(08-09-2016 05:26 PM)MarketingOwl Wrote:  

(08-09-2016 03:58 PM)mrbig Wrote:  I would love to see Rice's next set of HRS renovations to include something like what is in the LA Tech photo, but moved further down the upper stands so that the press box and suites aren't so far away from the field. Maybe leave 5-10 rows in front of the new area. I've never been in the press box, but numerous press members who have covered Rice over the years have complained about the press box. And mid-field suites could be put to multi-purpose uses at Rice. I'll let you know if I win the powerball...

My opinion isn't that the press box is too far away. It actually has a decent view of the entire field. The only reason someone would say it's too far away is because of the lack of fans in the stadium. If the stadium was full, there wouldn't be too much complaint. Has a better view than Reliant/Super Dome and many other stadiums I have been in.

I think the general complaint about the press box/club level is just the fact that it is super narrow and out dated. There is only one very slow elevator to get into the club level, then you have to take a flight of stairs to get up to the press box. This same elevator is shared between all media and club members. The only other option is taking the ramp to the upper deck, then climbing all the stairs to a door. Not ideal or quick at all. They do hold the elevator before the half and end of the game for media/coaches.

The radio/pa/coaches/tv rooms are on the same level as the club seats. The hallway here is super narrow and there is always some member of the media or coaches who gets caught behind some club member. This is very inconvenient and annoying for someone trying to do a job very quickly. I cannot count the number of times this has happened to myself.

It would be nice if the radio/tv/coaches were separate from the rest of the club.

The bathroom is very outdated and not very nice either. Just like the rest of the restrooms in the stadium before they started renovating them.

And then of course the common complaint with the media was the food. Thank goodness they finally got rid of Prince's. I know several people who would sneak food from the club level since it was connected.

Also, when I was last there a few years back, the stat tracker program/equipment they were using was very dated and pretty unreliable (bad signal). You were better off pulling up gametracker on your laptop for stats.

Valid points all. I can tell you with certainty that one of the issues in the press box is it has a really poor wifi/internet signal. It's very common for the connection to go down several times a game - that sometimes even happens in basketball but not nearly as often. You'd think Rice's campus-wide wifi would be a stronger signal.

To me, the worst issue about the press box/elevator is that the food service uses the same elevator as fans/media. They reserve the elevator for coaches right before the game, and at halftime so they can get down to the field quicker. But 10-15 minutes after a game is over, you're better off just walking down the stairs instead of waiting for the food folks to load/unload all their food equipment.