(10-30-2014 09:02 PM)prairiedawg Wrote:  

(10-30-2014 05:40 PM)ohiobobcats11 Wrote:  Does anyone think this stuff will ever happen?? I just wonder where the heck the $$$ will come from. The quotes make it sound like they're just going to wish for it and $100M will fall out of the sky.

Also, I struggle with any rationale to expand the football stadium when it's not remotely full right now. Even with Ohio averaging 22K, I don't want to expand our 24K stadium. Until there's 5 years of sellout demand at every game, there's no point. Demand is a beautiful thing that allows you to push price and create a "hot ticket". NIU will be looking at 12,000 empty seats every game, just seems bizarre to me.

I think it will happen. Bigger names playing in Dekalb and better, newer amenities will bring bodies. Not sure about the rest of MAC country but population is increasing rapidly in N. Illinois.

With Power 5 conferences expanding their league games, it is becoming more difficult for MAC teams to schedule them and almost impossible at home. Toledo has played plenty of Big Ten, Big 12 and even SEC at home and it hasn't helped raise overall attendance.

(10-31-2014 12:28 PM)DetroitRocket Wrote:  

(10-30-2014 09:02 PM)prairiedawg Wrote:  

(10-30-2014 05:40 PM)ohiobobcats11 Wrote:  Does anyone think this stuff will ever happen?? I just wonder where the heck the $$$ will come from. The quotes make it sound like they're just going to wish for it and $100M will fall out of the sky.

Also, I struggle with any rationale to expand the football stadium when it's not remotely full right now. Even with Ohio averaging 22K, I don't want to expand our 24K stadium. Until there's 5 years of sellout demand at every game, there's no point. Demand is a beautiful thing that allows you to push price and create a "hot ticket". NIU will be looking at 12,000 empty seats every game, just seems bizarre to me.

I think it will happen. Bigger names playing in Dekalb and better, newer amenities will bring bodies. Not sure about the rest of MAC country but population is increasing rapidly in N. Illinois.

With Power 5 conferences expanding their league games, it is becoming more difficult for MAC teams to schedule them and almost impossible at home. Toledo has played plenty of Big Ten, Big 12 and even SEC at home and it hasn't helped raise overall attendance.

A better home schedule increases the appeal of season tickets, especially if the single game ticket of the premiere game is much more expensive. Also these teams did not want to play in DeKalb prior to these promised upgrades, now they do (See SchedulePalooza).

Lets take a closer look at the home attendence:

-FCS school on a rainy day to open the year = bad attendence
-Winless MAC team on another rainy day = bad attendence
-Homecoming = good attendence
-3rd home game in a row on another crappy weather day, and again against a bottom MAC team = bad attendence

To be honest, I think our 2nd best attended game was at Northwestern.

What we need are fans who want to see their teams no matter who they play.

(10-31-2014 12:46 PM)axeme Wrote:  What we need are fans who want to see their teams no matter who they play.

I think our best chance to get more of those are the games against name opponents, if you can convince some to go to those games, and they have fun, they're more likely to go to the other games than if they had never set foot inside the stadium.

That hasn't worked elsewhere.

(10-31-2014 01:54 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(10-31-2014 12:46 PM)axeme Wrote:  What we need are fans who want to see their teams no matter who they play.

I think our best chance to get more of those are the games against name opponents, if you can convince some to go to those games, and they have fun, they're more likely to go to the other games than if they had never set foot inside the stadium.

+1. I have been in groups who went to the Soldier Field games as well as the Northwestern game this year, and some of those individuals have yet to go to a game in DeKalb due to the lack of a name opponent. This will change in the coming years, and maybe they will be hooked following their experience and attend more games regardless of the opponent.

(10-31-2014 12:21 PM)7 Wrote:  

(10-31-2014 11:20 AM)MidnightBlueGold Wrote:  

(10-31-2014 08:30 AM)7 Wrote:  It's also not $100 million for the football stadium. It's $138 million for the entire project, which goes well beyond the football stadium. I've seen the football stadium cost at 40-50 million. If they can get $20-25 million for the naming rights (not a crazy number), you've paid off half of it right there. So you're looking at having to raise $20-25 million for the stadium. Some of that will pay for itself in the form of suites. It's not an impossible number to reach.

But don't the Olympic facilities need to be built first so they can gut the underside of HS?

To 100% finish the stadium renovation? Yes. To do the vast majority of it? No.

Pretty much what Frazier determined was that the West side was beyond repair for lack of a better term. The way it's structured, it's hard to do a complete remodel because of how it was built. The vast majority of the work is going to come on the East side and South Side. That's where they're adding skyboxes, adding suites, adding charibacks, and adding more bleachers in the south endzone. As you mentioned, what they're doing on the west side is taking out the wrestling and gymnastics rooms to create more space as well as removing some ramps. A lot of that is cosmestic, and probably not very high on the priority list. I would imagine most/all the season ticket holders will move to the East side, and we'll stick those bastard Toledo fans and such on the West side .

I also believe there's two phases to the West side renovation. Part I can be done without the Olympic building being built, IIRC.

Gotcha. Hopefully they do the east side first since that will bring in the most money when it's finished. And you'd think they would do the south end zone last since there isn't really a need for extra seating right now (of course that can/probably will change in the future).

(10-31-2014 12:28 PM)DetroitRocket Wrote:  

(10-30-2014 09:02 PM)prairiedawg Wrote:  

(10-30-2014 05:40 PM)ohiobobcats11 Wrote:  Does anyone think this stuff will ever happen?? I just wonder where the heck the $$$ will come from. The quotes make it sound like they're just going to wish for it and $100M will fall out of the sky.

Also, I struggle with any rationale to expand the football stadium when it's not remotely full right now. Even with Ohio averaging 22K, I don't want to expand our 24K stadium. Until there's 5 years of sellout demand at every game, there's no point. Demand is a beautiful thing that allows you to push price and create a "hot ticket". NIU will be looking at 12,000 empty seats every game, just seems bizarre to me.

I think it will happen. Bigger names playing in Dekalb and better, newer amenities will bring bodies. Not sure about the rest of MAC country but population is increasing rapidly in N. Illinois.

With Power 5 conferences expanding their league games, it is becoming more difficult for MAC teams to schedule them and almost impossible at home. Toledo has played plenty of Big Ten, Big 12 and even SEC at home and it hasn't helped raise overall attendance.

Were those games truly at home, or at Soldier's Field?

(10-31-2014 03:28 PM)westernwilly Wrote:  

(10-31-2014 12:28 PM)DetroitRocket Wrote:  

(10-30-2014 09:02 PM)prairiedawg Wrote:  

(10-30-2014 05:40 PM)ohiobobcats11 Wrote:  Does anyone think this stuff will ever happen?? I just wonder where the heck the $$$ will come from. The quotes make it sound like they're just going to wish for it and $100M will fall out of the sky.

Also, I struggle with any rationale to expand the football stadium when it's not remotely full right now. Even with Ohio averaging 22K, I don't want to expand our 24K stadium. Until there's 5 years of sellout demand at every game, there's no point. Demand is a beautiful thing that allows you to push price and create a "hot ticket". NIU will be looking at 12,000 empty seats every game, just seems bizarre to me.

I think it will happen. Bigger names playing in Dekalb and better, newer amenities will bring bodies. Not sure about the rest of MAC country but population is increasing rapidly in N. Illinois.

With Power 5 conferences expanding their league games, it is becoming more difficult for MAC teams to schedule them and almost impossible at home. Toledo has played plenty of Big Ten, Big 12 and even SEC at home and it hasn't helped raise overall attendance.

Were those games truly at home, or at Soldier's Field?

All of Toledo's home games have been true home games - except when UT 'hosted' 0$U.

Toledo seems to have a solid base of fans, where as low as we get as far as attendance is 16-17k. But it takes extraordinary circumstances to get a sell out. Toledo hasn't started a season hot in quite some time. Playing Boise State in early September, as well as BG on home opening night count as the extraordinary circumstances. Low to mid 20k crowds in going to be the norm for big opponents if our fans don't think we can win. The BSU, and Mizzou games had potential to be close but Toledo didn't play good football themselves. Their play didn't deserve sell outs IMO. Then the fair-weather fans who only went to those games, don't want to come back unless it's for another extraordinary circumstance. Toledo vs. Iowa State could be appealing next season if the Rockets don't look dreadful behind an ENTIRE new offensive line.

Props to NIU for dreaming big. And for putting out there for people to see and comment on. Too many projects at Toledo happen in a vacuum.

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Looks and sounds good, Huskies. Hope it happens for you. I agree with your AD to leverage that success. Build it while you can.