NCAA D1 🏈 Facility Arms Race Continues…

[NT80]

7 minutes ago, ADLER said:

I have this belief that we'll host Texas Tech in football because we are contracted to host Texas Tech in football.

https://fbschedules.com/2027-north-texas-football-schedule/

We have the contract, but we do not have the facilities. We'll have nearly 50K enrollment. Our students will want to attend that game, as well as we have to provide some seats that we don't currently have to our guests.

This is going to be a clustterf*** of biblical proportions, and it will prevent us from hosting Tech, Houston, TCU, Baylor, OSU, Colorado and the Kansas schools in perpetuity.

We hosted Kansas State in the last game at Fouts.  Apogee is a giant upgrade to that. 

People have been crying for a new undersized Basketball arena...let's see if an undersized Football stadium really makes student demand go up!

[Green Otaku]

7 hours ago, DentonLurker said:

 

I don’t like La Tech’s or the preliminary ones I’ve seen for Apogee. I agree with the above. They’re both very “meh.”

I'm curious of what your reason are, why don't you like La Tech's? 

[Green Otaku]

7 hours ago, ADLER said:

It's not a questione of whether ours is "meh" or not (It is hideous). The question is why are we even considering putting this academic shed INSIDE our stadium?

Build it where it belongs; somewhere other than inside our stadium.

Then build a first class end zone complex and expand stadium seating capacity. We currently are not equipped, but we will need the ability to host Big XII level schools in the near future.

Or we will soon be humiliated because we can't support our student demands nor the needs of our gueasts.

IIRC the plan has always been to add seating by adding another tier to the visitor's side and closing the wingzone. I don't think there has ever been a mention of adding seating to the AC endzone. From an architectural perspective they may have built the AC too close to be able to finish the lower bowl, most likely on purpose. If you want that changed I'd say write the AD a letter and tell them what you think. 

[DentonLurker]

4 hours ago, Green Otaku said:

I'm curious of what your reason are, why don't you like La Tech's? 

It’s just a wall of windows. It looks terrible on TV. I agree with the posters wanting fans down there.

[Matt from A700]

I can't wait until this happens in Ruston:

[NT80]

This is a better version for expansion.

[UNTcrazy727]

On 4/6/2023 at 10:44 AM, Jason Howeth said:

Call me crazy, but if I'm a player, I want to see every face of the screaming fans that just saw me score a touchdown instead of my faint reflection in windows below some boosters who probably don't get out of their seat to clap. A facility like our renderings and like La Tech's monstrosity takes away valuable seats that could be filled with green-clad fans. Just because it's a "pretty building" doesn't mean it's a good thing. Again, call me crazy, but a stadium should be a stadium packed with fans as close as they can be to the action. It shouldn't be an office building offshoot.

Endzone seats are not valuable. If we built regular seating in the south endzone it would be empty 90% of the time, just like the Wing. A new club level is the way to go. 

I have no idea how anyone can look at La Tech's facility and call it a monstrosity. It's impressive and looks way better than our current renderings.  

[UNTcrazy727]

5 minutes ago, NT80 said:

This is a better version for expansion.

lol I love how the "First" expansion added like 30K seats. The only expansion we'll probably ever need is building an upper deck on the visitor side for another 10K-15K and additional suites and club level seats. 

[Green Otaku]

7 hours ago, DentonLurker said:

It’s just a wall of windows. It looks terrible on TV. I agree with the posters wanting fans down there.

Agree that during the harsh afternoon sunlight it does look weird. They should have made it able to open up or something. At night time when you can see the lights inside it doesn't look too bad. 

 

 

Outside of the aesthetics of a stadium and as a standalone football facility they did a really good job. At least IMO. 

[NT80]

11 minutes ago, UNTcrazy727 said:

Endzone seats are not valuable. If we built regular seating in the south endzone it would be empty 90% of the time, just like the Wing. A new club level is the way to go. 

I have no idea how anyone can look at La Tech's facility and call it a monstrosity. It's impressive and looks way better than our current renderings.  

Yes.  Endzone seating is not prime, but you can make it more prime by adding suites and/or shaded exterior seating with a partial roof over it.

[Green Otaku]

For those of you who haven't seen the master plan. You can see that they never planed to build anything on the AC endzone. Of course things change and this plan is from 2013, the hotel is no longer an option and they want to do the arena there, and the baseball stadium will now be behind the IPF instead of next to the softball stadium. 

 

 

https://lightthetower.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/flyover.mp4

 

[DentonLurker]

On 4/7/2023 at 6:43 PM, Green Otaku said:

it doesn't look too bad. 

My dream for what people would walk away from our stadium saying…

[Christopher Walker]

On 4/7/2023 at 9:43 AM, Green Otaku said:

Agree that during the harsh afternoon sunlight it does look weird. They should have made it able to open up or something. At night time when you can see the lights inside it doesn't look too bad. 

 

 

Outside of the aesthetics of a stadium and as a standalone football facility they did a really good job. At least IMO. 

It's still amateur and – frankly – indicative of one of the reasons why LaTech is being left behind in CUSA.

[Green Otaku]

1 hour ago, Christopher Walker said:

It's still amateur and – frankly – indicative of one of the reasons why LaTech is being left behind in CUSA.

LaTech was left behind because of its small market, small school size, and small athletic budget. It had nothing to do with their facilities or even on field success. 

[greenminer]

59 minutes ago, Green Otaku said:

LaTech was left behind because of its small market, small school size, and small athletic budget. It had nothing to do with their facilities or even on field success. 

budget is directly tied to facilities, no?

[Green Otaku]

45 minutes ago, greenminer said:

budget is directly tied to facilities, no?

Yes, but suggesting their facilities had something to do with them being left behind is not accurate. Their facilities would easily fit in the AAC. 

Edited April 14, 2023 by Green Otaku
typo

[Jonnyeagle]

5 minutes ago, Green Otaku said:

Yes, but suggesting their facilities had something to do with them being left behind is not accurate. Their facilities are would easily fit in the AAC. 

I agree that they are > Belch level but not AAC or they would be at the bottom tier of AAC.

[Green Otaku]

21 minutes ago, Jonnyeagle said:

I agree that they are > Belch level but not AAC or they would be at the bottom tier of AAC.

If Charlotte got in with this, I don't think their stadium hindered them in any way.

[greenminer]

2 hours ago, Green Otaku said:

Yes, but suggesting their facilities had something to do with them being left behind is not accurate. Their facilities would easily fit in the AAC. 

 

1 hour ago, Green Otaku said:

If Charlotte got in with this, I don't think their stadium hindered them in any way.

AAC commish openly said that UNT was the only one of the incoming programs that was already displaying the level of commitment they expect.  So one can possibly infer:

Charlotte isn't there yet, but agreed to raise their level of commitment to athletic$ at some point in the near future.

LT isn't there yet either, but did not agree to raise their commitment to athletic$ in the near future.
 

Edited April 14, 2023 by greenminer

[Green Otaku]

3 hours ago, greenminer said:

 

AAC commish openly said that UNT was the only one of the incoming programs that was already displaying the level of commitment they expect.  So one can possibly infer:

Charlotte isn't there yet, but agreed to raise their level of commitment to athletic$ at some point in the near future.

LT isn't there yet either, but did not agree to raise their commitment to athletic$ in the near future.
 

Yes, this is all true. I think we are saying the same thing here. Those things, as well as being in a large metro area (honestly a huge part of it), student body size, future potential, etc. were the determining factors for who got chosen. LT's current facilities weren't one of those reasons. 

[PlummMeanGreen]

The TV cameras at games inside Apogee are most the tIme zero’ing in on the half empty (or half full) Student Side, but maybe one day in the future our Student Side may look more like this rather than the one we have now that looks more like a Texas 5A or 6A HS stadium.  
••• This photo taken at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium. 

GMG! 

Edited May 4, 2023 by PlummMeanGreen

[cousin oliver]

1 hour ago, PlummMeanGreen said:

The TV cameras at games inside Apogee are most the tIme zero’ing in on the half empty (or half full) Student Side, but maybe one day in the future our Student Side may look more like this rather than the one we have now that looks more like a Texas 5A or 6A HS stadium.  
••• This photo taken at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium. 

GMG! 

Great idea @PlummMeanGreen

Would love to see them embrace Apogee for the jewel that it truly is.  Why does it have to be such a ghost town outside of the football season?  I would love to see us do some concerts, farmers markets and trade shows and make better use of the facilities out on Eagle Point as well.

[Manlaw35]

On 4/13/2023 at 9:17 PM, greenminer said:

AAC commish openly said that UNT was the only one of the incoming programs that was already displaying the level of commitment they expect.  So one can possibly infer:

Charlotte isn't there yet, but agreed to raise their level of commitment to athletic$ at some point in the near future.

LT isn't there yet either, but did not agree to raise their commitment to athletic$ in the near future.
 

Edited April 13 by greenminer

It had everything to do with media markets. That's why UNT, RICE, UTSA, CHARLOTTE and FAU were selected. 

Louisiana Tech just raised $1.8 million for athletics on Giving Day. The total raised was $2.43 million.

Meanwhile, UNT raised $429,017 with $14,209.54 going to athletics. 

https://givingday.unt.edu/giving-day/66922

https://www.latech.edu/2023/04/27/tech-family-gives-over-2-million-on-record-breaking-giving-day/

https://latechsports.com/news/2023/5/4/general-giving-day-results-in-record-setting-donations-for-la-tech-athletics.aspx 

Edited May 5, 2023 by Manlaw35

[greenminer]

2 hours ago, Manlaw35 said:

It had everything to do with media markets. That's why UNT, RICE, UTSA, CHARLOTTE and FAU were selected. 

Louisiana Tech just raised $1.8 million for athletics on Giving Day. The total raised was $2.43 million.

Meanwhile, UNT raised $429,017 with $14,209.54 going to athletics. 

https://givingday.unt.edu/giving-day/66922

https://www.latech.edu/2023/04/27/tech-family-gives-over-2-million-on-record-breaking-giving-day/

https://latechsports.com/news/2023/5/4/general-giving-day-results-in-record-setting-donations-for-la-tech-athletics.aspx 

Just relaying what the commish said

 

Good for LT, but I’m not going to equate one amazing day of giving as the same thing as the long term commitment to the AD

The number looks great. Maybe LT is making a decision and committing itself, but it’s too late for the American.

[NT80]

13 hours ago, Manlaw35 said:

It had everything to do with media markets. That's why UNT, RICE, UTSA, CHARLOTTE and FAU were selected. 

Louisiana Tech just raised $1.8 million for athletics on Giving Day. The total raised was $2.43 million.

Meanwhile, UNT raised $429,017 with $14,209.54 going to athletics. 

https://givingday.unt.edu/giving-day/66922

https://www.latech.edu/2023/04/27/tech-family-gives-over-2-million-on-record-breaking-giving-day/

https://latechsports.com/news/2023/5/4/general-giving-day-results-in-record-setting-donations-for-la-tech-athletics.aspx 

I would take La Tech over Charlotte.  La Tech has a lot of good, loyal fans and are very competitive yearly in most sports.