It has been said on another forum that if Tulane builds a new stadium the opening day event (in about 7 years) would certainly draw 35,000 fans. I think that if Tulane is not drawing at least 35,000 fans within the next three seasons we will have failed, and there will be no new stadium.
35k seems about right, with a levee similar to the endzone hill that Mizzou has. Make it small, but real nice - bigger is not better, better is better.
If Tulane controls all of the revenue (parking, con cessions, advetising, outside events, etc), the cash flow would be like 50 to 60k in the dome. Save the LSU game - if that ever gets back on track - for the Dome.
I agree 35k sounds about right. I don't know what SMU's capacity is but a stadium like that would be perfect.
I truely believe that if Tulane continues to build and show consistent success, they will be averaging more than 40,000 before ground is broken on a new facility. I see no reason why Tulane can not return to the kind of support they were getting in the 1980's. If that happens, a stadium capacity of 35,000 will be a step backwards.
I do hope you're right. For us to have to revise stadium size upwards because of substantial improvements in attendance between now and then would be great indeed. I don't miss a football game at home and I haven't seen 35,000 actually bodies in the dome since really late in the '98 season. But, when we won, they came. What would you do to begin with? 40k? Maybe 45k?
I think a more appropriate time to make that decision would be 18 months from now. But, if I had to guess, I'd guess 42,000.
BTW, I'm pretty sure there were more than 35,000 actual fans at the Texas game in 2001.
Observer, my thoughts are in agreement with you philosophically on this. I don't want us thinking we can't quickly get back to the attendance of the late 70s / early 80s, which happened overnight. We averaged 24,000 in 1978, and averaged 47k-48k for the next several years. Those were modern times; I am convinced it can happen again. I offer up the final game of 1998, with 39-40K in the Dome for Tulane vs. La. Tech, as proof of that. I feel that was the beginning of a turnaround in attendance that would have carried over in a big way to 1999 had we had continuity in the program.
30-35K locks in mediocrity. I am shocked at how few see that.