Here is an excellent drawing of Akron's InfoCision stadium even showing dimensions of the scoreboard video panel.

http://www.ohio.com/polopoly_fs/1.64394....tadium.pdf

Here is a quote from a Forbes article on Dan Gilbert of Quicken Loans (Cleveland Cavs, etc.) fame and his business in Detroit.

I'd love to see some kind of working relationship with Dan and EMU, both in terms of EMU graduates (or interns) and also athletics.

Can't have 'Quicken Loans Arena' in Cleveland and Ypsilanti, but I'd love to see some tie between him and EMU athletics (Hint: there is a football stadium needing a title sponsor for a beautiful, big scoreboard - hoping anyways).

BTW, the Q hosts the MAC basketball tourneys so there is a relationship of sorts between the MAC and one of Gilbert's properties, the Q.

*********** The quotes from Forbes are below:

The irony is that none of this is part of some master plan. Gilbert never consciously decided on being Detroit’s savior. But six or seven years ago he noticed a worrying trend. Quicken Loans, then based in Detroit’s suburbs, was having trouble filling jobs. “For the first time in our history, we started losing job candidates from universities like U-M and Michigan State,” Gilbert says. “People would tell us, I love your company, but I want to go to Chicago or Boston or New York.”

That’s when he decided to move his workforce to downtown Detroit...

The best way to finance a new stadium is to simply win. No businesses are going to associate themselves with a program as pathetic as EMU's football team. If the team starts winning; then they will talk sponsorships. Until then--dream on.

(10-02-2014 09:17 AM)AlwaysAHuron Wrote:  The best way to finance a new stadium is to simply win. No businesses are going to associate themselves with a program as pathetic as EMU's football team. If the team starts winning; then they will talk sponsorships. Until then--dream on.

I hear you, but that isn't what Akron did.

Akron built the stadium as a way to get a top coach, Bowden, and start the comeback.

According to the oddsmakers a once terrible Akron team is a 21 point favorite over a team which back then was equally futile. (EMU and Akron were both cellar dwellers a few years ago but Akron is turning it around).

Dear Steve,
We need a bit of objectivity here. The University of Akron built their new stadium because the Rubber Bowl was no longer viable. In fact, the stadium was sold for $38,000 to a group that was going to renovate it for a revival of the USFL. Also the new stadium was opened in 2009, which was a few years before Bowden got there. So in my opinion it is somewhat of a reach that this was all accomplished to draw in Bowden, or any other coach. They needed a new stadium, so they built one. May it have helped to attract a coach? Possibly. To argue that it is a leading factor to reviving any program, I doubt it.

(10-02-2014 09:56 AM)Ken Barna Wrote:  Dear Steve,
We need a bit of objectivity here. The University of Akron built their new stadium because the Rubber Bowl was no longer viable. In fact, the stadium was sold for $38,000 to a group that was going to renovate it for a revival of the USFL. Also the new stadium was opened in 2009, which was a few years before Bowden got there. So in my opinion it is somewhat of a reach that this was all accomplished to draw in Bowden, or any other coach. They needed a new stadium, so they built one. May it have helped to attract a coach? Possibly. To argue that it is a leading factor to reviving any program, I doubt it.

Ken, your points are well taken.

BTW, when I look at their stadium I see things I like which could be replicated at EMU.

E.g., they have lights on their home side on top of their press box. We could rebuild our press box, add more suites, and attach lights to the press box instead of having light poles.

The east side lights could be redone to be produce even lighting (from both sides) and we need more lighting in the south end zone. The lights were installed before the 1992 (?) renovation which extended seats into the south end zone.

(p.s. to me, facilities are more fun then recruiting. )

I'm sure Heather, Chris, etc. will be taking a good, good look at InfoCision and try to see which design features could be incorporated into an existing stadium.

(10-02-2014 09:17 AM)AlwaysAHuron Wrote:  The best way to finance a new stadium is to simply win. No businesses are going to associate themselves with a program as pathetic as EMU's football team. If the team starts winning; then they will talk sponsorships. Until then--dream on.

Huge pet peeve! How do you propose we "win?" You generally win with good players. Good players don't want to come here because the facilities are LOUSY.

Dear Friends,
I do not know how many are connected to Eastern's "Lyke Line", but what I received today was an outline with goals, as to what the athletic department is trying to accomplish.
Two of the measures were to see what needs to be done with athletic facilities, and the other was to increase athletic funding through donations and business connections.
This should encourage those who think Eastern is sitting on their hands, and doing nothing, and it looks like emusteve is on the right track when he mentioned going after business types to help in financing. Ahhh...steve, did you get that out of Athletic Director Lyke when you had that discussion with her?

(10-03-2014 09:23 AM)Ken Barna Wrote:  Dear Friends,
I do not know how many are connected to Eastern's "Lyke Line", but what I received today was an outline with goals, as to what the athletic department is trying to accomplish.
Two of the measures were to see what needs to be done with athletic facilities, and the other was to increase athletic funding through donations and business connections.
This should encourage those who think Eastern is sitting on their hands, and doing nothing, and it looks like emusteve is on the right track when he mentioned going after business types to help in financing. Ahhh...steve, did you get that out of Athletic Director Lyke when you had that discussion with her?

Ken,

Good points.

I too got the Lyke Line and read those comments about facilities and revenue sources.

I'd rather not publicly discuss too much here other than to say after spending time with our athletic department senior leaders I came away VERY optimist that they think big. I love people who think big. Better to shoot high and come up a little short than shoot low and come up short of that modest target.

I went from a 'think small' to a 'think big' philosophy.

I'm anxious to hear concrete plans when they are ready. We have had rumors here for MONTHS (going back to July and the gray turf) about lights, scoreboard, maybe a new football building, press box, etc.

BTW, don't forget EMU spent big, big bucks on the new score board in the Convo. I heard the dollar amount and they spent more then I would have. Maybe I'm the 'small thinker'. OMG.

But if they can think big and back it up with big gifts from corporations, big donors, and even borrowing against future revenue streams, I say MORE POWER TO THEM.

As many have noted, Dr. Martin and AD Lyke did not come here to watch the decline of EMU athletics.

I have a friend very, very well connected within EMU academia, and he thinks EMU (and other universities) think TOO SMALL when it comes to big capital fund raising campaigns (he thinks MSU has set their sights too low for their current campaign).

(10-03-2014 10:41 AM)emu steve Wrote:  

(10-03-2014 09:23 AM)Ken Barna Wrote:  Dear Friends,
I do not know how many are connected to Eastern's "Lyke Line", but what I received today was an outline with goals, as to what the athletic department is trying to accomplish.
Two of the measures were to see what needs to be done with athletic facilities, and the other was to increase athletic funding through donations and business connections.
This should encourage those who think Eastern is sitting on their hands, and doing nothing, and it looks like emusteve is on the right track when he mentioned going after business types to help in financing. Ahhh...steve, did you get that out of Athletic Director Lyke when you had that discussion with her?

Ken,

Good points.

I too got the Lyke Line and read those comments about facilities and revenue sources.

I'd rather not publicly discuss too much here other than to say after spending time with our athletic department senior leaders I came away VERY optimist that they think big. I love people who think big. Better to shoot high and come up a little short than shoot low and come up short of that modest target.

I went from a 'think small' to a 'think big' philosophy.

I'm anxious to hear concrete plans when they are ready. We have had rumors here for MONTHS (going back to July and the gray turf) about lights, scoreboard, maybe a new football building, press box, etc.

BTW, don't forget EMU spent big, big bucks on the new score board in the Convo. I heard the dollar amount and they spent more then I would have. Maybe I'm the 'small thinker'. OMG.

But if they can think big and back it up with big gifts from corporations, big donors, and even borrowing against future revenue streams, I say MORE POWER TO THEM.

As many have noted, Dr. Martin and AD Lyke did not come here to watch the decline of EMU athletics.

I have a friend very, very well connected within EMU academia, and he thinks EMU (and other universities) think TOO SMALL when it comes to big capital fund raising campaigns (he thinks MSU has set their sights too low for their current campaign).

He must love what UM is doing.

The discrepancy between UM and EMU cannot be starker than the money being spent on facilities.UM is going to have spent $400 million on facilities once the $160 million in facilities for the new athletic campus happens.

(10-03-2014 03:39 PM)wolverineeagle Wrote:  

(10-03-2014 10:41 AM)emu steve Wrote:  

(10-03-2014 09:23 AM)Ken Barna Wrote:  Dear Friends,
I do not know how many are connected to Eastern's "Lyke Line", but what I received today was an outline with goals, as to what the athletic department is trying to accomplish.
Two of the measures were to see what needs to be done with athletic facilities, and the other was to increase athletic funding through donations and business connections.
This should encourage those who think Eastern is sitting on their hands, and doing nothing, and it looks like emusteve is on the right track when he mentioned going after business types to help in financing. Ahhh...steve, did you get that out of Athletic Director Lyke when you had that discussion with her?

Ken,

Good points.

I too got the Lyke Line and read those comments about facilities and revenue sources.

I'd rather not publicly discuss too much here other than to say after spending time with our athletic department senior leaders I came away VERY optimist that they think big. I love people who think big. Better to shoot high and come up a little short than shoot low and come up short of that modest target.

I went from a 'think small' to a 'think big' philosophy.

I'm anxious to hear concrete plans when they are ready. We have had rumors here for MONTHS (going back to July and the gray turf) about lights, scoreboard, maybe a new football building, press box, etc.

BTW, don't forget EMU spent big, big bucks on the new score board in the Convo. I heard the dollar amount and they spent more then I would have. Maybe I'm the 'small thinker'. OMG.

But if they can think big and back it up with big gifts from corporations, big donors, and even borrowing against future revenue streams, I say MORE POWER TO THEM.

As many have noted, Dr. Martin and AD Lyke did not come here to watch the decline of EMU athletics.

I have a friend very, very well connected within EMU academia, and he thinks EMU (and other universities) think TOO SMALL when it comes to big capital fund raising campaigns (he thinks MSU has set their sights too low for their current campaign).

He must love what UM is doing.

The discrepancy between UM and EMU cannot be starker than the money being spent on facilities.UM is going to have spent $400 million on facilities once the $160 million in facilities for the new athletic campus happens.

Sir, have you ever heard of the word 'context'?

This whole thread discusses football facilities at the MAC-Level, especially using Akron's IncoCision as an example of the consummate MAC FB stadium.

How did UofM and their extravagance get into the discussion?

So there is MAC 'big' and UofM 'big', I was discussing the former, not the latter.

Not EMU specific, or athletic facilities specific, but Wayne State is going public with a 750M fund raising campaign.

"Wayne State has already raised nearly half of the total, with $357.2 million coming in during a so-called "silent phase" of the campaign."

"More than 300,000 gifts from alumni, friends, corporation and foundations have already coming in. School officials say nearly 80% of those gifts have been for $1,000 or less.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/mi.../16859025/

UofM has a 4B campaign going and MSU might have one for 1.8B (if I remember correctly).