Overall for me, the only issue was the slow concessions. Otherwise, a great experience.

The new addition looked great on TV and you could tell, just by appearances, that there had been some cosmetic work on other areas of the stadium. It looked good on TV, looked good with people in it as well. Can't wait to see what the next phase of work on HRS will be.

well...whaddaya know. Webcam is back on and pointed down at one of the gates. Hope they keep it on and re-position it to show a wider angle or scan around the stadium. Non-Houstonians like looking at it once in a while. Thanks, ADept.

What are they using, marble?

Florida’s latest $100 million plan includes fancy new football facility for the Gators

By Bryan FischerSep 16, 2016, 6:38 PM EDT

Hot on the heals of building a $17.5 million indoor practice field last year, Florida is apparently not done upgrading facilities for the Gators football team.

The school unveiled a new $100 million master plan for facilities upgrades on Friday and front and center of that proposal were plans for a brand new football complex just on the edge of the team’s current practice field.

Among the highlights for the Gators are a large lobby area and entrance, a new locker room, a fancy players’ lounge, meeting rooms, various strength, conditioning and training areas, plus a new slate of coaches’ offices. Once the doors are open on the new digs, the team’s current football offices will become athletic department administrative offices while the weight room will be renovated for other sports.

Also in the cards? A new student-athlete dining facility next door to the new football complex and a host of other improvements for various athletic facilities.

“Obviously, it’s a very ambitious project and we’re going to depend on our fundraising efforts to help us with it,” athletic director Jeremy Foley told FloridaGators.com. “Really, it’s a commitment to those three programs, those three coaches. The study also includes opportunities to enhance other facilities that are very important to us, but football, baseball and softball are what we’ve put as our highest priority right now.”

Florida’s latest plans certainly look good on paper (fundraising has yet to commence) and allow the school to catch up to others in the state and around the SEC in the facilities arms race. The project notably marks the final major act for Foley, the school’s long time athletic director who is stepping down in October.

While Foley may not be around to enjoy all the upgrades, you can bet Jim McElwain and his coaching staff are excited about everything announced on Friday.

Oh, Awesome! The webcam is back! EZF looks cool at night with the field showing as well.

Thanks for doing that Ath. Dept!

I won't go into all of it,

but I was at Tulane stadium v Navy.

HRS as it sits is better in many ways and comparable in others. Same with fan attendance. I'd also note that the logo and the band (for the most part) played 'away' from the press box which was on the visitors sideline. The home side was quite empty... despite a REALLY good game with Navy clearly outdrawing Tulane and parking and the egress for visiting fans was poor (due to the path being blocked for players before and after the game)... and they don't have a pee wall, but they do have stainless steel troughs.

It's a decent facility... I'm just addressing the complaints we make. Tulane isn't markedly better and can't solve some of their issues, while we can.

One thing I liked... of course Navy has lots of traditions... songs, chants, doing push-ups or 'tosses' in the stands for the score etc.... but Tulane now has a chant I hadn't heard before (not new, but I hadn't heard it). It sounds like a 1950's 'rah rah sis boom bah- T-Ray t-ray Var-Si-t-ray' sort of cheer played over the system... and while it MAY have been done by the audio system (a simple echo and delay) it SOUNDED like the fans were chanting along with it after scores.

I liked involving the fans in such cheers, even if it was piped in (which is a good idea). I don't like that the home crowd at Rice doesn't get the cheerleaders. I understand why the students do, but I wish they extended around to us and worked in concert.

(09-21-2016 03:11 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  I won't go into all of it,

but I was at Tulane stadium v Navy.

HRS as it sits is better in many ways and comparable in others. Same with fan attendance. I'd also note that the logo and the band (for the most part) played 'away' from the press box which was on the visitors sideline. The home side was quite empty... despite a REALLY good game with Navy clearly outdrawing Tulane and parking and the egress for visiting fans was poor (due to the path being blocked for players before and after the game)... and they don't have a pee wall, but they do have stainless steel troughs.

It's a decent facility... I'm just addressing the complaints we make. Tulane isn't markedly better and can't solve some of their issues, while we can.

One thing I liked... of course Navy has lots of traditions... songs, chants, doing push-ups or 'tosses' in the stands for the score etc.... but Tulane now has a chant I hadn't heard before (not new, but I hadn't heard it). It sounds like a 1950's 'rah rah sis boom bah- T-Ray t-ray Var-Si-t-ray' sort of cheer played over the system... and while it MAY have been done by the audio system (a simple echo and delay) it SOUNDED like the fans were chanting along with it after scores.

I liked involving the fans in such cheers, even if it was piped in (which is a good idea). I don't like that the home crowd at Rice doesn't get the cheerleaders. I understand why the students do, but I wish they extended around to us and worked in concert.

The virtual cheers and crowd noise add a lot to the game day environment, especially at a big venue like HRS, where there aren't many fans, and the ones in attendance are mostly reserved. It encourages fan participation.

(09-21-2016 03:11 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  I won't go into all of it,

but I was at Tulane stadium v Navy.

HRS as it sits is better in many ways and comparable in others. Same with fan attendance. I'd also note that the logo and the band (for the most part) played 'away' from the press box which was on the visitors sideline. The home side was quite empty... despite a REALLY good game with Navy clearly outdrawing Tulane and parking and the egress for visiting fans was poor (due to the path being blocked for players before and after the game)... and they don't have a pee wall, but they do have stainless steel troughs.

It's a decent facility... I'm just addressing the complaints we make. Tulane isn't markedly better and can't solve some of their issues, while we can.

One thing I liked... of course Navy has lots of traditions... songs, chants, doing push-ups or 'tosses' in the stands for the score etc.... but Tulane now has a chant I hadn't heard before (not new, but I hadn't heard it). It sounds like a 1950's 'rah rah sis boom bah- T-Ray t-ray Var-Si-t-ray' sort of cheer played over the system... and while it MAY have been done by the audio system (a simple echo and delay) it SOUNDED like the fans were chanting along with it after scores.

I liked involving the fans in such cheers, even if it was piped in (which is a good idea). I don't like that the home crowd at Rice doesn't get the cheerleaders. I understand why the students do, but I wish they extended around to us and worked in concert.

The cheerleaders and dance team rotate. So the home crowd does get the cheerleaders sometimes.

(09-21-2016 05:34 PM)cr11owl Wrote:  

(09-21-2016 03:11 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  I won't go into all of it,

but I was at Tulane stadium v Navy.

HRS as it sits is better in many ways and comparable in others. Same with fan attendance. I'd also note that the logo and the band (for the most part) played 'away' from the press box which was on the visitors sideline. The home side was quite empty... despite a REALLY good game with Navy clearly outdrawing Tulane and parking and the egress for visiting fans was poor (due to the path being blocked for players before and after the game)... and they don't have a pee wall, but they do have stainless steel troughs.

It's a decent facility... I'm just addressing the complaints we make. Tulane isn't markedly better and can't solve some of their issues, while we can.

One thing I liked... of course Navy has lots of traditions... songs, chants, doing push-ups or 'tosses' in the stands for the score etc.... but Tulane now has a chant I hadn't heard before (not new, but I hadn't heard it). It sounds like a 1950's 'rah rah sis boom bah- T-Ray t-ray Var-Si-t-ray' sort of cheer played over the system... and while it MAY have been done by the audio system (a simple echo and delay) it SOUNDED like the fans were chanting along with it after scores.

I liked involving the fans in such cheers, even if it was piped in (which is a good idea). I don't like that the home crowd at Rice doesn't get the cheerleaders. I understand why the students do, but I wish they extended around to us and worked in concert.

The cheerleaders and dance team rotate. So the home crowd does get the cheerleaders sometimes.

Oh I know, but then the students don't.

I want coordinated cheers. Wireless speaker and perhaps 4 or 6 cheerleaders on both sides

(09-21-2016 05:58 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  

(09-21-2016 05:34 PM)cr11owl Wrote:  

(09-21-2016 03:11 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  I won't go into all of it,

but I was at Tulane stadium v Navy.

HRS as it sits is better in many ways and comparable in others. Same with fan attendance. I'd also note that the logo and the band (for the most part) played 'away' from the press box which was on the visitors sideline. The home side was quite empty... despite a REALLY good game with Navy clearly outdrawing Tulane and parking and the egress for visiting fans was poor (due to the path being blocked for players before and after the game)... and they don't have a pee wall, but they do have stainless steel troughs.

It's a decent facility... I'm just addressing the complaints we make. Tulane isn't markedly better and can't solve some of their issues, while we can.

One thing I liked... of course Navy has lots of traditions... songs, chants, doing push-ups or 'tosses' in the stands for the score etc.... but Tulane now has a chant I hadn't heard before (not new, but I hadn't heard it). It sounds like a 1950's 'rah rah sis boom bah- T-Ray t-ray Var-Si-t-ray' sort of cheer played over the system... and while it MAY have been done by the audio system (a simple echo and delay) it SOUNDED like the fans were chanting along with it after scores.

I liked involving the fans in such cheers, even if it was piped in (which is a good idea). I don't like that the home crowd at Rice doesn't get the cheerleaders. I understand why the students do, but I wish they extended around to us and worked in concert.

The cheerleaders and dance team rotate. So the home crowd does get the cheerleaders sometimes.

Oh I know, but then the students don't.

I want coordinated cheers. Wireless speaker and perhaps 4 or 6 cheerleaders on both sides

Somewhat related but I have always thought that Rice should incorporate some form or adaptation of A&M's yell practice. Yell practice unifies the A&M student body and to an extent the fan base. At a school like Rice where it is easy to identify as a member of Baker or Duncan college before identifying as a Rice Owl, we should have as many systems in place to promote University identity and cohesion on game day. Then we could have members of the Rally club come over to the home side and lead the cheers that the student section would currently be involved in. I have mentioned this before so perhaps it isn't a popular thought, but I think that if given a chance it could improve the game day experience and overall school spirit.

Went to the dedication ceremony. It was very nice. Two observations. David Bailiff is a truly great guy and
well thought of by everyone who knows him. After tonight, which certainly must the be the final straw on his career as Rice's football coach, I just wonder if it would have been different had he been given the resources that were needed-I think I doubt it , but we will never know. Not just the EZF, but marketing and resources for top notch assistants. Sadly both him, Hatfield and Wilson worked in sub par facilities with pathetic university support and weren't and won't be able to get the opportunity to experience the enhancement. All of these men are quality people.

Which brings me to my second observation. If I go to one more event where someone in the admin or the athletics department talks about what a great supporter Leebron has been of athletics, I may just go berserk. Perpetuating that lie is akin to the emperor's new clothes and reminds me of the old saying that those with money or smarts don't need to talk about it. It is under Leebron's admin that the disaster of Rice Athletics has greatly accelerated along the path of disaster that started in 1967 and took a major blow in 1995. Getting people to pay for buildings as tuition explodes ever higher and rankings and prestige falls is not enhancing the university. But he is a resume builder much like CDC. As much as I hate to congratulate UH for anything, you have to give them credit (and TCU) of working a real plan and putting their money where their mouth is. The worse thing I heard at the ceremony is how this was almost done 5 years ago. That check should have been written long ago if there was true support.

(09-24-2016 11:14 PM)texowl2 Wrote:  Which brings me to my second observation. If I go to one more event where someone in the admin or the athletics department talks about what a great supporter Leebron has been of athletics, I may just go berserk. Perpetuating that lie is akin to the emperor's new clothes and reminds me of the old saying that those with money or smarts don't need to talk about it. It is under Leebron's admin that the disaster of Rice Athletics has greatly accelerated along the path of disaster that started in 1967 and took a major blow in 1995. Getting people to pay for buildings as tuition explodes ever higher and rankings and prestige falls is not enhancing the university. But he is a resume builder much like CDC. As much as I hate to congratulate UH for anything, you have to give them credit (and TCU) of working a real plan and putting their money where their mouth is. The worse thing I heard at the ceremony is how this was almost done 5 years ago. That check should have been written long ago if there was true support.

Leebron isn't Gordon Gee. But he is light years better than his predecessors when it comes to supporting athletics. Tudor wouldn't have gotten done under any of his predecessors. I think those in the athletic department who speak highly of him do so because they remember just how bad it could be.

I totally agree that both UH and TCU have tended to business better in their athletic programs than we did. But the gap has narrowed under Leebron. It really has. That it is still so wide is because of how wide it used to be.

(09-24-2016 11:34 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(09-24-2016 11:14 PM)texowl2 Wrote:  Which brings me to my second observation. If I go to one more event where someone in the admin or the athletics department talks about what a great supporter Leebron has been of athletics, I may just go berserk. Perpetuating that lie is akin to the emperor's new clothes and reminds me of the old saying that those with money or smarts don't need to talk about it. It is under Leebron's admin that the disaster of Rice Athletics has greatly accelerated along the path of disaster that started in 1967 and took a major blow in 1995. Getting people to pay for buildings as tuition explodes ever higher and rankings and prestige falls is not enhancing the university. But he is a resume builder much like CDC. As much as I hate to congratulate UH for anything, you have to give them credit (and TCU) of working a real plan and putting their money where their mouth is. The worse thing I heard at the ceremony is how this was almost done 5 years ago. That check should have been written long ago if there was true support.

Leebron isn't Gordon Gee. But he is light years better than his predecessors when it comes to supporting athletics. Tudor wouldn't have gotten done under any of his predecessors. I think those in the athletic department who speak highly of him do so because they remember just how bad it could be.

I totally agree that both UH and TCU have tended to business better in their athletic programs than we did. But the gap has narrowed under Leebron. It really has. That it is still so wide is because of how wide it used to be.

+1000. This Leebron bashing is ridiculous. The situation he inherited with regards to athletics was dysfunctional and a total mess. Aside from being a personal, visible supporter of Rice athletics, program budgets have been increased significantly under this tenure. To compare us to UH or even TCU is insane given our academic focus.

I would say Leebron's actions since the Greenspan fiasco have been very positive. When hired I had serious doubts about Leebron's support of athletics but he surprised me somewhat. His support for CDC and the building of the Tudor/Youngkin/Gibbs buildings were first rate. His failure to fully understand what a poor hire Greenspan would be diminished my opinion of him (as it relates to athletics). The embarrassing RG dog and pony show at Shepherd for his version of the EZF further cast doubt on Leebron's athletic credibility, but since correcting that mistake I think he "gets" it.

Quote:Join us in thanking former Owl @Asendejo for his gift to name the nutrition room in the new home of @RiceFootball! #CommitToTheR

Thank you, Andrew!

We need our baseball major leaguers to start doing the same and give back to the program. Rendon and Berkman did contribute to the new workout area, but that was pretty small change...and none of yet to give to the Baseball endowment.

The reason 1967 is mentioned as the start of the path to disaster is that Neely was forced into retirement by President Pitzer and Hagen was a disaster as football coach and AD. The major blow in 1995 was that the SWC dissolved so we were no longer in a major conference.

(09-24-2016 11:14 PM)texowl2 Wrote:  Went to the dedication ceremony. It was very nice. Two observations. David Bailiff is a truly great guy and
well thought of by everyone who knows him. After tonight, which certainly must the be the final straw on his career as Rice's football coach, I just wonder if it would have been different had he been given the resources that were needed-I think I doubt it , but we will never know. Not just the EZF, but marketing and resources for top notch assistants. Sadly both him, Hatfield and Wilson worked in sub par facilities with pathetic university support and weren't and won't be able to get the opportunity to experience the enhancement. All of these men are quality people.

Which brings me to my second observation. If I go to one more event where someone in the admin or the athletics department talks about what a great supporter Leebron has been of athletics, I may just go berserk. Perpetuating that lie is akin to the emperor's new clothes and reminds me of the old saying that those with money or smarts don't need to talk about it. It is under Leebron's admin that the disaster of Rice Athletics has greatly accelerated along the path of disaster that started in 1967 and took a major blow in 1995. Getting people to pay for buildings as tuition explodes ever higher and rankings and prestige falls is not enhancing the university. But he is a resume builder much like CDC. As much as I hate to congratulate UH for anything, you have to give them credit (and TCU) of working a real plan and putting their money where their mouth is. The worse thing I heard at the ceremony is how this was almost done 5 years ago. That check should have been written long ago if there was true support.

For those who actually went to the UTSA game: were there improvements in the stadium ops hiccups alluded to earlier in the above posts? Scoreboard still having issues, how do those get worked out/fixed?

Stadium is slowing regaining her luster, and I still do hope that despite this season's on-field performances so far, that the renovations continue.

At least this year's Homecoming crowd will be able to distract themselves with the new EZF and other cosmetic improvements.

(10-17-2016 11:48 AM)GoodOwl Wrote:  For those who actually went to the UTSA game: were there improvements in the stadium ops hiccups alluded to earlier in the above posts? Scoreboard still having issues, how do those get worked out/fixed?

Stadium is slowing regaining her luster, and I still do hope that despite this season's on-field performances so far, that the renovations continue.

At least this year's Homecoming crowd will be able to distract themselves with the new EZF and other cosmetic improvements.

Video board did have the score, quarter and time for this game, but the scoreboard at field level on the north end was inoperable. The only full score board was at the south end above the R Room.

I thought the overall look and feel of the stadium was the best it's been since I started at Rice in 1969. The athletic department is on the right track. Unfortunately, they have limited time to accomplish a lot.




quote='GoodOwl' pid='13688378' dateline='1476722928']
For those who actually went to the UTSA game: were there improvements in the stadium ops hiccups alluded to earlier in the above posts? Scoreboard still having issues, how do those get worked out/fixed?

Stadium is slowing regaining her luster, and I still do hope that despite this season's on-field performances so far, that the renovations continue.

At least this year's Homecoming crowd will be able to distract themselves with the new EZF and other cosmetic improvements.
[/quote]

Concessions moved much quicker. Impressed