getting back to the EZF itself and what might be its expected impact, here's a link to part 2 of the three part series on UNT and how Apogee Stadium has (or has not) impacted their program:
(07-18-2016 01:36 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote: Ambivalence at Apogee: UNT’s attendance falters as hopes of success go unrealized
By Brett Vito, Staff Writer [email protected]
Published: 17 July 2016 11:32 PM
Steven King was among thousands of North Texas fans who banded together to help make the dream of a new football stadium at the school a reality five years ago.
UNT desperately needed to replace Fouts Field and sold donors on the benefits of purchasing high-dollar seats, including some in an exclusive club level.
King paid a $12,000 fee over five years for two club seats and watched as Apogee Stadium emerged from the grounds of a rundown golf course before opening in 2011.
King, who works in management for an industrial battery manufacturer, and a host of other UNT fans are divided. Some believe their seat licenses were worth the cost, while others have elected not to renew their seats....
Houston opened TDECU Stadium, its $125 million venue, in 2014, while Louisiana Tech opened the Davison Athletics Complex, a $22 million end zone facility, in 2015. Rice will open the Brian Patterson Sports Performance Center, its $31.5 million end zone facility, this fall.
UNT is looking for the funds to keep improving what it has to work with to avoid being left behind.
Interesting to read some of the Bailiff and Karlgaard quotes from the first article in the series for those who didn't click on the link. Actually they spent quite a bit of the article getting Rice perspective on things:
Quote:Rice coach David Bailiff has as good a perspective as anyone in C-USA when it comes to the state of the facility arms race.
Bailiff has served as the head coach at two Texas schools that now compete in the Group of Five. He led Texas State from 2004 to ’06 and helped lay the groundwork for the Bobcats to move up from the Football Championship Subdivision. Bailiff moved on to Rice and is entering his 10th season coaching the Owls.
He has spent nearly 40 years coaching and playing in the region when one adds in his time as an assistant coach at Texas State, TCU and New Mexico and his playing career at Texas State.
What those schools have to work with now impresses Bailiff.
“When I first went to Louisiana Tech, it was nice,” Bailiff said. “Now you walk in and say, ‘Wow, this school is committed.’ You walk into North Texas and say, ‘Wow, what a beautiful stadium.’ You walk into our place and see the end zone complex going in and say, ‘Wow.’ You are thankful that schools are committed this way.”
Quote:“Increasingly, you are going to see schools focus on facilities and renovations that have a revenue component,” Rice athletic director Joe Karlgaard said. “College football attendance is stable or in a slight decrease. Schools are looking at projects that can allow for a higher seat price and concessions. When we renovate, we will look at doing things that have a revenue component.”
Good news is it sounds like JK has a good feel for the realities of the current situation.
...and this from former Rice asst coach and now UH Head Coach Tom Herman:
Quote:“To be honest, it should be,” Houston coach Tom Herman said when asked if there is an arms race underway among Group of Five schools in the region. “These kids work so hard.
“If it were up to me we’d pay them more than we do, but they don’t ask me that. So what’s the next-best thing? To provide them every first-class tool to improve their training and their quality of life because of the sacrifices they make for the university.”
The approach and the construction of Apogee helped ignite the facilities arms race among Group of Five teams in the Southwest. Five years later, that race shows no sign of slowing down.
(07-18-2016 01:30 PM)Afflicted Wrote: That's your reasoning, that weight rooms are for the team and not fans?
Ha...you clearly don't understand what the word "liability" means.
Yeah, I do. And again, I'm not talking about letting people have free access throughout the coaches offices or locker rooms. For obvious reasons, I'm not for encouraging them to work out on new weightlifting equipment during the football game. My God. I'm talking about opening a small area inside the building where folks can get a quick glimpse of how it looks. You guys are ridiculous. Y'all are oppositional for the sake of being oppositional. The access that I'm talking about would be very limited and secure, but I think you know that. There's nothing unreasonable about that.
(This post was last modified: 07-18-2016 03:27 PM by Afflicted.)
(07-18-2016 01:30 PM)Afflicted Wrote: That's your reasoning, that weight rooms are for the team and not fans?
Ha...you clearly don't understand what the word "liability" means.
Yeah, I do. And again, I'm not talking about letting people have free access throughout the coaches offices or locker rooms. For obvious reasons, I'm not for encouraging them to work out on new weightlifting equipment during the football game. My God. I'm talking about opening a small area inside the building where folks can get a quick glimpse of how it looks. You guys are ridiculous. Y'all are oppositional for the sake of being oppositional. The access that I'm talking about would be very limited and secure, but I think you know that. There's nothing unreasonable about that.
And you are quick to spend other people's money! Security isn't free. You want a tour? Poney up a decent Owl Club donation and you'll get an invitation.
(07-18-2016 01:30 PM)Afflicted Wrote: That's your reasoning, that weight rooms are for the team and not fans?
Ha...you clearly don't understand what the word "liability" means.
Yeah, I do. And again, I'm not talking about letting people have free access throughout the coaches offices or locker rooms. For obvious reasons, I'm not for encouraging them to work out on new weightlifting equipment during the football game. My God. I'm talking about opening a small area inside the building where folks can get a quick glimpse of how it looks. You guys are ridiculous. Y'all are oppositional for the sake of being oppositional. The access that I'm talking about would be very limited and secure, but I think you know that. There's nothing unreasonable about that.
And you are quick to spend other people's money! Security isn't free. You want a tour? Poney up a decent Owl Club donation and you'll get an invitation.
Won't there already be security in and around the building? I would think so. And you can shove your Owl Club donation. Elitist.
(07-18-2016 01:30 PM)Afflicted Wrote: That's your reasoning, that weight rooms are for the team and not fans?
Ha...you clearly don't understand what the word "liability" means.
Yeah, I do. And again, I'm not talking about letting people have free access throughout the coaches offices or locker rooms. For obvious reasons, I'm not for encouraging them to work out on new weightlifting equipment during the football game. My God. I'm talking about opening a small area inside the building where folks can get a quick glimpse of how it looks. You guys are ridiculous. Y'all are oppositional for the sake of being oppositional. The access that I'm talking about would be very limited and secure, but I think you know that. There's nothing unreasonable about that.
And you are quick to spend other people's money! Security isn't free. You want a tour? Poney up a decent Owl Club donation and you'll get an invitation.
Won't there already be security in and around the building? I would think so. And you can shove your Owl Club donation. Elitist.
Great big windows on the EZF, to peer in at the facilities.
Bigger windows than the Cox facility, where we could also peer in at the facilities (and the athletes).
(07-19-2016 09:01 AM)Grungy Wrote: Great big windows on the EZF, to peer in at the facilities.
Bigger windows than the Cox facility, where we could also peer in at the facilities (and the athletes).
It's a wash...
speaking of windows- what are those long sticky-looking things doing sticking attached to the top row of windows all of a sudden?
And for the hat trick, here's the final of the 3-part series on Apogee re-posted here for your reading pleasure:
(07-19-2016 10:26 AM)Side Show Joe Wrote: UNT expected to name new AD in the next few weeks as anniversary of Apogee’s opening nears
By Brett Vito, Staff Writer [email protected]
Published: 18 July 2016 07:18 PM
Longtime North Texas fan Tony Barone can’t help but feel nervous — and at the same time hopeful — about the future of the North Texas football program following the departure of Rick Villarreal this summer.
UNT has been searching for a new athletic director since Villarreal stepped down in June after more than 15 years in the job. The school is expected to introduce his replacement in the next few weeks...
Challenges for new AD
More than 100 fans who are anxious to see what is next for UNT athletics attended a meeting on June 27 at Apogee, where the state of the program was discussed. What transpired illustrated the challenges ahead for UNT’s next athletic director.
UNT hired DFW businessmen Michael Sicuro and Trip Kuehne to evaluate the program and report their findings to president Neal Smatresk and other school officials. The pair organized the meeting, where UNT boosters and fans aired concerns on everything from football scheduling to fundraising...
UNT has an annual series with rival SMU that its fans long wanted. Army and Memphis are also set to play in Apogee in the next eight years.
Those games aren’t enough to satisfy McKinney and other UNT fans who are upset that the school has played just five home games in two of its five seasons at Apogee. The Mean Green have also hosted only one team from a Power Five conference in that span...
(07-19-2016 09:01 AM)Grungy Wrote: Great big windows on the EZF, to peer in at the facilities.
Bigger windows than the Cox facility, where we could also peer in at the facilities (and the athletes).
It's a wash...
speaking of windows- what are those long sticky-looking things doing sticking attached to the top row of windows all of a sudden?
Those appear to be inside.
Something to hang ceiling, lights, or designer ducts.
Is the greenery on the hills to either side of the EZF, as well as the giant wall, going to be real or turf? It looks like they may be installing some sort of water lines in the hills right now, but not sure.
(07-19-2016 09:01 AM)Grungy Wrote: Great big windows on the EZF, to peer in at the facilities.
Bigger windows than the Cox facility, where we could also peer in at the facilities (and the athletes).
It's a wash...
speaking of windows- what are those long sticky-looking things doing sticking attached to the top row of windows all of a sudden?
Those appear to be inside.
Something to hang ceiling, lights, or designer ducts.
I can't tell if they are inside or not. But at this time of day, it looks like they light up.
(07-19-2016 09:01 AM)Grungy Wrote: Great big windows on the EZF, to peer in at the facilities.
Bigger windows than the Cox facility, where we could also peer in at the facilities (and the athletes).
It's a wash...
speaking of windows- what are those long sticky-looking things doing sticking attached to the top row of windows all of a sudden?
Those appear to be inside.
Something to hang ceiling, lights, or designer ducts.
I can't tell if they are inside or not. But at this time of day, it looks like they light up.
And at present time of day, at first glance they looked to be outside. I agree now that they are inside when I look more closely.
Lots of activity outside today:
+workers on and in the video board up top
+black fence going up in front of building
+'yard work' on right side dirt
+railing on ramp to field is up
(This post was last modified: 07-21-2016 01:51 PM by GoodOwl.)
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HRS / EZF Athletics + Campus Construction Thread
RE: EZF Construction Thread 
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