The unofficial online home for fans of the Old Dominion University Monarchs. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

What do you guys (and gals) think. When the Board gets the study results next month, will it include at least a rendering of a new stadium?? You know, something we can all at least look at?

(05-09-2016 04:11 PM)ODalumni2015 Wrote:  This came to me via Google alert.
Are we being laughed at?

http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2016/5/9/...el-stadium

I hope we don't end up on the going back to FCS list.
If that happens, I will be too embarrassed to remain in this area.

the whole thing was based on their refusing Ballards proposal. I bet even ballard didn't really believe they would just accept it based on something they saw in the paper and online.

Trust when I say Old Dominion "rejecting" Ballard's proposal" is a poor choice of words. His proposal has been tabled for later review. This is the law. I honestly hope we go with SB Ballard. They do great work and I trust them to look out for the best interest of the university.

(05-09-2016 03:30 PM)ODU Hoops Wrote:  Just so everyone knows, this wasn't 400k spent by Ballard. It it his estimate of what his proposal delivered was actually worth based on labor hours spent.

Why do labor hours spent by his staff, himself, or contractors not equal dollars spent by him?

(05-09-2016 08:01 PM)Beans N Cornbread Wrote:  

(05-09-2016 03:30 PM)ODU Hoops Wrote:  Just so everyone knows, this wasn't 400k spent by Ballard. It it his estimate of what his proposal delivered was actually worth based on labor hours spent.

Why do labor hours spent by his staff, himself, or contractors not equal dollars spent by him?

I don't know if you are asking seriously or not, but I will answer you like it was a genuine question.

I've been a consultant/contractor for almost twenty years, and you can always put a cost on your labor. However, most of the labor you see in a situation like this is a result of people at the office or in the field that aren't already busy doing something else. For instance, if you have someone that you bill out at 150.00 an hour and they put 200 hours towards this proposal then that 30,000 counts towards the 400k.

I'm not suggesting the work wasn't done, I'm just saying that putting together a legit proposal is a better use of someone's time than cleaning out their email or cold calling potential clients.

Don't get me wrong, I think the proposal was great and I'm glad Steve Ballard is such a great supporter of ODU, but don't think he dropped 400k of straight loss to the bottom line.

(05-09-2016 04:09 PM)ODU Oldtimer Wrote:  

(05-09-2016 01:25 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  

(05-09-2016 01:18 PM)Sirloin Burger Wrote:  Why does everyone think Ballard made a $400,000 publicity stunt? He could have simply submitted a rendition to the Pilot with the offer to build it.
I believe he was attempting a coup.

Submitting the bid to the pilot is different than sending it to the school and forcing them to respond. This way, if he doesn't get the bid to build the stadium he can say "I tried!" Though we all know the school isn't flushing 1.2 million dollars down the drain and accepting his bid.

I believe he was attempting a coup. LOL The Ballard family is approach 15 million dollars in donations to the University in the last 10 years.

I honestly think his intentions are to only guide, support and help the University in any capacity to bring national prominence to Old Dominion, He has a passion to see ODU football excel. He spent close to 1/2 million dollars and his time to offer not one but several stadium design options, along with a time feasibility scenario and an alternative financing proposal, where he will guarantee and act as the bank.

The other issue of the timing of the release to the Pilot and the misguided Inference from Debbie White that the University was blind sided..... well all that needs to be said is Ballard has been in constant contact with the University. The reality is there was encouragement for his involvement during the time the Populous study was dragging on for more than a year. The hierarchy of the University and Athletic department was very aware of events as they unfolded.

Remember it was reported in The Virginian-Pilot By Harry on 4/21/16
that the Populous study would be shared with the administration by the end of April.

Link... http://pilotonline.com/sports/football/o...9cf54.html

The old adage no good deed goes unpunished.

A coup meaning successful move, achievement, accomplishment. Nothing good came out of this move. This was not a publicity stunt. Why then did Ballard end up defending his rejected plan and why did he feel it was necessary to reaffirm his dedication to ODU in the process.

I know you like the bold font so here you go,

“We appreciate his interest in advancing the football stadium, but we just need to proceed in our normal course.” Ronald Ripley

(05-09-2016 04:51 PM)ODU_NYG Wrote:  

(05-09-2016 04:11 PM)ODalumni2015 Wrote:  This came to me via Google alert.
Are we being laughed at?

http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2016/5/9/...el-stadium

I hope we don't end up on the going back to FCS list.
If that happens, I will be too embarrassed to remain in this area.

the whole thing was based on their refusing Ballards proposal. I bet even ballard didn't really believe they would just accept it based on something they saw in the paper and online.

There are a couple things working against us, but that article seemed like we're a bunch of whiners and excuse makers. While I know a lot of people on this board agree with that and with everything that was said in that article, I don't believe it's true. "Message #3" really? For a school with a budget that isn't at a P5 level, the bill that was [assed severely hindered our ability to get funds for the project.

Focusing heavily on the fact that we rejected Ballard's proposal and saying that "we don't care" (Message #4) is lazy. If any of you work in construction or just understand the law when it comes to things like this, it's the only thing ODU could have done. They couldn't and shouldn't have accepted the first thing thrown their way. I've become impatient with this whole stadium thing but I understand what's at stake. Rejecting Ballard wasn't a door slam and a "GTFO," it was more of a "dude... come on..." I just can't wait to hear what they have to say next month

Terrible article written by someone who does not understand all the facts of the situation. Seemed very lazy.

A lot of opinion in that piece, which is fine. It's just ignorant opinion.

(05-09-2016 06:24 PM)Old Blue Wrote:  Trust when I say Old Dominion "rejecting" Ballard's proposal" is a poor choice of words. His proposal has been tabled for later review. This is the law. I honestly hope we go with SB Ballard. They do great work and I trust them to look out for the best interest of the university.

When an unsolicited proposal is submitted, the Government cannot talk to you until it is accepted or rejected. Rejecting the proposal allows for conversations. Could be as simple as that. Of course, my experience is with federal government rules, but I'd imagine state rules are similar.

Articles with ignorant opinion are pretty easy to write. Let's see, let me give it a stab.

Reasons why Southern Miss should stay in the C-USA:

1. Their last conference championship was in 2011, before that - 2003.

2. Their last bowl win was in 2011, before that - 2008.

3. Southern Miss has never beaten FIU or FAU (wow).

4. Southern Miss also has never beaten MTSU or WKU.

5. Nobody wants to travel to Mississippi, especially southernish Mississippi

6. Southern Miss averages 10,000 empty seats per home game.

7. Black and gold is a hideous color scheme and should be banned across all sports.

And there you have it. All very solid reasons why Southern Miss can't move up. Don't get me started on the TV market.

I think he just pointed out that the Board didn't even open it and look at it. That still baffles me. Open it, look at it, gain some information that you didn't know before, close it and reject it.

The fact that people are writing articles about our struggles is not a good thing, I hope the ODU administration sees this.

Message #1:

He didn't think this article through.
The whole article reads as if it was just a reason to make a list and knock on a school. I'd even classify it as click-bait.
It reads like a kid in high school threw something together in hopes to get a participation sticker, or even worse... a post on a thread!

Message #2:

He don't really want to build a readership following
Knowing that this website will host this sort of garbage will lead me to have second thoughts of visiting their website again. Vox spews out this sort of junk from time to time as well. I guess it's only expected that their other brands would follow.
Here's what else to expect from the Vox family.

Message #3:

Blame the readers.
People read this crap, so more of it shall be written! Gotta please the MTSU and Southern Miss fans by writing a poorly sourced/researched, article that bashes a rival.

Message #4:

He doesn't care.
At least get a picture that is recent.

Here's some...

(05-09-2016 08:10 PM)ODU Hoops Wrote:  

(05-09-2016 08:01 PM)Beans N Cornbread Wrote:  

(05-09-2016 03:30 PM)ODU Hoops Wrote:  Just so everyone knows, this wasn't 400k spent by Ballard. It it his estimate of what his proposal delivered was actually worth based on labor hours spent.

Why do labor hours spent by his staff, himself, or contractors not equal dollars spent by him?

I don't know if you are asking seriously or not, but I will answer you like it was a genuine question.

I've been a consultant/contractor for almost twenty years, and you can always put a cost on your labor. However, most of the labor you see in a situation like this is a result of people at the office or in the field that aren't already busy doing something else. For instance, if you have someone that you bill out at 150.00 an hour and they put 200 hours towards this proposal then that 30,000 counts towards the 400k.

I'm not suggesting the work wasn't done, I'm just saying that putting together a legit proposal is a better use of someone's time than cleaning out their email or cold calling potential clients.

Don't get me wrong, I think the proposal was great and I'm glad Steve Ballard is such a great supporter of ODU, but don't think he dropped 400k of straight loss to the bottom line.

It was a serious question. My opinion is that if people were working on it that he's paying salary for, its money spent. Those people could have been working on other projects that are generating revenue now - not a project that is speculation.

We do agree on the fact that it was good to see some progress - even if it was dismissed by the school in the short term. It generated some buzz.

(05-10-2016 08:44 AM)Beans N Cornbread Wrote:  

(05-09-2016 08:10 PM)ODU Hoops Wrote:  

(05-09-2016 08:01 PM)Beans N Cornbread Wrote:  

(05-09-2016 03:30 PM)ODU Hoops Wrote:  Just so everyone knows, this wasn't 400k spent by Ballard. It it his estimate of what his proposal delivered was actually worth based on labor hours spent.

Why do labor hours spent by his staff, himself, or contractors not equal dollars spent by him?

I don't know if you are asking seriously or not, but I will answer you like it was a genuine question.

I've been a consultant/contractor for almost twenty years, and you can always put a cost on your labor. However, most of the labor you see in a situation like this is a result of people at the office or in the field that aren't already busy doing something else. For instance, if you have someone that you bill out at 150.00 an hour and they put 200 hours towards this proposal then that 30,000 counts towards the 400k.

I'm not suggesting the work wasn't done, I'm just saying that putting together a legit proposal is a better use of someone's time than cleaning out their email or cold calling potential clients.

Don't get me wrong, I think the proposal was great and I'm glad Steve Ballard is such a great supporter of ODU, but don't think he dropped 400k of straight loss to the bottom line.

It was a serious question. My opinion is that if people were working on it that he's paying salary for, its money spent. Those people could have been working on other projects that are generating revenue now - not a project that is speculation.

We do agree on the fact that it was good to see some progress - even if it was dismissed by the school in the short term. It generated some buzz.

My point is that contractors spend millions of dollars writing proposals every year and win only a fraction of them. It's the cost of doing business.

^what he said. We spend time/effort all the time chasing projects developing proposals. Win some and lose some.

(05-10-2016 07:57 AM)odu09 Wrote:  e game.
7. Black and gold is a hideous color scheme and should be banned across all sports.

I actually think Black and Gold is only acceptable in sports.
Southern Miss and Appalachian State both have unique colors in contrast to the majority of college football. Goes a good way in helping their branding.
ODU's Blue and white? come on...

Otherwise I loathe the color yellow. Just my opinion.

Now Tulane or Clemson's colors? yuck

(05-10-2016 06:21 PM)GhentFan Wrote:  

(05-10-2016 07:57 AM)odu09 Wrote:  e game.
7. Black and gold is a hideous color scheme and should be banned across all sports.

I actually think Black and Gold is only acceptable in sports.
Southern Miss and Appalachian State both have unique colors in contrast to the majority of college football. Goes a good way in helping their branding.
ODU's Blue and white? come on...

Otherwise I loathe the color yellow. Just my opinion.

Now Tulane or Clemson's colors? yuck

Come on, Ghent Fan! That was clearly a dig at VCU by ODU09. You gotta get on board with hating everything Ram-related.

(05-10-2016 07:45 PM)ODUDrunkard13 Wrote:  

(05-10-2016 06:21 PM)GhentFan Wrote:  

(05-10-2016 07:57 AM)odu09 Wrote:  e game.
7. Black and gold is a hideous color scheme and should be banned across all sports.

I actually think Black and Gold is only acceptable in sports.
Southern Miss and Appalachian State both have unique colors in contrast to the majority of college football. Goes a good way in helping their branding.
ODU's Blue and white? come on...

Otherwise I loathe the color yellow. Just my opinion.

Now Tulane or Clemson's colors? yuck

Come on, Ghent Fan! That was clearly a dig at VCU by ODU09. You gotta get on board with hating everything Ram-related.

Sorry. I only really follow football at the college level. VCU can't field a team so they don't register in my eyes. I'm not a basketball guy, so I never even think about them.
If it makes you feel better I hate their logo, but other people like it? WTF?

Pittsburgh Steelers black and gold is a wonderful meal.

VCU Rams black and gold is diarrhea.