MGB: UNT regents to consider new track facility, Fouts demo

GreenN'walinsVet · August 16, 2016

5 minutes ago, Harry said:

No offense meant, but is rebuilding a new track facility in the top 10 needs for this athletic department? I would much rather see these funds go to an indoor multipurpose facility which is many high schools now can offer.

I think the key thing here though is the school will be building the track facility so they can get rid of fouts and use its space, not the AD footing the bill

Edited August 16, 2016 by GreenN'walinsVet

Harry · August 16, 2016

1 minute ago, GreenN'walinsVet said:

I think the key thing here though is the school will be building the track facility so they can get rid of fours and use its space, not the AD footing the bill

Good point.

MeanGreenTexan · August 16, 2016

1 minute ago, GreenN'walinsVet said:

I think the key thing here though is the school will be building the track facility so they can get rid of fours and use its space, not the AD footing the bill

Correct. It's not that the new T&F facility is super important... it's the space that Fouts currently takes up. That space is valuable to the University, however it's currently in use by the T&F team. There wouldn't be a T&F facility if they tear down Fouts without building one for T&F beforehand.

letsgiveacheer · August 16, 2016

Opera...now there is something I can speak about.

As someone said, Murchison was never built for opera and the main performance hall does not have an orchestra pit or what is called flyspace for sets, props, etc. Large scale operas are held there but it is always a compromise. There is a smaller Lyric Theater in Murchison which does have a pit but it only seats 300 people, not nearly large enough to stage a grand opera or hold a reasonable audience.

North Texas does have a highly regarded opera program. It won a national competition a year or so ago and I often audition and cast UNT grads in my New York City based company. It is always nice to see our youngsters doing so well in an extremely competitive environment.

Travis · August 16, 2016

2 hours ago, Ben Gooding said:

I believe dorms. But don't quote me on that.

too late.

2 hours ago, Cerebus said:

Per the 2013 Master Plan update oId Fouts Field and the surround area is destined to become:

Fouts Fields - three new intramural fields.

Fouts Field Garage - a 1,600 car parking garage.

A new visitors center.

Green space as part of a walking corridor that extends from that edge of campus to the center.

You forgot

Fouts Field- new boob bar.

UNT90 · August 16, 2016

1 hour ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Listen, you can't just show up wearing a big-ass Opera Championship Ring, slap some concrete stands next to a stage and expect singers to show up. We're going to have to look at the tape and grade them out to see how well they do.
I just hope when Dr. Smatresk looks up and sees that empty spot where the Opera House should be, he'll remember how much money we're saving. Uh, at the end of the day.

Look, when I got here this was the skinniest, most pitchy Opera group in the OBS! This is going to take time.

Where is the Vodka?

greenjoe · August 16, 2016

I don't usually watch her show but I think Opera Winfrey is an attractive lady.

UNTexas · August 16, 2016

4 hours ago, Stan R said:

Juilliard - passed us by?

Now this is a hilarious post.

TheWestie · August 17, 2016

7 hours ago, Harry said:

No offense meant, but is rebuilding a new track facility in the top 10 needs for this athletic department? I would much rather see these funds go to an indoor multipurpose facility which is many high schools now can offer.

Yes. Yes it is.

Would you hold the Conference-USA track championships at Fouts right now? Or NCAA regionals? Or even a UIL regional meet?

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeellllllllll naaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Something I think Vito missed and that the AD doesn't want to mention is that right now Fouts is not a track-only stadium, it is a track practice facility. We haven't hosted a track meet in Denton since April 2014. There are no lights on that side of the stadium so they can't hold a meet. Our squad has had two full seasons now without a home event.

And I'm sure the wasp and hornet infestation in the pressbox has not improved.

Christopher Walker · August 17, 2016

11 hours ago, Stan R said:

So... What's on the master plan to replace the fouts area and buildings? Anyone know?

11 hours ago, Cerebus said:

Per the 2013 Master Plan update oId Fouts Field and the surround area is destined to become:

Fouts Fields - three new intramural fields.

Fouts Field Garage - a 1,600 car parking garage.

A new visitors center.

Green space as part of a walking corridor that extends from that edge of campus to the center.

11 hours ago, UNTLifer said:

I thought there was an opera house designated for an area around current Fouts. Am I mistaken?

11 hours ago, Tyler Maryak said:

From what I remember, there were a lot of people interested in seeing that happen, but it didn't get the support it needed to make it into the final version of the plan.

9 hours ago, letsgiveacheer said:

Opera...now there is something I can speak about.

As someone said, Murchison was never built for opera and the main performance hall does not have an orchestra pit or what is called flyspace for sets, props, etc. Large scale operas are held there but it is always a compromise. There is a smaller Lyric Theater in Murchison which does have a pit but it only seats 300 people, not nearly large enough to stage a grand opera or hold a reasonable audience.

North Texas does have a highly regarded opera program. It won a national competition a year or so ago and I often audition and cast UNT grads in my New York City based company. It is always nice to see our youngsters doing so well in an extremely competitive environment.

I'll get you all concrete (heh.) answers/clarificatiins tomorrow. I think I know the consequences of the ill-fated opera house plans, but I'm going to get word from Dr Nelson so I don't tell it incorrectly.

Harry · August 17, 2016

9 hours ago, Christopher Walker said:

I'll get you all concrete (heh.) answers/clarificatiins tomorrow. I think I know the consequences of the ill-fated opera house plans, but I'm going to get word from Dr Nelson so I don't tell it incorrectly.

Thank you kind sir.

golfingomez · August 17, 2016

20 hours ago, Cerebus said:

Per the 2013 Master Plan update oId Fouts Field and the surround area is destined to become:

Fouts Fields - three new intramural fields.

Fouts Field Garage - a 1,600 car parking garage.

A new visitors center.

Green space as part of a walking corridor that extends from that edge of campus to the center.

I would be completely in favor of all of these

Travis Scott · August 17, 2016

JUST GIVE US BASEBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

UNT90 · August 17, 2016

9 hours ago, Christopher Walker said:

I'll get you all concrete (heh.) answers/clarificatiins tomorrow. I think I know the consequences of the ill-fated opera house plans, but I'm going to get word from Dr Nelson so I don't tell it incorrectly.

Serious question. Doesn't UNT's music program's strength lie in jazz and instrumentals? I have heard that although UNT has a great music program, it's vocal program isn't nationally recognized?

Truth or fiction?

letsgiveacheer · August 17, 2016

2 hours ago, UNT90 said:

Serious question. Doesn't UNT's music program's strength lie in jazz and instrumentals? I have heard that although UNT has a great music program, it's vocal program isn't nationally recognized?

Truth or fiction?

That would be fiction. UNT's vocal program is not the "best", those accolades would go to Indiana, Juilliard, Yale (graduate only) and a few others. But certainly UNT is among the best and has produced many great singers over the years, including a number of singers on the Metropolitan Opera roster. https://opera.music.unt.edu/alumni

While known for jazz, the strength of UNT's music program is its great depth in all aspects of music...opera, orchestral, keyboard, new music, theory, composition, etc. Other than the conservatories like Juilliard and Eastman, there are only a few places like Indiana or Cincinnati that can even approach this depth

Edited August 17, 2016 by letsgiveacheer

Rudy · August 17, 2016

23 hours ago, Harry said:

No offense meant, but is rebuilding a new track facility in the top 10 needs for this athletic department? I would much rather see these funds go to an indoor multipurpose facility which is many high schools now can offer.

Once we get our football and basketball teams going in their right direction, I'd love to see us start putting effort into building our Olympic sports up. I'm pretty freaking tired of seeing Cal swimmers, Duke divers, and Nebraska volleyball players getting their schools free pub in international competitions.

Christopher Walker · August 17, 2016

3 hours ago, UNT90 said:

Serious question. Doesn't UNT's music program's strength lie in jazz and instrumentals? I have heard that although UNT has a great music program, it's vocal program isn't nationally recognized?

Truth or fiction?

1 hour ago, letsgiveacheer said:

That would be fiction. UNT's vocal program is not the "best", those accolades would go to Indiana, Juilliard, Yale (graduate only) and a few others. But certainly UNT is among the best and has produced many great singers over the years, including a number of singers on the Metropolitan Opera roster. https://opera.music.unt.edu/alumni

While known for jazz, the strength of UNT's music program is its great depth in all aspects of music...opera, orchestral, keyboard, new music, theory, composition, etc. Other than the conservatories like Juilliard and Eastman, there are only a few places like Indiana or Cincinnati that can even approach this depth

This is the most truthful - and is supported by our numbers as well. Jazz Studies is certainly large, yes. But the Composition studio, Music Education, and Theory & Ethnomusicology divisions are among the largest of their size in the country as well.

----

Alright actual word on the opera house, et al This is really only going to be a reaffirmation of what @Tyler Maryak and @letsgiveacheer have already said:

2005 Master Plan, page 56 in your program as @SilverEagle would say
A decade ago, and really ever since the reality of the Murchison was settled, Opera has never had a truly viable space for a large scale production. When the Murchison was originally constructed in the late 90s, it was intended that it would hold both Winspear Hall for the large ensemble performances, and where the Lyric Theater is would be a full comparable opera space. Once construction go going however, they realized they would not have the needed funds for it so the choice became either a proscenium stage or a blackbox theater with pit to complete. They went with the latter, possibly hoping that its small size would necessitate the conversation for a full Opera facility in the future. This was the case in 2005.

2013 Master Plan, pages 82, 85-86, 114-119 in your program
Eight years later, priorities had shifted. The opera program still gets by with the space it has, but really strong connections with both the Dallas Opera and Fort Worth Opera have made it such that our students and faculty are among the first choice in filling out productions in these major markets, and much of the professional training happens there. Nowadays, the College of Music is much more focused upon overhauling our practice facilities and annex spaces, and the University is more focused on shifting schemas around addressing parking and classroom space.

On the parking note, UNT just released a revamp of parking regulations beginning next week and it is honestly pretty atrocious.

Cerebus · August 17, 2016

40 minutes ago, Christopher Walker said:

On the parking note, UNT just released a revamp of parking regulations beginning next week and it is honestly pretty atrocious.

Not really sure what the University is supposed to do when:

The State is telling us we need to jam another 10,000 students onto the campus ASAP, and
they are not willing to allocate us funds to buy up land around campus, and
they are trying to discourage use of eminent domain.

We're already 12,000 students larger than we where in the mid 90s, and the state still wants us to add 10,000 more, hopefully 15,000 more. But since that time we have only really added the Liberty Christian property and the TI property.

The TI property is nice, but the existing building are already packed and we need money to build new ones. Not to mention its a 15-20 minute bus ride away that no student wants to take.

As far as parking goes, without the ability to buy land around the university and pave it over into lots, not a lot the school can do. There is still plenty of parking out at the old TI plant but students don't want to park out there and they take that bus ride to and from campus, and I can't blame them.

Stan R · August 17, 2016

4 minutes ago, Cerebus said:

Not really sure what the University is supposed to do when:

The State is telling us we need to jam another 10,000 students onto the campus ASAP, and

they are not willing to allocate us funds to buy up land around campus, and

they are trying to discourage use of eminent domain.

We're already 12,000 students larger than we where in the mid 90s, and the state still wants us to add 10,000 more, hopefully 15,000 more. But since that time we have only really added the Liberty Christian property and the TI property.

The TI property is nice, but the existing building are already packed and we need money to build new ones. Not to mention its a 15-20 minute bus ride away that no student wants to take.

As far as parking goes, without the ability to buy land around the university and pave it over into lots, not a lot the school can do. There is still plenty of parking out at the old TI plant but students don't want to park out there and they take that bus ride to and from campus, and I can't blame them.

Besides, I thought Millennials were anti-car anyway. I though all "you guys" preferred Uber and bikes and...stuff.

Christopher Walker · August 18, 2016

7 hours ago, Stan R said:

Besides, I thought Millennials were anti-car anyway. I though all "you guys" preferred Uber and bikes and...stuff.

Yeah, "I" do. Bike to work on campus as often as possible, but still retain an FS sticker for my wife and I in case it's necessary.

The issue I see with the new parking regulations is threefold:

1. R Lots are now the extreme periphery of campus, only including Fouts, Mean Green Village, and the Highland Garage -which, while necessary, is a financial nightmare all around. The majority of these spaces are far from the dorms they service (though not applicable to Freshmen), and are regulated 24/7 - that is except for football game days. But what about...

2. Other public events? Dress rehearsals and performances at the Murchison, banquets in the Gateway Center, basketball games, area school field trips with a dozen or more school buses; all of these are the tip of the events iceberg which all crucially rely upon the Fouts lot which is now completely closed and regulated. And now...

3. For public parking, your options are $2/hr metering at Lots 5 (Ave C, Chestnut), 25 (Ave C, Highland), the Union Circle, and regular on-street. The problem is that students are going to use up these lots in a snap and its intended use for Visitors is never going to be realized.

The icing on the cake is that regulations are going to be enforced 24/7/365; no more free weekends or late nights. All parking on campus will be actively paid for at all times.

It's baffling. I get the reasoning and the need on all fronts that you @Cerebus are addressing, but this "solution" is baffling.

http://transportation.unt.edu/pdf/FY17ParkingMap.pdf

Aquila_Viridis · August 18, 2016

The solution is to build a giant garage with a track facility on top of it.

Rudy · August 18, 2016

1 hour ago, Aquila_Viridis said:

The solution is to build a giant garage with a track facility on top of it.

The high jump, long jump, and pole vaulting would be a little risky.

Army of Dad · August 18, 2016

4 hours ago, Christopher Walker said:

Yeah, "I" do. Bike to work on campus as often as possible, but still retain an FS sticker for my wife and I in case it's necessary.

The issue I see with the new parking regulations is threefold:

1. R Lots are now the extreme periphery of campus, only including Fouts, Mean Green Village, and the Highland Garage -which, while necessary, is a financial nightmare all around. The majority of these spaces are far from the dorms they service (though not applicable to Freshmen), and are regulated 24/7 - that is except for football game days. But what about...

2. Other public events? Dress rehearsals and performances at the Murchison, banquets in the Gateway Center, basketball games, area school field trips with a dozen or more school buses; all of these are the tip of the events iceberg which all crucially rely upon the Fouts lot which is now completely closed and regulated. And now...

3. For public parking, your options are $2/hr metering at Lots 5 (Ave C, Chestnut), 25 (Ave C, Highland), the Union Circle, and regular on-street. The problem is that students are going to use up these lots in a snap and its intended use for Visitors is never going to be realized.

The icing on the cake is that regulations are going to be enforced 24/7/365; no more free weekends or late nights. All parking on campus will be actively paid for at all times.

It's baffling. I get the reasoning and the need on all fronts that you @Cerebus are addressing, but this "solution" is baffling.

http://transportation.unt.edu/pdf/FY17ParkingMap.pdf

Wait, how is basketball parking going to be handled? I mean, I doubt they are planning for a lot of people, but there are still a 1,000+ people almost every game...

Silent Eagle · August 18, 2016

On ‎8‎/‎17‎/‎2016 at 4:48 AM, letsgiveacheer said:

Opera...now there is something I can speak about.

As someone said, Murchison was never built for opera and the main performance hall does not have an orchestra pit or what is called flyspace for sets, props, etc. Large scale operas are held there but it is always a compromise. There is a smaller Lyric Theater in Murchison which does have a pit but it only seats 300 people, not nearly large enough to stage a grand opera or hold a reasonable audience.

North Texas does have a highly regarded opera program. It won a national competition a year or so ago and I often audition and cast UNT grads in my New York City based company. It is always nice to see our youngsters doing so well in an extremely competitive environment.

So, this makes us national champs? Hell yeah. NORTH TEXAS OPERA RULES!