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

(06-09-2016 02:50 PM)smudge12 Wrote:  

(06-09-2016 02:37 PM)odu09 Wrote:  

(06-09-2016 02:34 PM)smudge12 Wrote:  I'm not a fan of 22K seats. Beyond 6 games a year, I think we can attract larger events with a larger stadium that will help pay for that bigger capacity. I understand the stadium is expandable and the amenities will be fantastic, and I commend the school for not raising student fees in the process, but 55 million doesn't seem to justify 2000 extra seats. I don't know, maybe I'm just cheap...

Regardless, I'm still excited for this beauty.

I seem to be repeating this all day. "55 million doesn't seem to justify 2000 extra seats." That is a correct statement! However, we aren't spending 55 mil to get 2000 seats. We are getting better seats, better restrooms, better concessions, better flow, better locker rooms, better club levels. There is more to a stadium than capacity.

I agree there is more to a stadium than just capacity, but capacity is the most significant part of a stadium. I'd like us to think beyond ODU football. Bowl games, concerts, etc. Large events can make the school a nice amount of $$$.

Overall, I'm happy with the stadium, just not the capacity. But I'm also not the one who did an extensive study and made the tough decisions. I'll trust that those people know what they're talking about.

With the fact that major and minor sporting events will almost certainly be streamed in the future. Large stadiums will be going the way of the dinosaur. Sure I would like a new stadium a little bigger. But I am pretty happy with what they have with the exception of the existing end zone seating being left in place. It looks tacky and doesn't fit in at all with the new design.

(06-09-2016 02:58 PM)Monarch Maniac 10 Wrote:  

(06-09-2016 02:43 PM)Blue_Trombone Wrote:  It's not like the Ted though is all that small. 8600 for basketball is above average for the NCAA. 22K is far below average for FBS football. A 28K stadium with all the bells and whistles would probably be more appropriate.

To be fair, when it comes to football I think you have to throw out the P5 stadiums. We will never be at that level and P5 football capacities severely bloat the average.

Our goal should be to become a top-tier G5 program. When you look at the average attendance for these schools, the numbers line up nicely. There are 61 teams, and assuming we continue to sell out while our stadium is at 22k, we'd be ranked 24th in attendance. Above the average.

When we go to 30k and we continue to sell out, we move up to 8th on that list.

Now is this fun with numbers? It sure is. But I do appreciate the "quality" aspect of this proposal as well. I highly doubt anybody can seriously tell the difference between 30k and 35k when they're at the game. Chairs with backs, plenty of space, angled seating, great food, beautiful facilities...all of those are far more likely to leave an impression on both visitors AND recruits when they visit with their families.

I posted this somewhere, but even if you build out the new Foreman to max capacity, it's still would be ninth among current CUSA stadiums (could be 10th if Charlotte builds out to its 40K, could be eighth depending on the size of the new UAB stadium).

Most seasons, ODU will be playing at least one team that should sell well more than 30,000 seats. Virginia Tech, Virginia, ECU for sure. Navy if they ever get on the schedule. In that regard, it feels like a missed opportunity, because ODU could break 30K even without selling out every time out because of how well those big-ticket games would sell.

ODU should absolutely aspire to be a top-flight G5 program. But for better or worse, stadium capacity is part of it. With the exception of Northern Illinois, Georgia Southern and Appalachian State, the top G5 programs easily clear 30,000, which is the stretch goal for ODU.

(06-09-2016 03:52 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  I posted this somewhere, but even if you build out the new Foreman to max capacity, it's still would be ninth among current CUSA stadiums (could be 10th if Charlotte builds out to its 40K, could be eighth depending on the size of the new UAB stadium).

Most seasons, ODU will be playing at least one team that should sell well more than 30,000 seats. Virginia Tech, Virginia, ECU for sure. Navy if they ever get on the schedule. In that regard, it feels like a missed opportunity, because ODU could break 30K even without selling out every time out because of how well those big-ticket games would sell.

ODU should absolutely aspire to be a top-flight G5 program. But for better or worse, stadium capacity is part of it. With the exception of Northern Illinois, Georgia Southern and Appalachian State, the top G5 programs easily clear 30,000, which is the stretch goal for ODU.

I'm less interested in the capacity of those schools' stadiums, and more concerned with their average attendance.

If we continue to sell out at 22k (which we will), we're fourth in CUSA for average attendance.

When we go to 30k, even at 95% average attendance, we would lead CUSA.

(06-09-2016 04:12 PM)Monarch Maniac 10 Wrote:  

(06-09-2016 03:52 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  I posted this somewhere, but even if you build out the new Foreman to max capacity, it's still would be ninth among current CUSA stadiums (could be 10th if Charlotte builds out to its 40K, could be eighth depending on the size of the new UAB stadium).

Most seasons, ODU will be playing at least one team that should sell well more than 30,000 seats. Virginia Tech, Virginia, ECU for sure. Navy if they ever get on the schedule. In that regard, it feels like a missed opportunity, because ODU could break 30K even without selling out every time out because of how well those big-ticket games would sell.

ODU should absolutely aspire to be a top-flight G5 program. But for better or worse, stadium capacity is part of it. With the exception of Northern Illinois, Georgia Southern and Appalachian State, the top G5 programs easily clear 30,000, which is the stretch goal for ODU.

I'm less interested in the capacity of those schools' stadiums, and more concerned with their average attendance.

If we continue to sell out at 22k (which we will), we're fourth in CUSA for average attendance.

When we go to 30k, even at 95% average attendance, we would lead CUSA.

Exactly

(06-09-2016 11:08 AM)Gilesfan Wrote:  Honestly, I'm not going argue economics on here when you have presented a paragraph showing you don't understand the topic.

I, frankly, have never seen someone who with a definitive expert opinion on so many topics as you. You truly are a man/woman of unprecedented knowledge.

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(06-09-2016 12:04 PM)odusteeler Wrote:  Over-supply & over-capacity kill businesses...look no further than the oil industry. Prudence may have won today, but I wish we could've found a way to wrap the north end zone. It's an eyesore!

Hypothetical - Say a large donor offers a pledge to finish wrapping the endzone & increasing capacity to ~ 27.5K. Does the administration take it? I get the feeling they wouldn't, just to keep supply low. That would be a terrible mistake in my opinion!

Your oil analogy doesn't work here because we have yet to find our cap. If the program was 100 years old and we knew that our base was well formed within our market, then it would make sense to build something that limits supply at the level of current demand. We however have been operating at a shortage since day one, and as such have not even begun to tap the vast majority of our market. By building another stadium that does nothing to allow more people in the tent, we perpetuate the exclusion of our untapped fans.

What we are doing is more like what Apple did initially with the iPhone. They initially launched only on AT&T (Foreman Field) and built demand by making people pine for something they couldn't have. Then after a few years they expanded their potential user base by adding compatibility with every carrier and grew the brand worldwide capitalizing on the pent up demand. We are just jumping from AT&T to Verizon still leaving the rest of the world waiting. Eventually, they will just give up and move on to something else (our disappearing wait list).

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(06-09-2016 05:17 PM)Monarchblue Wrote:  

(06-09-2016 12:04 PM)odusteeler Wrote:  Over-supply & over-capacity kill businesses...look no further than the oil industry. Prudence may have won today, but I wish we could've found a way to wrap the north end zone. It's an eyesore!

Hypothetical - Say a large donor offers a pledge to finish wrapping the endzone & increasing capacity to ~ 27.5K. Does the administration take it? I get the feeling they wouldn't, just to keep supply low. That would be a terrible mistake in my opinion!

Your oil analogy doesn't work here because we have yet to find our cap. If the program was 100 years old and we knew that our base was well formed within our market, then it would make sense to build something that limits supply at the level of current demand. We however have been operating at a shortage since day one, and as such have not even begun to tap the vast majority of our market. By building another stadium that does nothing to allow more people in the tent, we perpetuate the exclusion of our untapped fans.

What we are doing is more like what Apple did initially with the iPhone. They initially launched only on AT&T (Foreman Field) and built demand by making people pine for something they couldn't have. Then after a few years they expanded their potential user base by adding compatibility with every carrier and grew the brand worldwide capitalizing on the pent up demand. We are just jumping from AT&T to Verizon still leaving the rest of the world waiting. Eventually, they will just give up and move on to something else (our disappearing wait list).

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I work on offshore oil rigs, so I guess I look at the oil reference differently.
While the gut of supply may be hurting the Upstream sectors, midstream and downstream companies are killing. Some companies are posting 100% year on year returns. It's because oil is so cheap that the two other sectors are printing money.

Remind me WHAT problem this $50 M is going to fix?

Seems like momentum has squeezed out room for logic.

No one can remember the initial case was the need for more seats.

(06-09-2016 05:30 PM)First time Long time Wrote:  Remind me WHAT problem this $50 M is going to fix?

Seems like momentum has squeezed out room for logic.

No one can remember the initial case was the need for more seats.

You got $50 Mill you want to donate?
The school is restricted as to what it can do in contrast to its peers.

(06-09-2016 05:30 PM)First time Long time Wrote:  Remind me WHAT problem this $50 M is going to fix?

Seems like momentum has squeezed out room for logic.

No one can remember the initial case was the need for more seats.

Sure we remember that one of the cases was for more seats. The thing is they can't just add a bunch of seats to an 80 year old delapidated stadium. They have to start at the foundation, and than work their way up. Due to the fact that they have to finance the stadium, they chose to build in two phases. They did this mainly to keep from raising student fees. Perhaps you've heard that rising student fees, especially those tied to athletics are a big issue, particularly in the Commonwealth of VA.

More seats are coming in phase 2.

No more Spivey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Say goodbye to whatever slim hopes we had of joining the AAC.

It is what it is. A super nice fcs stadium.

(06-09-2016 07:11 PM)Razor Ramon Monarch Wrote:  Say goodbye to whatever slim hopes we had of joining the AAC.

It is what it is. A super nice fcs stadium.

At least we get to poop away the sadness in real bathrooms this time

(06-09-2016 05:30 PM)First time Long time Wrote:  Remind me WHAT problem this $50 M is going to fix?

Seems like momentum has squeezed out room for logic.

No one can remember the initial case was the need for more seats.

$50M for nice toilets and seat backs. Like it or not, that is what it is.

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The drawings look cool. I guess CUSA will be where we die. We will never win the recruiting battle. With only 22k, how can we afford to be in the FBS? I thought FBS stadiums were suppose to be larger to make more money for the program? This is really stupid. We won't be loud enough to make opposing teams make bad choses with the ball and we will never move to a better conference. It least ODU will not have invested too much into the football program when they make the move back to the FCS.

(06-09-2016 07:17 PM)CameramanJ Wrote:  

(06-09-2016 07:11 PM)Razor Ramon Monarch Wrote:  Say goodbye to whatever slim hopes we had of joining the AAC.

It is what it is. A super nice fcs stadium.

At least we get to poop away the sadness in real bathrooms this time

I don't schit in public toilets anyway. Maybe they should lace the food in the new concessions with laxatives so we get our money's worth.

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there are tons of schools that wish they bad 22k in attendance. How does that proclude us from other conferences if they were expanding? Especially with the ability to go to 30.

Congrats and will look more when I'm home. But sounds very nice and sensible

(06-09-2016 03:14 PM)Old Dominion Wrote:  Someone on here assured us the BOV would not approve the proposal today. They assured us we'd have to wait for the next BOV meeting to hear if it was accepted or not.

WRONG

What was approved today ? Authority to proceed only. Not one bid has been submitted so nobody has approved any financial commitment nor do we really know what $55M will get us. So while the BOV did hear the report ($55M for 22K seats) and approve ODU to move forward nothing has really been approved. It was all for show today !

(06-09-2016 07:54 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  there are tons of schools that wish they bad 22k in attendance. How does that proclude us from other conferences if they were expanding? Especially with the ability to go to 30.

What AAC teams play in a 22k max stadium?

What bcs teams?

Ok then.