11-27-2009, 07:36 AM
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20091...911270314/
University of Cincinnati needs stadium upgrade, but what and how?
Nippert too old, too small to handle meteoric rise of Bearcats' football
By Cliff Peale • cpeale@enquirer.com • November 26, 2009
On the Nippert Stadium field Friday, the University of Cincinnati will showcase its No. 5-rated football team when it takes on Illinois at noon.
In the stands, on the concourse and in the restrooms, UC will showcase its need to renovate and expand the 35,000-seat, 107-year-old stadium, the nation's fifth-oldest.
It's the smallest stadium in the eight-team Big East Conference and UC is one of only two Division I schools nationally to play games and practice on the same field.
"We can't accommodate the crowds we're currently getting," Athletic Director Mike Thomas said. "I tell people we have more contact on the concourse than we do down on the field."
UC hasn't decided whether it will add tens of thousands of seats, or concentrate more on amenities and revenue-rich luxury boxes and club seats. Some of the more ambitious ideas could include adding to Tangeman University Center or new seats wrapping around the north end of the stadium, near Dieterle Vocal Arts Center.
The project doesn't have a price tag, and won't until UC receives a feasibility study around the end of the year.
Renovating Nippert is not even the most immediate priority of the athletic department, which still is trying to raise millions of dollars to fully pay for football practice fields and an athletic complex along Jefferson Avenue.
But it's safe to say that if UC is to successfully renovate and expand Nippert, fans will be among those paying for the project through premium seats, with private fund-raising financing the rest of a project that could top $50 million.
The program's biggest supporters, emboldened by the recent success and determined to demonstrate UC is a big-time program to keep Coach Brian Kelly, seem ready to try.
"Nippert was just fine for when they were putting 15,000 or 20,000 people in there," said Jim Amann, president of the UCATS booster group. "When you put 35,000 people in there, the amenities need to be addressed. You're looking at a fairly large bill just to get started."
Most successful projects start with a naming gift of $10 million or more, but those kinds of gifts haven't emerged yet, Amann said.
"Our support base is fairly wide but not deep," he added. "We have a lot of million-dollar donors but when you start thinking about those numbers, we don't have that money."
Thomas said UC recognizes it has a jewel in Nippert, an on-campus facility with an intimate atmosphere that fans love. But he said the stadium clearly needs an update.
When added to the practice fields, UC has plenty at stake. In the short term, it's trying to keep Kelly in Cincinnati as the coach already is one of the hottest coaching commodities in the country.
It's also trying to build a base for a big-time program that can not only produce a winning team, but spread the university's name nationwide and supports the rest of the athletic department.
"Those revenues (from an expanded Nippert) help for the project, but they also help support the needs of 18 sports," Thomas said.
The program overspent by nearly $30 million during the last decade and is trying to pay that money back to the university. Last year Thomas was forced to cut scholarships for men's swimming, cross country and track.
Larry Sheakley, president of a business-services company in Springdale, already has contributed or pledged $2.5 million to the Jefferson Avenue complex. He said financial support for any renovation of Nippert Stadium should be there.
He said during one game last year it took him 20 minutes to get through the crowded, narrow concourse to his seat.
"We don't need 80,000 seats," Sheakley said. "We need another 10,000 or 12,000 seats. And you need luxury boxes there to make the project work properly. The biggest problem at Nippert is it's just so old."
Practice complex to start soon
The department's top priority right now is the Jefferson Avenue Sports Complex, which could start construction next week. UC has raised $6.6 million in private donations, most to be paid over five years, and will use about $5 million in game contracts to pay for that project.
UC will borrow $9.7 million to pay for the project until that money is collected. It will pay for one full practice field, one half field and a bubble over the larger field.
Construction could start as soon as next week( on that project, said Andy Hurley, senior associate athletic director.
But UC still is trying to raise at least $4 million more to add seats, locker rooms and concessions and enable Thomas to use all game proceeds to run the athletic program.
"We need community leaders to recognize there's still an urgent need for this project," Hurley said. "To say there's a campaign (for Nippert Stadium) would be premature."
Supporters say the best sales pitch for any Nippert renovation or expansion is the success of the team.
"You have to have a winning program," Sheakley said. "That doesn't mean you're in a big bowl game every year, but you have a viable program. I think we're there now. People realize we're playing big-time football down there."
University of Cincinnati needs stadium upgrade, but what and how?
Nippert too old, too small to handle meteoric rise of Bearcats' football
By Cliff Peale • cpeale@enquirer.com • November 26, 2009
On the Nippert Stadium field Friday, the University of Cincinnati will showcase its No. 5-rated football team when it takes on Illinois at noon.
In the stands, on the concourse and in the restrooms, UC will showcase its need to renovate and expand the 35,000-seat, 107-year-old stadium, the nation's fifth-oldest.
It's the smallest stadium in the eight-team Big East Conference and UC is one of only two Division I schools nationally to play games and practice on the same field.
"We can't accommodate the crowds we're currently getting," Athletic Director Mike Thomas said. "I tell people we have more contact on the concourse than we do down on the field."
UC hasn't decided whether it will add tens of thousands of seats, or concentrate more on amenities and revenue-rich luxury boxes and club seats. Some of the more ambitious ideas could include adding to Tangeman University Center or new seats wrapping around the north end of the stadium, near Dieterle Vocal Arts Center.
The project doesn't have a price tag, and won't until UC receives a feasibility study around the end of the year.
Renovating Nippert is not even the most immediate priority of the athletic department, which still is trying to raise millions of dollars to fully pay for football practice fields and an athletic complex along Jefferson Avenue.
But it's safe to say that if UC is to successfully renovate and expand Nippert, fans will be among those paying for the project through premium seats, with private fund-raising financing the rest of a project that could top $50 million.
The program's biggest supporters, emboldened by the recent success and determined to demonstrate UC is a big-time program to keep Coach Brian Kelly, seem ready to try.
"Nippert was just fine for when they were putting 15,000 or 20,000 people in there," said Jim Amann, president of the UCATS booster group. "When you put 35,000 people in there, the amenities need to be addressed. You're looking at a fairly large bill just to get started."
Most successful projects start with a naming gift of $10 million or more, but those kinds of gifts haven't emerged yet, Amann said.
"Our support base is fairly wide but not deep," he added. "We have a lot of million-dollar donors but when you start thinking about those numbers, we don't have that money."
Thomas said UC recognizes it has a jewel in Nippert, an on-campus facility with an intimate atmosphere that fans love. But he said the stadium clearly needs an update.
When added to the practice fields, UC has plenty at stake. In the short term, it's trying to keep Kelly in Cincinnati as the coach already is one of the hottest coaching commodities in the country.
It's also trying to build a base for a big-time program that can not only produce a winning team, but spread the university's name nationwide and supports the rest of the athletic department.
"Those revenues (from an expanded Nippert) help for the project, but they also help support the needs of 18 sports," Thomas said.
The program overspent by nearly $30 million during the last decade and is trying to pay that money back to the university. Last year Thomas was forced to cut scholarships for men's swimming, cross country and track.
Larry Sheakley, president of a business-services company in Springdale, already has contributed or pledged $2.5 million to the Jefferson Avenue complex. He said financial support for any renovation of Nippert Stadium should be there.
He said during one game last year it took him 20 minutes to get through the crowded, narrow concourse to his seat.
"We don't need 80,000 seats," Sheakley said. "We need another 10,000 or 12,000 seats. And you need luxury boxes there to make the project work properly. The biggest problem at Nippert is it's just so old."
Practice complex to start soon
The department's top priority right now is the Jefferson Avenue Sports Complex, which could start construction next week. UC has raised $6.6 million in private donations, most to be paid over five years, and will use about $5 million in game contracts to pay for that project.
UC will borrow $9.7 million to pay for the project until that money is collected. It will pay for one full practice field, one half field and a bubble over the larger field.
Construction could start as soon as next week( on that project, said Andy Hurley, senior associate athletic director.
But UC still is trying to raise at least $4 million more to add seats, locker rooms and concessions and enable Thomas to use all game proceeds to run the athletic program.
"We need community leaders to recognize there's still an urgent need for this project," Hurley said. "To say there's a campaign (for Nippert Stadium) would be premature."
Supporters say the best sales pitch for any Nippert renovation or expansion is the success of the team.
"You have to have a winning program," Sheakley said. "That doesn't mean you're in a big bowl game every year, but you have a viable program. I think we're there now. People realize we're playing big-time football down there."