Looks ambitious and a 3 year completion is good timing since some of the current conference alignments will be ending in 2010. This would be a very positive statement to the rest of the conference about how competitive EMU plans to be in the future.
Quote:Miami (Ohio) and Ohio University each have an athletic performance center and both have started movement toward an indoor practice facility.
Ohio's indoor practice facility will be built next to Peden Stadium.
I was excited about what OU has going on down in Athens as far as facilities construction but with the entire MAC making upgrades not so much anymore.......
EMU needs to get people in the stands. This stuff is nice for the players, but they need a big name coach that will bring in fans too.
This is good, i'm glad to see so many MAC schools making commitments to their athletics. Sometimes it feels as if this conference is never going to go anywhere. I hope we can reach the status that the MWC has (pay their coaches very well, good attendances, strong sports, TV channel, etc.).
OUBOBCATJOHN Wrote:EMU needs to get people in the stands. This stuff is nice for the players, but they need a big name coach that will bring in fans too.
Just need to get wins. A big name coach is not a precursor to winning.
OUBOBCATJOHN Wrote:EMU needs to get people in the stands. This stuff is nice for the players, but they need a big name coach that will bring in fans too.
Well, they need to get competitive first before they can bring people in. It will always be hard for EMU since they remain in the shadow of UM. But, this facility upgrade will allow them to be more competitive in recruiting, on-the-field performance, and academics. It's very hard for schools to be competitive without these facilities. NIU found football success without competitive facilities, but that doesn't happen too often. Now we're finally building up our facilities, which has been a long time coming.
If EMU could get get better they should be able to get some fans in the stands. It is so darn to close to Detorit, and now with they way Detorit has spread out and grown it is almost a suburb of Detorit. I know it is tough becuase they are in UM's back yard and the Detorit media worships at the the altar of M football.
Quote:Student Athlete Performance Enhancement Center
So, we're talking about renovating the water tower, then? ;-)
CMichFan Wrote:Quote:Student Athlete Performance Enhancement Center
So, we're talking about renovating the water tower, then? ;-)
lmfao lmfao
why does EMU have that giant *****?
Any upgrades to Rynearson planned?
A scoreboard?
but there were plans a year or two ago for a Jumbotron.
EMU did the FieldTurf but got 'cold feet' about doing the Jumbotron at the same time.
The gist on the FieldTurf was that the funds would be guaranteed from road FB game guarantees.
Maybe the same could be done for a JumboTron (I don't buy the idea that it will be 'financially self-supporting' from advertising.
this is a pipe dream. How can you do this drawing 3,000 or less a game. Being 5 miles fro UM stadium makes the EMU future non existent. It has taken NIU 10 yrs to get their place with a 1 mill anf a 3.5 mill dollar gift, where is EMU going to get a $20 mill gift to start it off.
Big_Man Wrote:why does EMU have that giant *****?
Why does it interest you so much? ;-) Inquiring minds want to know.
gcd Wrote:this is a pipe dream. How can you do this drawing 3,000 or less a game. Being 5 miles fro UM stadium makes the EMU future non existent. It has taken NIU 10 yrs to get their place with a 1 mill anf a 3.5 mill dollar gift, where is EMU going to get a $20 mill gift to start it off.
The number of fans U draw isn't as important as how many of them have the $ to donate to a facility upgrade.
U North Dakota doesn't draw what most MAC programs do for football and other sports but one of their alum (Ralph Englestad) donated $120M for a new hockey arena and basketball facility. Further, the city of Grand Forks, ND increased their sales tax by .5% in order to pay for a convention center/indoor football stadium for UND with a total cost of $80M. Without any state funding, or increasing student fees or soliciting any other alumni, UND got $200M in revenue to vastly improve their facilities.
ND ST also got Fargo to approve an increase in their sales tax rate (.5%) to pay for the Fargodome, a combination indoor football stadium/convention center ($48M).
Lesser known programs can do it provided they have some wealthy contributors to support a project.
onlinepole Wrote:gcd Wrote:this is a pipe dream. How can you do this drawing 3,000 or less a game. Being 5 miles fro UM stadium makes the EMU future non existent. It has taken NIU 10 yrs to get their place with a 1 mill anf a 3.5 mill dollar gift, where is EMU going to get a $20 mill gift to start it off.
The number of fans U draw isn't as important as how many of them have the $ to donate to a facility upgrade.
U North Dakota doesn't draw what most MAC programs do for football and other sports but one of their alum (Ralph Englestad) donated $120M for a new hockey arena and basketball facility. Further, the city of Grand Forks, ND increased their sales tax by .5% in order to pay for a convention center/indoor football stadium for UND with a total cost of $80M. Without any state funding, or increasing student fees or soliciting any other alumni, UND got $200M in revenue to vastly improve their facilities.
ND ST also got Fargo to approve an increase in their sales tax rate (.5%) to pay for the Fargodome, a combination indoor football stadium/convention center ($48M).
Lesser known programs can do it provided they have some wealthy contributors to support a project.
So who's EMU's big wig billionare donor?
JK...
some schools get a few big donors and then build around them.
some schools go for the one huge donor and then fill with smaller donors.
it remains to be seen if there is a huge donor lined up for Eastern.
i do know Eastern is trying.
Quote:It has taken NIU 10 yrs to get their place with a 1 mill anf a 3.5 mill dollar gift, where is EMU going to get a $20 mill gift to start it off.
Some schools have to go the bake sale route and others have wealthy donors who build theirs. Western's was built courtesy of one donor. Who's to say EMU cant do the same.
Yet others like UND & ND ST get the taxpayers of the city in which they are based (Grand Forks & Fargo) to increase their taxes to pay for the facilities they want.
