Does the Dome need to be refurbished?

[rstone7727]

http://www.syracuse.com/opinion/index.ssf/2013/12/syracuse_basketball_carrier_dome_upgrade.html

 

[cpatrocks]

Yes! Stadium Seating please.

 

[bnoro]

http://www.syracuse.com/opinion/index.ssf/2013/12/syracuse_basketball_carrier_dome_upgrade.html

I don't know why I thought it was a good idea to look at the comments...

 

[NKR1978]

The hallways are insanely narrow. There has to be a way to somehow expand the outer structure to make wider hallways.

My main objection to stadium seating is that it would reduce capacity. It would also make the Dome look worse on TV because with bench seating everyone is, for better or worse, on top of each other and that makes the Dome looked absolutely packed. I wouldn't want to lose that.

 

[JohnCuse44]

Real seats...

 

[NKR1978]

I don't know why I thought it was a good idea to look at the comments...

Such miserable f***** people pollute Syracuse.com.

I love the people asking "what has the Dome/SU done for us?" Without the Dome's ability to seat 30,000+ for basketball games it would be a lot more cost prohibitive for people like me and my friends to fly or drive to Syracuse, stay in a hotel and go out dinner and have drinks at various restaurants and bars in Armory Square. Multiply that by how many people for most basketball and all football games every year and I'm pretty sure the Dome contributes a lot to Syracuse.

 

[Marsh01]

I don't know why I thought it was a good idea to look at the comments...

I would love to meet these people who write these comments.

 

[Marsh01]

Individual Orange seats

 

[TexanMark]

I would love to meet these people who write these comments.

I'm sure most are just haters of Cuse. Rival fans and the various negatoid losers living in CNY

 

[rrlbees]

Many ways to look at that question.

First is, if you believe, like I do that the Dome is eventually be razed for academic buildings, then only cosmetic changes should be made. No sense in expensive refurbishments on the order of millions when it will just be tossed out. This thought should be much easier for SU since they should know their long range plans.

The heart says sure, try to use public money because SU athletics benefit the local economy. But the head says no because it is a private university that uses private donations for mist everything. Public universities use public funding, state money etc.

My vote would be leaning yes but I would need more info.

 

[OrangeDW]

1. No, the Dome does not need to be refurbished/replaced/etc. Do Durham papers run stories asking if Cameron needs to be expanded? Do Lawrence papers ask about Phog Allen Fieldhouse being too old? The Dome is awesome. In different ways, you can argue it's one of the best places to watch both basketball(biggest crowds, most unique environment you'll find) and football(great sight lines, almost all great seats) in the country.

2. Syracuse.com needs to be refurbished/replaced. What a dump. Constantly terrible articles and attempts to stir things up.

3. The people who comment there need to be sent to their own island where they can all breathe out of their mouths and be fat, ugly, gross, miserable, bad breathed, and dumb together...far away from the rest of us!

 

[Orangezoo]

Stadium seating is the only one I could see if its affordable and doesnt reduce capacity too much. I would imagine we would lose 4-5k in capacity with getting a seat vendor to fill the dome. No way it would be 1 to 1.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

The hallways are insanely narrow. There has to be a way to somehow expand the outer structure to make wider hallways.

Force everyone in CNY to go on a diet.

 

[hoopsupstate]

Eventually, the Dome will expand to the west to the street. You'll see expansive lobbies, escalators to all levels with new concession areas, locker rooms and dining establishments. A hard roof will also be added. Individual seating will lose two seats per row.

 

[HarrisonJBounel]

First, I'd like to say that whoever drove the initial building of the Dome should be awarded a medal. It has become the very symbol of Central New York.

The school should absolutely not use state or federal money for any upgrades. Once you do, Govco has its hooks in and they will make life much more difficult than it should be. Then, the ones who ultimately pay for it through donations, advertising/publicity, and ticket sales will be the ones who actually USE it, and that's the way it should be.

As far as upgrades, individual seating would be nice, but could they not compromise in the bleachers by simply adding a benchback to each row?

Expanding the outer structure to expand the hallways would be insanely expensive. Short of building a new facility, we are stuck with the Dome's basic configuration. Lose some weight and show more patience when walking around there.

I like the idea of attaching restaurant/retail space. It would provide needed services, generate jobs, and properly done would soften the look of the Dome from its bunker-like appearance. The Marshall Street businesses might not be too happy about that, but that is competition, and thus, good for the consumer.

If a roof replacement is going to be done, it should be orange in color. Possibly with the block "S" on it as well. It would provide for some awesome aerial shots for national TV coverage.

 

[Brooky03]

If it gets renovated, I wouldn't want that money used on seats. Maybe they could add them in the 100 level for those fancy-pants people with money, but I'd prefer to stick with the bench seats everywhere else. 1) Stadium seats would reduce capacity pretty significantly. I would guess each seat probably takes up the space of 1.25-1.5 current 'seats.' 2) I want to stand and want everybody else standing for most of the game. The uncomfortable bench seats and searing back pain they cause, make people want to stand. If you want to sit for most of the game, you should feel bad (old age and disabilities being the exceptions).

I'd like to see a renovation effort to improve the basketball experience. Maybe something along the lines of added bleacher seating, plans to move the court 10 or 15 yards closer to midfield, or the return of a curtain/divider. Improved access to concessions and beer would be a solid improvement, too.

 

[bnoro]

Eventually, the Dome will expand to the west to the street. You'll see expansive lobbies, escalators to all levels with new concession areas, locker rooms and dining establishments. A hard roof will also be added. Individual seating will lose two seats per row.

Would love for this to happen.

 

[cpatrocks]

If it gets renovated, I wouldn't want that money used on seats. Maybe they could add them in the 100 level for those fancy-pants people with money, but I'd prefer to stick with the bench seats everywhere else. 1) Stadium seats would reduce capacity pretty significantly. I would guess each seat probably takes up the space of 1.25-1.5 current 'seats.' 2) I want to stand and want everybody else standing for most of the game. The uncomfortable bench seats and searing back pain they cause, make people want to stand. If you want to sit for most of the game, you should feel bad (old age and disabilities being the exceptions).

I'd like to see a renovation effort to improve the basketball experience. Maybe something along the lines of added bleacher seating, plans to move the court 10 or 15 yards closer to midfield, or the return of a curtain/divider. Improved access to concessions and beer would be a solid improvement, too.

Anyone paying the orange pack donation should get a stadium seat - which includes almost all of the 2nd tier and some of the 3rd.

 

[cpatrocks]

Wider hallways would be nice - or if there was a way to move the concession stands out of the hallways -- the beer lines are what cause the majority of the congestion.

 

[ClamOtto]

I love the Dome. It's nationally, even internationally, known. It's a big recruiting tool. It gives the university and area positive media exposure on a regular basis because it's unique and because it demonstrates what a rabid fanbase we have.

That said...it's a pretty lousy and outdated gameday experience for the fans. Overcrowded and uncomfortable bench seats, made worse by all the bulky winter coats (in garbage bags), beer and soda spilling all over the floors because there's no cupholders, too few and poorly-placed bathrooms, lousy food, crowded hallways. At least they finally got some good craft beer, but there are so few places selling it that I literally have to arrive an hour early for big games to get in line for a Dogfish Head. I like a lot of the suggestions here and agree that, if the Dome isn't long for this world, we shouldn't sink any more money into it. But if we could get another 20 years or so with renovations, let's at least add stadium seats (okay, we'll lose some seats), more bathrooms and better concessions. Love going to games and hate to complain, but the Dome leaves much to be desired.

 

[bnoro]

Wider hallways would be nice - or if there was a way to move the concession stands out of the hallways -- the beer lines are what cause the majority of the congestion.

This is impossible, they don't have the space to do anything.

 

[Fly Rodder]

I would love to meet these people who write these comments.

There's probably only 10 people. Half now live out of state. It's an unmoderated board so you'll find plenty of trolls. That said, I meet people like this all the time. If you say it's a nice sunny day, they'll find a way to on it. Since they're such miserable people, they feel the need to make everyone else feel miserable.

 

[bnoro]

There's probably only 10 people. Half now live out of state. It's an unmoderated board so you'll find plenty of trolls. That said, I meet people like this all the time. If you say it's a nice sunny day, they'll find a way to on it. Since they're such miserable people, they feel the need to make everyone else feel miserable.

I don't know why they just don't do what ESPN did and make all comments through Facebook. Instantly cleans up the comments.

 

[Moontan]

Eventually, the Dome will expand to the west to the street. You'll see expansive lobbies, escalators to all levels with new concession areas, locker rooms and dining establishments. A hard roof will also be added. Individual seating will lose two seats per row.

Yup, all part of the new stadium.

 

[Fly Rodder]

Do Durham papers run stories asking if Cameron needs to be expanded? Do Lawrence papers ask about Phog Allen Fieldhouse being too old?

Unlike those basketball-only places, the Dome occupies a weird space in between a civic center and a campus event center. It's private, but original construction was funded jointly and it's used for non-university events (occasionally).

I'm pretty much against public funding for sports stadiums (particularly for privately owned sports teams worth hundreds of millions of dollars owned by billionaires). Additionally, multi-use stadiums tend to be not great for anything. I think Syracuse definitely needs a 25k+ event center for commercial events (the old War Memorial is too big or too small depending on the event). And if the university isn't going to support that, then I certainly don't want public money going to a new/refurbished Dome when the city needs that.

If it comes down to private funding, I don't think the University is going to shell out much for new digs.