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Just got back from a visit to Charlotte and my hotel was 1/4 mile from UNC-Charlotte. Their university is IMPRESSIVE. It appears as if the whole university was built in the last two years. Every building and dorm is very modern and the campus is massive. The area around the university is very nice and their is a shopping mall right across the street from the university. Charlotte motor speedway is also only about a 10 minute drive away.

Their football stadium is almost an exact copy of Duke University's stadium in that the area around the stadium is at ground level and the playing field is below grade.

Would be a very nice road trip for an away game.


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I've really been impressed with what I've seen from Charlotte in the last few years. I've been getting my new stadium fix vicariously through them as well. It will be a solid venue from which to survey our first crushing victory in Charlotte. They cannot cancel fate!

Charlotte is fortunate in that they are on the outskirts of the city, and therefore have land to grow and spread out. They also aren't hemmed in by businesses and the hood. Lastly, their leadership seems to have pretty good, classic sense of architecture, so yes, their campus is not bad at all. Other than that, we are pretty similar universities and I'm sure this will grow into a heated rivalry. At least we're near the beach, are growing as well, have a new stadium on the way and may have the best G5 coach in the business.

I hope every new building we are building has similar architectural features. We need to create an identity for our buildings. Right now they all look pretty much different. We will see if the businesses can be sustained. I suspect before long they will be begging for ODU to buy their properties as we acquire others and begin to surround them.

I'd love for all of the buildings to looks like Rollins and Spong.

Ehhhh. I'd prefer for them to look like the Physics/Oceanography and Computational Engineering buildings. Those look nice. Rollins and Spokg look okay, but I think that a more modern style is appropriate for us

(07-22-2014 10:38 PM)Blue_Trombone Wrote:  Ehhhh. I'd prefer for them to look like the Physics/Oceanography and Computational Engineering buildings. Those look nice. Rollins and Spokg look okay, but I think that a more modern style is appropriate for us

+1 i would like the buildings to look modern and similar in style like how lr hill sportsplex looks like ted.

They are fortunate to not be by the water for the sunken in playing surface. We are fortunate to be by the water for recruiting.

I mean, if you want to call the Elizabeth river "water" that's hoot prerogative.

At this point it's closer to crude oil and ship rust.

(07-23-2014 02:54 AM)Razor Ramon Monarch Wrote:  I mean, if you want to call the Elizabeth river "water" that's hoot prerogative.

At this point it's closer to crude oil and ship rust.

"We are fortunate to be by the water for recruiting". Just maybe Fatalisk was referring to the Atlantic Ocean and VA Beach. With all our recruiting efforts promoting the beach. Just a thought.

(07-23-2014 02:54 AM)Razor Ramon Monarch Wrote:  I mean, if you want to call the Elizabeth river "water" that's hoot prerogative.

At this point it's closer to crude oil and ship rust.

What a fan. That should help our recruiting efforts.

[quote='Blue_Trombone' pid='10926888' dateline='1406086707']
Ehhhh. I'd prefer for them to look like the Physics/Oceanography and Computational Engineering buildings. Those look nice. Rollins and Spokg look okay, but I think that a more modern style is appropriate for us
[/quote\]

Unfortunately "modern style" has a short shelf life. Just look at the other eyesores on campus. The two oldest buildings on campus will still look nice 20 or 30 years from now. Buildings like the E & CS, New Dragas, Convocation Center, etc. aren't meant to last. Loyalty comes from familiarity. We all want to see the campus grow, but we also want some things to stand the test of time. New and flashy seldom does (Hughes Hall). I want to show my kids where I used to hang, where I went to class, the buildings I used to sneak into. Unfortunately, I don't forsee many of these structures looking familiar down the line.

ODU grad 2011 living Charlotte for the past 2 years, the big thing here going on now is the Lynx Light Rail (same thing as the Tide) extending from the downtown (they call it uptown here) area to UNC Charlotte. I cant wait til its done and I will be able to travel up there without having to deal with parking, and to get back if I have had a few beers when ODU crushes UNCC.

From what the locals and a bunch of people I know that went there say, UNCC does have a nice campus but there is not a ton of stuff around there. I have been here for 2 years and I have only been up to what they call the "University Area" once and have never actually been to the campus. Its in north Charlotte and most young people and graduates dont really have a reason to go up there. That will change for me a few times a year when ODU comes to play Charlotte.

From a recruiting aspect I would say we are much better off.The Charlotte metro gets raked by North Carolina, Duke, ECU, South Carolina, Wake Forest, NC State and even App State. UNC Charlotte is trying to jump in there and I see it being pretty tough for them to take recruits from all these ACC and SEC schools. Also Hampton Roads pumps out way more talent as a whole than the Charlotte area does. Mix that with the aspect of the beach for us and the fact that UVA is not good and I think VT is in a downward trend, and both of them are in the middle of nowhere. We definitly have the advantage in recruiting when it comes to taking big recruits from bigger schools.

My impression of UNCC is that it has a similiar campus to GMU. Kind of a suberban office park setting...

(07-23-2014 09:17 AM)GO_MONARKS Wrote:  My impression of UNCC is that it has a similiar campus to GMU. Kind of a suberban office park setting...

Well up until the football start-up they were essentially a peer school to GMU, right? I agree about the general campus feel.

(07-23-2014 07:44 AM)Oduniceguy Wrote:  [quote='Blue_Trombone' pid='10926888' dateline='1406086707']
Ehhhh. I'd prefer for them to look like the Physics/Oceanography and Computational Engineering buildings. Those look nice. Rollins and Spokg look okay, but I think that a more modern style is appropriate for us
[/quote\]

Unfortunately "modern style" has a short shelf life. Just look at the other eyesores on campus. The two oldest buildings on campus will still look nice 20 or 30 years from now. Buildings like the E & CS, New Dragas, Convocation Center, etc. aren't meant to last. Loyalty comes from familiarity. We all want to see the campus grow, but we also want some things to stand the test of time. New and flashy seldom does (Hughes Hall). I want to show my kids where I used to hang, where I went to class, the buildings I used to sneak into. Unfortunately, I don't forsee many of these structures looking familiar down the line.

How short of a shelf life are we talking about? Buildings like the Ted, Phys & Oceanography, and Comp. Engineering are all older than a decade, and I don't see them 'looking dated' anytime soon. A lasting architecture doesn't have to mean "look old". And for a campus' future that will have minimum green space and large 4+ story buildings, an old W&M style architecture just won't work. The reason why a lot of older buildings on campus look bad is because these buildings were made when ODU was a fledgling University that couldn't afford better materials and good maintenance. Look at the buildings we've made in the past 15 years, those are the ones that'll last.

(07-23-2014 03:43 AM)ODU Oldtimer Wrote:  "We are fortunate to be by the water for recruiting". Just maybe Fatalisk was referring to the Atlantic Ocean and VA Beach. With all our recruiting efforts promoting the beach. Just a thought.

[sarcasm]Nope. I was referring to the body of water that no coach uses as a selling point. That is the one which we are fortunate to be nearby for recruiting reasons.[/sarcasm]

The campus itself is nice, but I don't think you'll see too many people that think University City is great. It is a huge area for employment because of the University Research Park (a large office park that is like 2,000 acres I believe).

The area is mostly suburban style apartments, suburban office parks, and sub divisions.

I never go up there except when I'm going to athletic events. There aren't really any entertainment draws up there except the amphitheater, which hosts a lot of big shows in the summer.

The area is seeing a lot of development right now (more urban style apartments), but virtually nothing incorporates urban style mixed use. It'd be great to see more apartments with retail on the bottom. I personally think the area is a lost cause in terms of ever actually having a city-like feel. Light rail will help connect the campus in with the city though and make it easier and safer for students to simply go out Uptown or the other inner city neighborhoods without having to drive.

Despite its shortcomings, it is still a nice area. Campus is beautiful and there is a great greenway system on and near campus that will eventually tie in with other greenways in the city and connect the campus to almost every other part of the city.

(07-23-2014 11:33 AM)Blue_Trombone Wrote:  

(07-23-2014 07:44 AM)Oduniceguy Wrote:  [quote='Blue_Trombone' pid='10926888' dateline='1406086707']
Ehhhh. I'd prefer for them to look like the Physics/Oceanography and Computational Engineering buildings. Those look nice. Rollins and Spokg look okay, but I think that a more modern style is appropriate for us
[/quote\]

Unfortunately "modern style" has a short shelf life. Just look at the other eyesores on campus. The two oldest buildings on campus will still look nice 20 or 30 years from now. Buildings like the E & CS, New Dragas, Convocation Center, etc. aren't meant to last. Loyalty comes from familiarity. We all want to see the campus grow, but we also want some things to stand the test of time. New and flashy seldom does (Hughes Hall). I want to show my kids where I used to hang, where I went to class, the buildings I used to sneak into. Unfortunately, I don't forsee many of these structures looking familiar down the line.

How short of a shelf life are we talking about? Buildings like the Ted, Phys & Oceanography, and Comp. Engineering are all older than a decade, and I don't see them 'looking dated' anytime soon. A lasting architecture doesn't have to mean "look old". And for a campus' future that will have minimum green space and large 4+ story buildings, an old W&M style architecture just won't work. The reason why a lot of older buildings on campus look bad is because these buildings were made when ODU was a fledgling University that couldn't afford better materials and good maintenance. Look at the buildings we've made in the past 15 years, those are the ones that'll last.

I hate myself for this:

VCU, with their spacing issues, seems to be doing just fine. Large buildings, some with classic architectural elements, that'll age much more gracefully than our flashy glass facades and spikes. They've also been working on the whole architectural cohesion thing lately. (Below is their huge and gorgeous business building.)

I frankly see most of ODU's flashy architecture as short-sighted. The Ted, E&CS, and O&P, though beautiful, will soon (relative to classic collegiate architecture) be as outdated as the Chemistry Bldg, MGB, Kaufman, The ED Bldg, etc, etc.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

I can't add the pic for whatever reason...smh.

(07-23-2014 07:40 PM)Oduniceguy Wrote:  

(07-23-2014 11:33 AM)Blue_Trombone Wrote:  

(07-23-2014 07:44 AM)Oduniceguy Wrote:  [quote='Blue_Trombone' pid='10926888' dateline='1406086707']
Ehhhh. I'd prefer for them to look like the Physics/Oceanography and Computational Engineering buildings. Those look nice. Rollins and Spokg look okay, but I think that a more modern style is appropriate for us
[/quote\]

Unfortunately "modern style" has a short shelf life. Just look at the other eyesores on campus. The two oldest buildings on campus will still look nice 20 or 30 years from now. Buildings like the E & CS, New Dragas, Convocation Center, etc. aren't meant to last. Loyalty comes from familiarity. We all want to see the campus grow, but we also want some things to stand the test of time. New and flashy seldom does (Hughes Hall). I want to show my kids where I used to hang, where I went to class, the buildings I used to sneak into. Unfortunately, I don't forsee many of these structures looking familiar down the line.

How short of a shelf life are we talking about? Buildings like the Ted, Phys & Oceanography, and Comp. Engineering are all older than a decade, and I don't see them 'looking dated' anytime soon. A lasting architecture doesn't have to mean "look old". And for a campus' future that will have minimum green space and large 4+ story buildings, an old W&M style architecture just won't work. The reason why a lot of older buildings on campus look bad is because these buildings were made when ODU was a fledgling University that couldn't afford better materials and good maintenance. Look at the buildings we've made in the past 15 years, those are the ones that'll last.

I hate myself for this:

VCU, with their spacing issues, seems to be doing just fine. Large buildings, some with classic architectural elements, that'll age much more gracefully than our flashy glass facades and spikes. They've also been working on the whole architectural cohesion thing lately. (Below is their huge and gorgeous business building.)

I frankly see most of ODU's flashy architecture as short-sighted. The Ted, E&CS, and O&P, though beautiful, will soon (relative to classic collegiate architecture) be as outdated as the Chemistry Bldg, MGB, Kaufman, The ED Bldg, etc, etc.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

I can't add the pic for whatever reason...smh.

Well VCU might have some new flashy buildings but the area around VCU is still a dump. I don't go down there unless i really have too.