Tear Down the End Zone Seats! What?
- Thread starter bbneutralfan
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Needs to be done. Turn it into a club level type setting
Yea, I’m not sure… but they’re not used well, poor visibility, and they can just move to the sidelines. I like the club level seating option, he’s thinking outside the box, and I like it.
I get what you’re saying FreddyReef but whatever cost will be involved I’m sure the baseball supporters will rise up in mass to voice their protest. And if they do what you are alluding to I’m sure those ticket holders buying end zone seats are not going to want to pay higher prices to sit in the side stands. I see this as losing fans which I don’t think Marshall can afford but if the end result increases attendance somehow then so be it.
come on people!! Just tarp it!! Tarpping gives us a huge opportunity to show our local support like, Giovanni’s pizza, Dutch Miller Chevrolet and the Cabell-Huntington Harm Reduction Program..
I need to be in charge of this project..
I need to be in charge of this project..
The top corners of the sidelines are not bought by season ticket holders and used by people like me who pay general admission and sit up from the end zone but away from people. I get that it’s going to cost money, and I have no idea what Spears is talking about or where that came from. I would take a baseball field over new stadium design anyway. However, I feel like they would have more designated funds for certain purposes than non discretionary funds for anything they want.
Let the end zone season ticket holders transfer to newer seats for one year at the same price. Put the students back in the student section. And let’s fill up both sides.
Just move the metal wagons from the bottom and no one should have any complaints.
I sit in the end zone and I LOVE those seats. I love watching the plays develop and the QB leading receivers. If youve never sat behind the goal posts...you get an entirely different perspective. You see so much more.
That being said. There once was an idea for a "party pass" and have facilities in the endzone. Tear out the erector set and put in a full service (beer) bar and concession stand as well as restrooms at the level above the permanent seats. Pay one price and the permanent endzone seats become a part of that package. So you can sit on the flat up top at a table or high top or whatever, or sit in the bleachers in the endzone. You have bathrooms for just that section and a concession stand for the same. One person told me a two story facility.
How many of us would pay $75-100 per game to sit there? Everyone else would fill up the stands.
Again...The problem is funds...the money wasnt there. But we do the best with what we have... Better than most every other school our size.
That being said. There once was an idea for a "party pass" and have facilities in the endzone. Tear out the erector set and put in a full service (beer) bar and concession stand as well as restrooms at the level above the permanent seats. Pay one price and the permanent endzone seats become a part of that package. So you can sit on the flat up top at a table or high top or whatever, or sit in the bleachers in the endzone. You have bathrooms for just that section and a concession stand for the same. One person told me a two story facility.
How many of us would pay $75-100 per game to sit there? Everyone else would fill up the stands.
Again...The problem is funds...the money wasnt there. But we do the best with what we have... Better than most every other school our size.
It’s probably just me, but it is so strange to me when people hate on the businesses that financially support the school we all support. You can dislike businesses that sell cars, food, etc., but you realize these are the businesses that fund the school we all love, right?
It's an easy fix. Just make the two end zone sections on the east side of the stadium, $15 a seat. They had the family promo in 105 all of last year - $100 for 4 tickets. If they get creative and promote it correctly, we shouldn't bleed any fans.
I'd like for them to have club level seats with a restuatant on top and a open air area below with food vendors and tables for outside dining and drinks. Be pretty sweet!
I actually like this a lot... Although admittedly, it is out of the blue and I have no idea how it will be paid for.
Take out the wrong-color-green bleachers, add 10-15 feet of space behind the end zone so receivers have more room, put in a concourse that connects the "sideline" sections and make it a "party deck" with concessions, restrooms, etc.
East Carolina has something similar in their end zone (its a concourse connected to their athletic offices that overlooks the end zone) and it works. Money folks, who are maybe a little too young for fine cheese and pinot noir in the chair backs, can pay a little extra, put on their golf shorts and polo's and drink whatever beer of choice they prefer.
Also, losing a few seats isn't a bad thing. For every sellout we have ever had, we have had 100 home games with giant swaths of empty seats... While I think having better regional games (App, JMU, Coastal) will help attendance some, I acknowledge we will be fine with a little less capacity. Whether we draw 25k in the 39k stadium, or 28k in a 33k stadium, doesn't really matter.
Take out the wrong-color-green bleachers, add 10-15 feet of space behind the end zone so receivers have more room, put in a concourse that connects the "sideline" sections and make it a "party deck" with concessions, restrooms, etc.
East Carolina has something similar in their end zone (its a concourse connected to their athletic offices that overlooks the end zone) and it works. Money folks, who are maybe a little too young for fine cheese and pinot noir in the chair backs, can pay a little extra, put on their golf shorts and polo's and drink whatever beer of choice they prefer.
Also, losing a few seats isn't a bad thing. For every sellout we have ever had, we have had 100 home games with giant swaths of empty seats... While I think having better regional games (App, JMU, Coastal) will help attendance some, I acknowledge we will be fine with a little less capacity. Whether we draw 25k in the 39k stadium, or 28k in a 33k stadium, doesn't really matter.
The end zone seats were built to comply with a capacity requirement rule because the stadium as originally built came in a couple of thousand short of what was asked for. The NCAA has long since repealed that capacity requirement rule.
The seats are generally un-sellable. Sure, people sit there, but if you made those the last seats available in the joint, they would have been sold like maybe 6 times in stadium history. Just unneeded.
If they are going to replace the area with something else, great. If not, save the money that would be spent on tearing it down and just tarp it off.
The seats are generally un-sellable. Sure, people sit there, but if you made those the last seats available in the joint, they would have been sold like maybe 6 times in stadium history. Just unneeded.
If they are going to replace the area with something else, great. If not, save the money that would be spent on tearing it down and just tarp it off.
I like the idea a lot. Spear’s specialty is fund raising. Anything that would improve the game day/in game experience AND increase attendance is worth trying at this point. New restrooms? The lines would wrap around to the 20 yd line! A “must see” event….
This is a trend nationally. Reducing capacity but making it nicer, whether it being a stadium with all chairbacks, or adding club seats, or "party zones".
App State has a great end zone set up with club level seats and food. Probably not quite the demand for that at the Joan but it’s the right idea.
Although, basketball had stepped it up with outside food vendors selling inside the Cam… I’d rather have something from Bombshell than a 5 hour old pizza or three week old stale pretzel from the concession stand. I have faith they can get Sodexo to produce a semi quality menu with burgers and chicken tenders.
Well, we hired a new AD for exactly this reason..NEW IDEAS. Power Park in Charleston has a walkway and picnic area and I love it. What possibilities exist are immeasurable. I would definitely consider relocating my seat to that location if I had improved amities. Of course, the Baseball stadium has my top priority. GO HERD
I love the idea but I think we should work on fixing the horse trough pissers first
Well you’re slightly mistaken here to an extent. The lower endzone seats aren’t going anywhere. Those are concrete and were added in 1995. Those were the make-good for the seats that were shorted. The minimum of 30,000 was an NCAA rule until 2004.
Those seats aren’t going anywhere. The aluminum bleachers that were installed in 2000 without any infrastructure (no gate, no restroom, no concession, no expanded concourse) are the ones being considered for removal. They weren’t built to be in compliance with anything. Marshall had just gone unbeaten and finished No. 10 in the nation in 1999. The new seats were in anticipation of a growing fan base. Sadly, the fan base has not grown.
You mean to tell me you like Giovanni’s pizza, and you think Dutch Miller is a good dealership/service center? … must not be from around here…
Yet, here MU goes into a better conference but reduces the seating capacity of its own stadium.
Is the Shewey building able to be added onto in any way?
We only have sellouts when a P5 comes to town. It will make the stadium look more full, and I’m sure something will be added to add value(hope so anyways).
The stadium will still seat 32K. We will never average close to that. It will give us a full house for Va Tech next year. We didn't sell out the last time they were in Huntington. I am sure they have plans for club suites or something similar for that area.
32K plus whatever they add under the scoreboard when they tear the metal bleachers out... Be it a terrace level, party deck, whatever... My guess is the final number is 33K plus or minus a handful. As has been said above, that is still more than enough seats for any home game scheduled the next decade and it guarantees VT will be a sellout.
If they add a party deck or beer garden/food area - I hope they eliminate the halftime re-entry policy. Get in the stadium and stay in the stadium. jmo. Of course they'll have to update the pisser troughs. lol!
Any word on how much this will cost? In principal I think this might be a good move but doing it before the baseball field is done is a slap in the face (no will smith pun intended)
Football is/can be the money maker. The majority of college baseball games may have a couple dozen people there on a consistent basis. The athletic department needs to figure out how to fill seats and make money.
I get the point. However IMO sometimes that is not the bottom line. The SB conference is a really good baseball conference,We are going to look like a bush league institution playing games at the YMCA on Rt 2. It seems like this is saying we don't need a BSN program at Marshall because it only has @@# students per year. Most of our students are in the College of Business or Journalism or whatever. Of course we understand we need both because we need to be a well rounded academic school. While football is the King we need other sports to do well. Case in point the soccer team. A new stadium and a great head coach and next thing you know we win our only division one National title. Build the baseball stadium and then upgrade the Joan. There is more to Marshall than football.
This is the reality of the situation. If both projects are on the prospective budget, you do the football stadium first for a number of reasons... You already have the location, its definitely less expensive, football makes money, etc. This change at the Joan could be done in a year. The baseball stadium is still years, at best, out from ever actually seeing a pitch thrown.
I may add, wasn't wvu hosting LSU at the same time?
MU should really try to market the entire Tri-State.
Unfortunately in today's college athletics, there really isn't more to Marshall (or insert FBS school name) than football (with the exception of a handful of schools. See: Final Four). No one cares if Marshall is an embarrassment in baseball as long as football is winning, committed to winning and making ongoing investments in the program. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but football ALWAYS comes first. It's hard for some people to understand the reality of today's college sports landscape. Marshall is on the wrong side of that widening financial schism. Ideally, you would upgrade The Joan and build the baseball stadium. But if you can only pick one right now, you go with the football stadium upgrades 100% of the time. It's the financially smart thing to do.
Or build a facility MU can win a NC in.
Sure, soccer isn't at the top of the casual fan's "go see" list, but after the win, the soccer stadium actually had to expand to keep up with demand and often had very large crowds.
Why not with baseball?
You can do both. The Herd Rises is for the baseball stadium and the redo of Gullickson into a b’ball practice facility. Problem is we can’t get fans/alums to donate.
Not sure where the football money is coming from to make those changes-improvements and really don’t care. It’s getting done in some way and that’s awesome.
I respect what you're saying.
I just feel in order "to appear full" the stadium has to reduce capacity is a bit...oxymoronic.
We’ve been committed to winning for decades, we just haven’t done it in a fashion or as often that some think we should.
I would say that in about any sport besides baseball, our facilities are among the best in the SBC, and that includes the old ass Henderson Center.
I feel consistency is more important.
Yes, winning a conference title and going undefeated is great.
But how many teams do that, then lose their HC, then completely tank for the next 10 years?
At least MU can say they didn't have many losing seasons and were always competitive.
Can other programs say that after they won, minus UAB?
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