Dear TGD - Things I would like to see happen now

[SU2NASA]

Skytop is well equiped to house a new stadium, with hotel attached, it can be a business parternership deal.

DestinyUSA!

 

[Orangeyes]

Invest in the product, not the packaging. Going on an facilities spending spree for the benefit of the fans and game experience is a waste of money until the product on the field drives attendance up.

A football facility in line with the Melo center is first on the list. The facilities necessary health and recovery of the players from injury is a huge issue right now.

Upgrade for other sports is next.

Once that stuff is squared away, then worry about the dome.

As HCDM has said we don't have to have the best facilities in the NACC we just have to be on a par, a little better here, just a little bit less there so it all comes about equal.

 

[dollarbill44]

DestinyUSA!

:rolling:

 

[Orangeyes]

That's not what I said. But I do know from a person with direct knowledge that the facilities to support recovery is severely lacking.

And so to are personnel to assist in rehabbing. Six support staff vs the normal sixteen at other schools who we compete with just isn't cutting the mustard.

 

[44PRIDE]

Skytop is an AWFUL place to put a stadium. I simply don’t understand why the handful of people on this board seem to think it is such a great spot. Fine….its near campus and the school owns it. Whooptie-friggin-doo.

There are no clear traffic patterns to or from the site, there are existing (and currently used) buildings (and a golf course) on the site which need to be relocated, and (oh by the way) you need to clear the side of the hill to get it into a usable state.

The amount of construction required to prep that area for a stadium would raise the cost of the project exponentially. All for the sake of being able to say our stadium is “on campus”

We have plenty of much better construction sites that are minutes from campus…

 

[rrlbees]

Skytop is well equiped to house a new stadium, with hotel attached, it can be a business parternership deal.

A hotel? That would be really cool for our out of ton fans.

 

[Moontan]

You want 2-3k less capacity during basketball season?

You can add seating behind the current bleachers to offset that. You could even add a bridge between those levels and the main concourse. Not as easy to set-up/tear-down as the current configuration, but would add capacity (though it may block current "long range view" seats)

 

[OrlandoCuse]

If SU can't sell the Dome out now, what's the point in raising ticket prices? You want more people to stay home and watch on TV?

Renovated Dome with new chair back style stadium seats would increase attendance.

You don't have to raise ticket prices alot per ticket to offset the cost of the seats. Spread it out over the span of 3 or 4 seasons. Between hoops and football you can make the $8-10 million back rather quickly.

Hoops: 22,000 avg attendance per game x's 22 home games per year ~ 480,000 tickets per year

+

Football: 35,000 avg x's 7 games per year ~ 245,000 tickets per year

= ~ 725,000 total tickets by revenue sports per year (which is on the very low side of estimation for tickets sold).

$2.50 increase per ticket x's 725,000 = $1.8 million per year

after 5 years you've recouped the cost of the seats.

I'm not sure what the market will bear, but I can see fans willing to spend $2.50 more per ticket. I can also see the move to the ACC increasing attendance, just by the novelty and newness of it from the fans' prospective.

OR...

Just go out and raise $10,000,000 in donations to put seat backs in the Dome. That's a strong possibility. Boosters may have renewed interest in the programs because of the move to the ACC. TDG can sell the move to boosters, but also attach a disclaimer that we now need to increase donations to keep up with the other schools.

 

[Orangeyes]

Skytop is an AWFUL place to put a stadium. I simply don’t understand why the handful of people on this board seem to think it is such a great spot. Fine….its near campus and the school owns it. Whooptie-friggin-doo.

There are no clear traffic patterns to or from the site, there are existing (and currently used) buildings (and a golf course) on the site which need to be relocated, and (oh by the way) you need to clear the side of the hill to get it into a usable state.

The amount of construction required to prep that area for a stadium would raise the cost of the project exponentially. All for the sake of being able to say our stadium is “on campus”

We have plenty of much better construction sites that are minutes from campus…

There would have to be some adjustments etc as there has to be for all projects but I saw the layout and it would make going to the game a lot easier than it is now.

FYI, SU would love to tear down the Dome and use it for academic buildings.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Renovated Dome with new chair back style stadium seats would increase attendance.

John Q Public watches the game from the comfort of his home on a 60" HDTV with Dolby Surround Sound. He has an unlimited supply of beer in the fridge, no line for the bathroom, and he only wants to dedicate a maximum of 3 hours out of his busy schedule.

Somehow, I don't think offering him a back for his chair and a matching cupholder will make a difference.

The diehard season ticket holders would love the seating upgrades. But they'd come to the games if they had to sit on sandpaper for 3 hours.

The only thing that increases attendance is winning. Once Marrone has everything he needs to bring in Top 30 recruiting classes we can worry about beautification projects.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

John Q Public watches the game from the comfort of his home on a 60" HDTV with Dolby Surround Sound. He has an unlimited supply of beer in the fridge, no line for the bathroom, and he only wants to dedicate a maximum of 3 hours out of his busy schedule.

Somehow, I don't think offering him a back for his chair and a matching cupholder will make a difference.

The diehard season ticket holders would love the seating upgrades. But they'd come to the games if they had to sit on sandpaper for 3 hours.

The only thing that increases attendance is winning. Once Marrone has everything he needs to bring in Top 30 recruiting classes we can worry about beautification projects.

You honestly don't think a renovated Dome coupled with the move to the ACC would increase attendance?

I know for a fact there is a segment of the population that doesn't like to go to the Dome because of the hard aluminum bleachers.

The Dome has undergone relatively few (only minor) facelifts since it opened. You can't let a stadium sit there and get old.

 

[rrlbees]

FYI, SU would love to tear down the Dome and use it for academic buildings.

Hey, I said that.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

You honestly don't think a renovated Dome coupled with the move to the ACC would increase attendance?

I know for a fact there is a segment of the population that doesn't like to go to the Dome because of the hard aluminum bleachers.

The Dome has undergone relatively few (only minor) facelifts since it opened. You can't let a stadium sit there and get old.

I think the move to the ACC "might" improve attendance by itself ... if Miami, FSU, and Va Tech came to the Dome every other year. I can't see the typical CNY resident getting too excited over UNC or Duke football, and people will have the same problem identifying with Clemson, and Ga Tech as they had with Cinci, Louisville, and USF.

For hoops, when UNC and Duke visit, you wouldn't even need seats.

BTW, both Michigan and Notre Dame stadiums have had the same wooden benches for probably 50 years.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

I think the move to the ACC "might" improve attendance by itself ... if Miami, FSU, and Va Tech came to the Dome every other year. I can't see the typical CNY resident getting too excited over UNC or Duke football, and people will have the same problem identifying with Clemson, and Ga Tech as they had with Cinci, Louisville, and USF.

For hoops, when UNC and Duke visit, you wouldn't even need seats.

BTW, both Michigan and Notre Dame stadiums have had the same wooden benches for probably 50 years.

Yes, Mich and ND have had the same bleacher for 50 years, but they have also sold out every game for 50 years. When the fanbase is so rabid, just getting in is the goal. We don't have Mich or ND's fanbase, so you have to make it more appealing and comfortable for the fan to come to the game.

The Yankees and Giants never had any trouble selling seats to their games. Why did they go ahead and build new stadiums?

 

[BayonneOrange]

I have to agree with some of you here...we need to upgrade the players' facilities before we start thing about renevations/new stadium.

Better facilities = better players = wins = lots o' money. Nothing palatial, just on par.

And, down the line, a new stadium would be the way to go. Renovations would be a waste of money.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

I have to agree with some of you here...we need to upgrade the players' facilities before we start thing about renevations/new stadium.

Better facilities = better players = wins = lots o' money. Nothing palatial, just on par.

And, down the line, a new stadium would be the way to go. Renovations would be a waste of money.

If you read Dave Rahme's chat transcript from a few weeks ago, he stated that we are losing out on top level recruits because of fans/lack of gameday atmosphere.

Play in Penn State or ND's atmosphere in front of 80,000 fans, or play in front of Syracuse's combination of 30,000 passive fans and 20,000 other fans disguised as silver bleachers.

Recruits SEE the Dome on TV. For everything that it is in Basketball, it's the complete opposite in Football.

Renovate the Dome: add Chair-back Stadium Seats, change the Camera Angle. These things will help fill the Dome AND make it look a ton better on TV.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Yes, Mich and ND have had the same bleacher for 50 years, but they have also sold out every game for 50 years. When the fanbase is so rabid, just getting in is the goal. We don't have Mich or ND's fanbase, so you have to make it more appealing and comfortable for the fan to come to the game.

The Yankees and Giants never had any trouble selling seats to their games. Why did they go ahead and build new stadiums?

More luxury boxes and suites.

You can only amortize an asset for 30 years, so pro teams want a new stadium every three decades or so. Universities that don't pay taxes don't have this issue, so a college stadium can last forever.

The Meadowlands was just over 30 years old. Yankee Stadium went through a top to bottom renovation 30 years ago. The Vet, Riverfront, Three Rivers, Busch Stadium ... all approx 30 years old.

 

[BlackKnight76]

I'm also on the side that we can get some serious years out of the Dome if we upgrade the video boards, and more than anything, the audio system. I also hope that the presumed increase in revenue from the ACC allows us to cut some of the ridiculous advertising we have everywhere, let the band play more, etc etc.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

I'm also on the side that we can get some serious years out of the Dome if we upgrade the video boards, and more than anything, the audio system. I also hope that the presumed increase in revenue from the ACC allows us to cut some of the ridiculous advertising we have everywhere, let the band play more, etc etc.

We can upgrade the audio system simply by losing the "Totally 80's" CD.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

More luxury boxes and suites.

You can only amortize an asset for 30 years, so pro teams want a new stadium every three decades or so. Universities that don't pay taxes don't have this issue, so a college stadium can last forever.

The Meadowlands was just over 30 years old. Yankee Stadium went through a top to bottom renovation 30 years ago. The Vet, Riverfront, Three Rivers, Busch Stadium ... all approx 30 years old.

Do you really think interest deductions were the primary reason for building new Yankee Stadium?

The Vet, Riverfront, Three Rivers, etc all were torn down and replace by new stadiums because of poor design, dated features, lack of character, etc. The "cold" atmosphere of those stadiums was keeping fans away. Declining attendance led to declining revenue.

The Yankees had the original Yankee Stadium since 1927 (with a renovation in the mid 70's). Boston has had Fenway Park just as long, Wrigley's been there forever too. I don't buy the argument of "use debt to finance, get a deduction on the interest".

Also, I'm not a big Corporate Finance guy, but who says you can't amortize something for longer than 30 years? Are there tax laws prohibiting that?

How are they even financing these stadiums? Are they really using loans? You'd think some type of bond would be more popular with investors.

 

[Stern]

Reduce capacity of the dome by adding seats, then raise the ticket prices=Increased REVENUE!!

If it means I get a real seat instead of a bench, I'm all for it

 

[BayonneOrange]

If you read Dave Rahme's chat transcript from a few weeks ago, he stated that we are losing out on top level recruits because of fans/lack of gameday atmosphere.

Play in Penn State or ND's atmosphere in front of 80,000 fans, or play in front of Syracuse's combination of 30,000 passive fans and 20,000 other fans disguised as silver bleachers.

Recruits SEE the Dome on TV. For everything that it is in Basketball, it's the complete opposite in Football.

Renovate the Dome: add Chair-back Stadium Seats, change the Camera Angle. These things will help fill the Dome AND make it look a ton better on TV.

I really don't think these recruits are morons...some cosmetic fixes to the Dome won't help get them to sign with us, no matter what Dave Rahme says. Didn't know his word is gospel.

Kids come on their visits and see the facilities at Manley and get turned off when comparing them to other schools'. There's no doubt about that. And recruits know that once a team starts winning regularly, people will come...no orange seatbacks needed.

 

[Orangepace]

Do you really think interest deductions were the primary reason for building new Yankee Stadium?

The Vet, Riverfront, Three Rivers, etc all were torn down and replace by new stadiums because of poor design, dated features, lack of character, etc. The "cold" atmosphere of those stadiums was keeping fans away. Declining attendance led to declining revenue.

The Yankees had the original Yankee Stadium since 1927 (with a renovation in the mid 70's). Boston has had Fenway Park just as long, Wrigley's been there forever too. I don't buy the argument of "use debt to finance, get a deduction on the interest".

Also, I'm not a big Corporate Finance guy, but who says you can't amortize something for longer than 30 years? Are there tax laws prohibiting that?

How are they even financing these stadiums? Are they really using loans? You'd think some type of bond would be more popular with investors.

Not the primary reason for building it, but yes, a significant factor, along with increased capacity, nicer venue driving a better experience thanks to significant improvements in architechture, etc. Without the tax breaks, these guys would never build a new stadium, or significant structure. Most Companies would let their buildings completely become dilapidated..

I understand you're not a Corporate Finance guy, but pure logic would ask, why would you want to amortize any longer? To pay more taxes now? Never would make sense. There are rules in place and for tax purposes, they do govern the amortization life of assets. Pretty sure the Yankees would have taken the amortization over 10 years if they could. They wouldn't pay a tax dollar for a decade if they did that..

Most are utilizing a combination of bonds and private financing. Bonds are cheaper, hence they have more rules/restrictions and caps that Companies must comply with. These result in compliance costs that sometimes are more than their worth, but not often. You still pay a yield to investors on a bond though which really just makes it "cheaper" debt.