(06-13-2019 09:15 PM)BullsFanInTX Wrote: ODU's stadium looks great. Looks a lot bigger than a 22K stadium.
Get rid of the ugly end zone bleachers though and replace with permanent seating tied into the new stadium.
Agreed, looks like a grandstand at a drag strip
This stadium hopefully will host a G-5 bowl game within a few years
They have already announced that the North Endzone bleachers will be replaced next.
They also said they plan to pay for it privately. They will kick that fundraising into high gear after construction is completeted on phase 1 this summer. The timeline for that phase is 2 to 4 years, depending on how well fundraising goes.
From what I've heard, they plan to complete the horseshoe (connecting the east and west concourses), add suites to the west side stands and they want to include a new outdoor beer garden (to complement the beer garden in the south endzone). But all that doesn't mean much until we see some renderings.
Football
This was a drone flyover of the South Alabama on campus football stadium construction as of May 3.
Baseball
South Alabama is upgrading their baseball clubhouse. The old Jon Lieber Clubhouse has been torn down, and construction has started on the new Jon Leiber Clubhouse that will nearly double the size.
Basketball
South Alabama Basketball is installing a new scoreboard and new lighting in the Mitchell Center.
(This post was last modified: 06-15-2019 09:51 AM by SkullyMaroo.)
(06-14-2019 08:55 AM)CoastalVANDAL Wrote: It seems odd to me CCU and ODU jumped right on expanding their stadiums.
While Charlotte and U Mass bigger school have not.
Twenty thousand is kinda the new minimum required while fifteen thousand is official.
I can answer that.
When we moved up to FBS, our former AD (plus his team and probably some consultants) believed Gillette would take the place as our primary venue. McGuirk was to be designated as a secondary venue. Its planned primary use was as a practice facility and those weeknight MAC games. Therefore, capacity wasn't really an issue.
Quote:Once the training facility and press box are completed we anticipate we will play at least one game per year on campus.
Quote:The more success we have in Foxborough, ironically, the less chance there would be of returning to McGuirk...
The MAC has a tradition of playing late-season, midweek games (for TV). I can see possibly moving that type of game on campus, so that people don't have to make the longer trip in the middle of the week.
UMass hasn't performed on-field as anticipated and as such the attendance has been low enough where Gillette isn't really required.
We're no longer in the MAC, so the stadium being built to fit a MAC-specific weeknight requirement doesn't make as much sense anymore.
And finally, with Bamford being hired in 2015 there was a change in philosophy.
Quote:College football is meant to be played on campus, and that’s where we want to keep it, at least predominantly
https://www.bostonherald.com/2017/08/23/...dependent/
Bamford has also utilized UMass' status as an independent to a scheduling advantage. If we were still in the MAC we'd probably be at Gillette most of the time. With Gillette being the primary option I'm nearly positive that P5s, BYU, etc. wouldn't agree to play us at home in McGuirk.
The other thing is economics. The cost of construction in this part of the country is absolutely insane. Maybe in South Carolina you can "build it and they will come"... but here you really need to demonstrate a need to expand. For now comfort and ammenities upgrades are the only things that make sense. Especially since McGuirk already exceeds the 15k minimum, McGuirk was designed for temporary expansion into the low 20ks, and we can always use Gillette as a relief valve.
I see no reason low to mid twenties with gillete as a big game venue would not be perfect.
Nevada and Utah St are mid twenties along with Tulane in top G5 conferences.As a fan of a realignment victim I pull for you guys. Idaho gets ripped for dropping but moved up to join the Big west. Four football conferences and two years as an independent in twenty years is crazy .
I guess I am going to have to fire my helicopter up and film CCU's stadium almost done.
It seems odd to me CCU and ODU jumped right on expanding their stadiums.
While Charlotte and U Mass bigger school have not.
Twenty thousand is kinda the new minimum required while fifteen thousand is official.
I can answer that.
Our Chancellor and previous AD were football idiots. Plus, according to himself, our Chancellor has been dead and buried since 2012 ("I'll be dead and buried before we are FBS"). He also gave away a medical school in Charlotte to Wake Forest while making himself look like a pure cuck in the process.
Coastal is hosting a bowl game that helps.
I know Charlotte host a bowl game but a lower tier bowl at your stadium would be nice. Some bowl locations kinda suck. Charlotte is an easy drive for MAC and some C-USA , SBC fans.
I guess I am going to have to fire my helicopter up and film CCU's stadium almost done.
It seems odd to me CCU and ODU jumped right on expanding their stadiums.
While Charlotte and U Mass bigger school have not.
Twenty thousand is kinda the new minimum required while fifteen thousand is official.
I can answer that.
Our Chancellor and previous AD were football idiots. Plus, according to himself, our Chancellor has been dead and buried since 2012 ("I'll be dead and buried before we are FBS"). He also gave away a medical school in Charlotte to Wake Forest while making himself look like a pure cuck in the process.
Coastal is hosting a bowl game that helps.
I know Charlotte host a bowl game but a lower tier bowl at your stadium would be nice. Some bowl locations kinda suck. Charlotte is an easy drive for MAC and some C-USA , SBC fans.
I doubt Jerry Richardson Stadium would ever get a bowl game, even if we expanded to 40k. BoA Stadium (and it's eventual successor) will always host bowl games in this area. Also, we don't need more bowl games at this point, if ever.
I guess I am going to have to fire my helicopter up and film CCU's stadium almost done.
It seems odd to me CCU and ODU jumped right on expanding their stadiums.
While Charlotte and U Mass bigger school have not.
Twenty thousand is kinda the new minimum required while fifteen thousand is official.
I can answer that.
Our Chancellor and previous AD were football idiots. Plus, according to himself, our Chancellor has been dead and buried since 2012 ("I'll be dead and buried before we are FBS"). He also gave away a medical school in Charlotte to Wake Forest while making himself look like a pure cuck in the process.
Coastal is hosting a bowl game that helps.
I know Charlotte host a bowl game but a lower tier bowl at your stadium would be nice. Some bowl locations kinda suck. Charlotte is an easy drive for MAC and some C-USA , SBC fans.
I doubt Jerry Richardson Stadium would ever get a bowl game, even if we expanded to 40k. BoA Stadium (and it's eventual successor) will always host bowl games in this area. Also, we don't need more bowl games at this point, if ever.
I was thinking Camelia Bowl move there or Potato Bowl lower level bowl.
Removing most of the scaffolding and there was some interior shots where they're doing drywall work. So they're definitely on the home stretch. Working on replacing the turf now.