(07-19-2015 07:55 PM)e-parade Wrote:  

(07-19-2015 07:26 PM)Miami (Oh) Yeah ! Wrote:  

(07-19-2015 06:33 PM)e-parade Wrote:  

(07-19-2015 11:28 AM)Steve1981 Wrote:  A poster on one of our sites stopped by the Performance Center on Friday and said the following:

Quote:Stopped by the Performance Center yesterday afternoon...no one in, but looked at three architectural renderings of the proposed stadium upgrades...very impressive...

They are on easels in the lobby area of the Coaches' office area if anyone is in the area and wants to see them.

One shows upgrade of new Home side; the sunny side...
a small second level with luxury boxes, with a full second (really third) fan seating level...

I like the sound of that.

Which means nothing.... WKU had official approval for an Indoor Practice Facility and Stadium upgrades in 2011 by the board and nothing has ever gotten off the ground. UMass hasn't even gotten that far. Renderings are cheap and easy but much harder to get approval and funding. Some schools have had pretty renderings for 20 years and nothing gets build.

UMass won't get this funded with the Boston Globe and Faculty Senate screaming at every turn. Start with plumbing for bathrooms first.

.

In the case of UMass, it's start with the "admit we need to upgrade" phase from the administration followed by the "create renderings to show the idea is actually there" one.

Until Bamford came out an publicly said we needed to upgrade, which was within the past month, we weren't even there yet. The fact that they've already gone and done some renderings shows it wasn't just him making a statement to get people off his case for a while.


Yeah, this isn't going to be fast tracked by any means, but dear lord that doesn't mean you need to go straight for "start with the bathrooms!" as if an upgrade to seating like that wouldn't involve bathrooms (which is another thing he very specifically mentioned in his comments).

e-prade you are right and realize that those fans as Miami OH! and many others like to deflect, even when Ryan Bamford specifically said we'll know in 9 months.

Quote:The new performance center at McGuirk Alumni Stadium has all the trappings of a modern-day collegiate sports facility.

But the stadium it's attached to is stuck somewhere in the 1960s.

Ryan Bamford, UMass' new athletic director, wants to change that. He wants concession stands with reliable credit card machines, up-to-date ticket scanners at the gates, and he wants real bathrooms - not porta potties - for those who come down to see the Minutemen.

And he wants more seats: The 17,000 that the aging stadium holds isn't enough.

In short, Bamford wants to give McGuirk a full facelift.

"It's squarely on my radar, and I would say it's one of the top things that I'm looking at," he said. "We've done a lot of good facility work here, but we need to look toward the future of football at UMass. We need to look at the opportunities that exist if we were to renovate the stadium. It would make a difference for us here. It would also help position ourselves for a chance to be in a league."

Bamford can envision the new-and-improved McGuirk. He sees premium seating with chair backs either between the 35 yard lines, or maybe the 40s. He said he's already "had very detailed conversations with a lot of folks about it - not only on campus, but with donors."

He even has an attendance figure in mind.

"The perfect McGuirk to me is a stadium with at least 25,000 seats, some premium seat offerings, a couple of suites, a club of some sort and then the fan amenities - bathrooms, concession stands and whatnot," he said. "We need to add capacity and our fan amenities. We're not at a true FBS level with it comes to all the experiential pieces that go into college football game day."

Bamford, however, made it abundantly clear that he cherishes the relationship UMass has with the New England Patriots. The Minutemen will play three games out at Gillette Stadium in faraway Foxboro this season. Bamford said the Patriots "were there at a time when we needed it and then built an agreement that really works for both sides."

But he acknowledged that a true college game day experience happens on campus.

"As much as I love the Patriots and the relationship we've had - and we want to continue that - I would like to play a majority of our games on campus," Bamford said. "That's where you build an identity. It's where you build a relationship with the existing student base who will become your fans and season ticket base. We would be remiss and naive if we didn't take advantage of everything we could do on campus to get a full compliment of home games in Amherst."

At some point during the next nine months, it should become more clear where the university with home future games, according to Bamford.

For now, UMass' new director of athletics is concentrating on his vision: 25,000 comfortable fans watching their Minutemen in Amherst.

UMass AD on McGurik expansion