sit vacant for nine months so that this would be done and youd be Mr Happy Pants?

[Schfourteenteen]

I dont know but they obviously saw the potential for use outside of football for the tower. Would you rather it just been used for football only and then sit vacant for nine months so that this would be done and youd be Mr Happy Pants?

I would love to be Mr. Happy Pants.

The "Well what is this building gonna do for nine months" discussion should have happened before July, right? I'm sure it did.

They didnt build Cowboys Stadium and 3 weeks before the opener say "Oh *********, we need to make some changes to the building so we can host Coldplay concerts." Whatever changes they made had to have been over Barber's head IMO.

[LUnpretty11]

Yes.

[JK37]

I wonder who pushed these changes.....none of them are football related.

Great point right there.

[Chris Lang]

The chancellor.

[thepostman]

the surprise is humorous...and comparing liberty u to the dallas cowboys of the nfl is even more humorous...

Its lame it won't be ready, but when you take on a project like this and have to get it done in 9 months that has failure written all over it

the end product is going to be great for years to come..waiting one more game isn't going it hurt anything

[kuntryboimike]

Just looked at the stadium. Part of the field is flooded bad.

[LUnpretty11]

the end product is going to be great for years to come..waiting one more game isn't going it hurt anything

When you have people with season tickets and people who are looking forward to seeing 5 home games in their new suites or club boxes.... it's a HUGE disappointment, and letdown. Does not matter if a "backup plan" has been put in place from the beginning. Now folks will only be able to watch 4 home games. 5 is already a short season... now 4...? That hurts.

[Kolzilla41]

the end product is going to be great for years to come..waiting one more game isn't going it hurt anything

When you have people with season tickets and people who are looking forward to seeing 5 home games in their new suites or club boxes.... it's a HUGE disappointment, and letdown. Does not matter if a "backup plan" has been put in place from the beginning. Now folks will only be able to watch 4 home games. 5 is already a short season... now 4...? That hurts.

I would be willing to bet that when the people dropping $20k on the suites were told of the contingency plan. Athletics already has plans to take care of that situation. It is disappointing but as its been pointed out, patience is going to pay off.

[BJWilliams]

We wouldnt even be in the 5 home game predicament if it wasnt for the fact that nobody wanted to come to Lynchburg to fill in the gap left by NCCU...did you fail to remember that? Yes it is a bummer that we will only have four games in Williams Stadium but you do realize that THEY CANT CONTROL EVERYTHING!!!!!! And do you have a problem with the fact that our chancellor decided to do a little forward thinking and consider other uses and potential revenue streams that could be made possible through the club part of the new tower? Have you not noticed that students have been clamoring for a second dining facility since before dinosaurs roamed the earth? (ok that is a bit hyperbolic but its been quite a while) God forbid they actually finally take something that the students actually wanted and decided they finally had the means to make it happen.