Baseball Stadium Update
- Thread starter Josh Stowers
- Start date
Seating bowl in the latest design mock-ups is much better than the originals, IMHO.
Not sure if they should hold to the original 3500 seating capacity. Maybe trim it down to 2500 or so to help with costs. They'll certainly have to abandon some things on the wish list; but still should produce an excellent facility for Marshall and the city. Travel baseball is huge - maybe a few high profile tourneys, get an independent league team here as well. jmo
Do not go for second best. Do not cut back on seats.
There is no legitimate reason to think 3500 seats are needed.
Soccer team showed 3500 seats are needed
Cutting seats doesn’t mean watering down the quality or look of the stadium. I’d rather have 2500 chairback seats and other amenities than 3500 bleacher seats and a bare bones field.
I think the max capacity is 2400. We maxed it out and could certainly have used more for the WVU game. Great atmosphere.
......he blathers as he sits from on high, mocking the lowly Faithful as they strive for better....
With all respect I’ve forgotten more about college baseball than most people will ever know.
All I’m saying is 2,500 or 3,500 doesn’t matter. Marshall will never fill that many seats except for very unusual occasions. Not in Htgn, not for a summer sport that colleges start in winter.
So my point was you don’t build an 800 seat sanctuary when normal attendance is 300.
Believe MU will need to have at least 3,000 seats if it hopes to hold the CUSA tournament at some future point. Also, Hamrick and Mayor Williams have made no secret that they hope to lure other events, State baseball tourney, etc., to the facility once it becomes a reality. Who knows, a facility in the 3 to 4 thousand seating capacity range could even make MU a potential site for early round play, regionals, in the NCAA baseball tournament!
I agree, The cost of adding an additional 1-2 thousand seats is minimal in the scheme of things. Why would you not build it to cover your possible needs?
Hey, if they can get the funds to build it and do it right, then we should be all for it. But if they have to bare bones it just to reach a certain number of seats, that will take away from the look and whole experience. Let’s not make it another Route 2 field with more seats.
That’s what happened with the Cam, a watered down arena. You should know that.
Absolutely correct... Removing 1,000 seats to save money from a project of this scale, would be like one of us building a $1 million dollar house but deciding against granite countertops in the kitchen because they cost an extra $5k.
Truth is nobody knows what the attendance will be with a new facility on campus since we've never seen that creature before.
I like to think we should be able to come close to what Southern Miss, Rice and La Tech average, at least in late April and May with a successful team.
We've already seen that our attendance in basketball, football, soccer and softball will be good during successful seasons. Why wouldn't that be true for baseball?
The funding will come from donations. Build the most you can afford.
I like to think we should be able to come close to what Southern Miss, Rice and La Tech average, at least in late April and May with a successful team.
We've already seen that our attendance in basketball, football, soccer and softball will be good during successful seasons. Why wouldn't that be true for baseball?
The funding will come from donations. Build the most you can afford.
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Exactly, Marshall needs to build by cost/design and go from there. Not get a wish list and then try to bid it out, which is what happened to first go around and it came in WELL above budget.
I know I'll attend games. I think it will be awesome for the school and city. Wags has to be chomping at the bit.
I agree. Also Hamrick doesn't seem to show restraint in terms of building something with as many bells and whistles as it can offer, even if it takes a while.
Plus the WV state tournament is slotted to be at the stadium. Not sure the setup of this tournament, but you'll have lots of people just in the area, combine that with average fans/attendees and other teams/fans/players in the stands? Suddenly a few thousand isn't an unrealistic number.
I think that is just on the wish list. Hamrick mentioned that since we hosted the state cheerleader championship last year we now have an open line of communication with the WVSSAC.
It's amazing that they suddenly implemented what I insisted needed to happen all along.
Now, if only they'd realize asking for $50K to sponsor a baseball locker for 2.5 weeks is a bit absurd . . .
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Cutting 1,000 seats from the plan wouldn’t save as much as you would think.. material is cheap in projects.. it will be the labor that would want to cut... the faster you build it the cheaper it becomes.. good planning and having the material to work with on time...
Hope they hired a great project leader, not someone seeking to milk a paycheck
Hope they hired a great project leader, not someone seeking to milk a paycheck
Based upon what has happened at the Joan, the Cam and at Gullickson for that matter, I'm concerned about how well the facility will be maintained.
we only build facilities we do NOT maintain them. There are a couple chair back seats at the softball field that have been broken for a few years, I keep sitting in one, and no effort to replace or repair it.
The back of the seats in the Cam look like someone vomited on them, they are so dirty
elginherd you are spot on. Marshall builds athletic facilities and after a few years maintenance goes out the window. Anyone, and I mean anyone, who has attended a home football games knows the public restrooms all need to be replaced - especially in the men’s. Outdated urinals, leaking toilets, etc. Throwing a paint job doesn’t get it. MH and JG should come down from their boxes and use the public restrooms the rest of us use. Perhaps then some updates would occur. JMO
This has been a recurring theme of discussion for years... And it should be until something gets done about it... I don't consider myself a snobbish/prissy person by any means, but our restrooms at the Joan are disgusting.
The whole place could use a good pressure wash, but the restrooms are beyond that. They need gutted and redone.
although somewhat better in the Cam, it seems that more often than not there are no paper towels in the restrooms. My fiance' says that she finds the ladies room often with no TP or paper towels
The idea that, other than for WVU or perhaps UK or a playoff game we are many levels from reaching and hosting, that after the newness wears off, MU is capable of getting more than a couple hundred for baseball is just not realistic. For early season games (in the winter) maybe 200 is reasonable. A nice early spring warm spell might get maybe 1000 out on a warm Saturday afternoon.
MH simply said that we MIGHT host the state tournament, which, currently in Charleston draws parents and girlfriends for non-local teams, not that we would. Assuming the Power continue it will remain there, if not, Morganhole will get it. It is NBD.
The Joan could use a fresh coat of paint and a good pressure washing, along with new toilets, but its really unfair to call it unmaintained. The Cam suffers more than anything from the massive $$ Rockefailure took from the project back in the day, and the compromises that were made due to it, leading to a goofy design. It too could use a good cleaning, but other than that it will always be an odd shaped venue with quality issues. The city and university, over the next 20 or so years, need to look for the political will that cause a combined replacement for both it and the (your ad here) Huntington Civic Center.
MH simply said that we MIGHT host the state tournament, which, currently in Charleston draws parents and girlfriends for non-local teams, not that we would. Assuming the Power continue it will remain there, if not, Morganhole will get it. It is NBD.
The Joan could use a fresh coat of paint and a good pressure washing, along with new toilets, but its really unfair to call it unmaintained. The Cam suffers more than anything from the massive $$ Rockefailure took from the project back in the day, and the compromises that were made due to it, leading to a goofy design. It too could use a good cleaning, but other than that it will always be an odd shaped venue with quality issues. The city and university, over the next 20 or so years, need to look for the political will that cause a combined replacement for both it and the (your ad here) Huntington Civic Center.
Don't disagree, but my daughter thought that the ladies' rooms at both the Cam & Joan are pretty gross.
Maintenance of facilities at MU, be it academic, athletic or otherwise, has always been an area of serious neglect for decades. Nothing currently indicates that will change for the better in the foreseeable future or in the long run, IMO.
Hosting a State Tournament Event is not a big money maker. It has to be used as a tourism attraction to your area. All gate revenue from State Tournament events goes to the WVSSAC. That is how they fund their entire budget. They do not get state funding. The local Convention and Visitors Bureau is usually involved in offering incentives to attract the tournaments.
There is a bidding process that you go through to host any State Tournament event. Facilities, the experience you can offer the student athlete, and the financial package are only a few of the factors in their decision. There may also be some reluctance in moving another event to Huntington since they already have Wrestling and Cheerleading.
There is a bidding process that you go through to host any State Tournament event. Facilities, the experience you can offer the student athlete, and the financial package are only a few of the factors in their decision. There may also be some reluctance in moving another event to Huntington since they already have Wrestling and Cheerleading.
I know that Wheeling gave away the farm to get the football championships. They provide free rooms and meals for the teams and staff along with other amenities
I have no idea what the seating capacity should be. 3,000 doesn't seem too many based on having been to games at Wren Stadium in Athens. It has a 2,000 listed and even with a small turnout doesn't seem like you are in a sea of empty seats.They can add about another 1,500 on the grass if needed. Here is a link.
https://www.ohiobobcats.com/facilities/bob-wren-stadium/index
I would agree with Duke. Building it bigger than needed for "one game"doesn't make sense. Look at the Joan. We have room for the "big game" once every 2-3 years. The rest of the time we might be better off with less seating.
https://www.ohiobobcats.com/facilities/bob-wren-stadium/index
I would agree with Duke. Building it bigger than needed for "one game"doesn't make sense. Look at the Joan. We have room for the "big game" once every 2-3 years. The rest of the time we might be better off with less seating.
Yes, because at any venue I go to, the first thing I'll do, is check out the pissers and shitters.
"We are increasing prices of certain items and things to assist in better maintaining our amazing facilities at MU."
-MH
"OMG!!! I DON'T WANT TO PAY MORE!!! MH AND THE AD ARE STUPID!!! LOWER TICKET PRICES!!! FIRE DOC! FIRE EVERYBODY!!! PRUETT WOULDN'T DO THIS TO US!!! OH NO!!! WE'RE DOOMED!!!"
-Message boards
If MH actually increased things at athletic events to directly cover the costs of maitenance, would you bitch about it or not? Yes or no.
