Future Campus Framework Discussion

[OrangeMojo]

Quite a Debbie Downer. Have you considered that, with a proper renovation (more light, better seating, more entertainment options, a new roof, etc...), some of these Corporate VIP types might actually enjoy coming to the Dome?

Or are they so high and mighty that only the largest cities can accommodate their entertainment needs?

Quite frankly - yes.

Look - I'm 100% in favor of a major renovation of the Dome and there are a host of great reasons why it should be done - but don't do it to try to entice the Final Four to come to Syracuse.

 

[reedny]

Quite frankly - yes.

Look - I'm 100% in favor of a major renovation of the Dome and there are a host of great reasons why it should be done - but don't do it to try to entice the Final Four to come to Syracuse.

Fair enough. My point, originally, was that a major renovation was overdue to reinvigorate, and even expand, the Dome's regional economic impact. There are a variety of ways to do that, depending on how the new Dome is configured. If the facility, and/or the City, isn't in the running for FF (or some other events requiring a major city and professional level facilities), so be it. But there are many other events it could be used for to benefit the region and the University. One example for SU is on-site media production and broadcast facilities, which other schools have already invested in, and might have a dual use for SU -- for events and in conjunction with the new ACC network.

 

[Bayside44]

LOL. I sure hope so. The roof will be so old by then that if it hasn't been replaced, it will probably be in tatters anyway.

The Alamodome drew 43K for the Final Four when they hosted in 2008. I think they plan to get it up to around 49K for next year. I agree there is no way they will bring the Final Four to an arena with a capacity of 19 or 20K. But I think it is possible they might find a way to live with 35 or 40K for Syracuse. If they were to lower the floor some, it would be possible to get more than 50K into the Dome for basketball, and the seats would be great compared to places like the Georgia Dome or the SuperDome. I have been to Final Fours in those places and the seats were awful.

Right now, I believe I read that there are only 8 sites that can hold a Final Four in the US. If Syracuse was somehow able to get in the club, they would be part of a pretty small rotation, and my guess is that they might get more looks that some of the other areas that are over represented compared to the Northeast.

The Alamo Dome seats 72K (who knew?). Anyway it seems since 2008 the NCAA has repositioned the court to get the most people in those stadiums at the worst possible view. The Superdome of 2003 is not the same seating layout as it would be now.

 

[Cusefan78]

What everyone is missing is the infrastructure needed to hold a final four. Syracuse doesn't have a huge airport nor does it have a good mass transit system. Could you imagine 45k trying to get from a hotel to the dome without a rental car. 60%of the crowd wouldn't make it till halftime. The main reason besides money they are going with bigger cities is the infrastructure bigger cities have. They have the ability to move vast amounts of people quickly. Could you imagine the uproar when some out of town calls 4su-taxi and they say 2 hour wait.

 

[shandeezy7]

What everyone is missing is the infrastructure needed to hold a final four. Syracuse doesn't have a huge airport nor does it have a good mass transit system. Could you imagine 45k trying to get from a hotel to the dome without a rental car. 60%of the crowd wouldn't make it till halftime. The main reason besides money they are going with bigger cities is the infrastructure bigger cities have. They have the ability to move vast amounts of people quickly. Could you imagine the uproar when some out of town calls 4su-taxi and they say 2 hour wait.

At least with Uber we'll never have to call 4SU-Taxi ever again. What a terrible company (apologies if anyone here is affiliated with them).

 

[reedny]

What everyone is missing is the infrastructure needed to hold a final four. Syracuse doesn't have a huge airport nor does it have a good mass transit system. Could you imagine 45k trying to get from a hotel to the dome without a rental car. 60%of the crowd wouldn't make it till halftime. The main reason besides money they are going with bigger cities is the infrastructure bigger cities have. They have the ability to move vast amounts of people quickly. Could you imagine the uproar when some out of town calls 4su-taxi and they say 2 hour wait.

Uber's on its way. The airport has greater capacity than it's serving currently. Hotel space is probably not adequate, but on the rise nonetheless. But the mass transit is an issue -- we used to have train service running from downtown to just behind the FINE lot. They discontinued it, but the tracks still there. At the end of the day, the FF may be outside our reach. But there are still improvements and investment that can be made across the board (town and gown) to host bigger events and maximize the Dome's (and the City's) event potential.

 

[UnknownOrange]

A Final Four is not going to be in Syracuse NY

 

[Moontan]

A Final Four is not going to be in Syracuse NY

Perfect spot for the Women's Final Four.

 

[FrancoPizza]

I'm sure the big $$ NCAA corporate sponsors would be very enthusiastic to reward their clients and VIPs with an early April trip to Syracuse,NY - no issue there.

Clearly Minneapolis in early April is a tropical paradise. The weather is just an excuse. It's not the deal-breaker that the Stephanie Miners of this world make it out be. If the area can start offering more job opportunities to stem the exodus of millenials and college graduates, things can turn around in a hurry. The drone industry has unlimited potential if the local defense contractors and state leaders play their cards right. If you're lucky enough to be in the right field, Syracuse is a great place to live and raise a family. Otherwise you're best bet is to pack up and move. It's why this area winds up in the top 10 lists for best and worst places to live.

 

[KaiserUEO]

Perfect spot for the Women's Final Four.

I don't think it sets up well enough for that.

its a pretty big event and an on-campus venue doesn't lend itself to making it easy for the fans.

they need to get in and out of the bars/restaurants easily and then walk to the game.

cant be done at Syracuse.

in the future I think Syracuse will be lucky to even get Regionals for the mens & womens hoop.

 

[OttoMets]

What everyone is missing is the infrastructure needed to hold a final four. Syracuse doesn't have a huge airport nor does it have a good mass transit system. Could you imagine 45k trying to get from a hotel to the dome without a rental car. 60%of the crowd wouldn't make it till halftime. The main reason besides money they are going with bigger cities is the infrastructure bigger cities have. They have the ability to move vast amounts of people quickly. Could you imagine the uproar when some out of town calls 4su-taxi and they say 2 hour wait.

It's held in places like Glendale, Arlington, and Houston...don't get me wrong, I prefer mass transit, but that's not a criterion for the NCAA. 45,000 people for this hypothetical Final Four game would work a lot like 45,000 on a football Saturday; the fans would get there.

That doesn't mean Syracuse isn't inferior to some of the regular locations. The cab situation for something like this would reflect badly on the area, no doubt.

Does anyone remember the complaints about the Super Bowl in Jacksonville a few years ago?

 

[UnknownOrange]

There is a hotel room & conference room minimum number for cities to even be considered. Last I knew we weren't close on hotel #'s

 

[Cheriehoop]

I don't think it sets up well enough for that.

its a pretty big event and an on-campus venue doesn't lend itself to making it easy for the fans.

they need to get in and out of the bars/restaurants easily and then walk to the game.

cant be done at Syracuse.

in the future I think Syracuse will be lucky to even get Regionals for the mens & womens hoop.

In 2018, the women's Final 4 will be held in Albany's Time Union Center, the home of Siena College and the MAAC tournament. It has a capacity of 17,500. In 2017, it was held in Dallas with a championship game attendance of 19,229 which was a sellout.

 

[CusefanATL]

It's held in places like Glendale, Arlington, and Houston...don't get me wrong, I prefer mass transit, but that's not a criterion for the NCAA. 45,000 people for this hypothetical Final Four game would work a lot like 45,000 on a football Saturday; the fans would get there.

That doesn't mean Syracuse isn't inferior to some of the regular locations. The cab situation for something like this would reflect badly on the area, no doubt.

Does anyone remember the complaints about the Super Bowl in Jacksonville a few years ago?

Uber fixes the cab problem literally overnight (tonight)

 

[reedny]

Uber fixes the cab problem literally overnight (tonight)

From what I've heard, that's not hyperbole. I'm old fashioned, but have to give it up to good apps ... (Google calendar and Google Maps are pretty handy). In the past, I've resisted Uber because I don't relish the idea of riding in a "dude's car". But it's a system that is well run and popular. And no matter what I think, it's debuting at SU. The U will have to work out the logistics ... how to arrange the pickup-drop off points and organize the whole thing so its efficient and one system isn't blocking another.

 

[KaiserUEO]

In 2018, the women's Final 4 will be held in Albany's Time Union Center, the home of Siena College and the MAAC tournament. It has a capacity of 17,500. In 2017, it was held in Dallas with a championship game attendance of 19,229 which was a sellout.

I was speaking more to the ease and fun of it, than the capacity.

in Albany, you can block off South Pearl St and/or State St and have a big fan fest right outside the Knick with all the bars and restaurants all right there as you walk in and out for various reasons.

in Cuse, youd have the game on the Hill...and the festival downtown. doubt that's a look theyd be going for.

its different when you have 8 schools worth of fans bouncing around in the early games.

when its more intense with less fans milling around, you want the fun and the games to comingle.

 

[Bayside44]

I was speaking more to the ease and fun of it, than the capacity.

in Albany, you can block off South Pearl St and/or State St and have a big fan fest right outside the Knick with all the bars and restaurants all right there as you walk in and out for various reasons.

in Cuse, youd have the game on the Hill...and the festival downtown. doubt that's a look theyd be going for.

its different when you have 8 schools worth of fans bouncing around in the early games.

when its more intense with less fans milling around, you want the fun and the games to comingle.

It's guys like you that make Segway's exist.

I don't gather the Dome is modern enough inside, etc (media, real suites, etc)...but not like Albany is some sort of Barcelona...

 

[KaiserUEO]

It's guys like you that make Segway's exist.

I don't gather the Dome is modern enough inside, etc (media, real suites, etc)...but not like Albany is some sort of Barcelona...

you may want to get your camera out and set up a youtube account if some Rent-A-Cop tries to give me a SWI some day...

instant million+ views.

Albany is far from an ideal spot, but it has what I was looking for. and its a city where the womens championship wont get swallowed up, it will be THE EVENT of the City for the whole year and for that weekend they will pull out all the stops.

 

[Cheriehoop]

you may want to get your camera out and set up a youtube account if some Rent-A-Cop tries to give me a SWI some day...

instant million+ views.

Albany is far from an ideal spot, but it has what I was looking for. and its a city where the womens championship wont get swallowed up, it will be THE EVENT of the City for the whole year and for that weekend they will pull out all the stops.

I was at the old Pepsi arena (is that what is was called then?) in that infamous 2003 year. Great memories but more about the game itself and driving to some corner bar with SU fans pouring from the bar and filling the street. What happened was memorable, the rest was forgettable. In fact, we had a cooler in the car , passed out beers to a thirsty throng of our fans so they didn't have to venture inside the overwhelmed bar. I can only imagine my memories of the arena and area itself (dark, dark) if we had ever lost. Not to diss on Albany but I have been to all the regional men's tournaments in the dome (except in 2010 & 2015) and don't see where your negativity concerning all that's SU and Syracuse, that you do.

 

[KaiserUEO]

I was at the old Pepsi arena (is that what is was called then?) in that infamous 2003 year. Great memories but more about the game itself and driving to some corner bar with SU fans pouring from the bar and filling the street. What happened was memorable, the rest was forgettable. In fact, we had a cooler in the car , passed out beers to a thirsty throng of our fans so they didn't have to venture inside the overwhelmed bar. I can only imagine my memories of the arena and area itself (dark, dark) if we had ever lost. Not to diss on Albany but I have been to all the regional men's tournaments in the dome (except in 2010 & 2015) and don't see where your negativity concerning all that's SU and Syracuse, that you do.

its not Syracuse negativity or pro-Albany-ness, somebody mentioned Albany so I went with it.

I was merely talking about the Dome being 'hidden', if I may, up on campus.

serious question, do some people for basketball have to park at South Campus and be bussed to the Dome??

if so, we can stop right now because that's not happening for a F4...mens or womens. they wont do that to the big $$ fans coming in.

im saying people want things easy, want it all right in front of them.

they want to park their car and walk to the game, the fanfest and the restaurants & bars.

M Street is way too small with not enough options for that, so the masses would have to be downtown in a centralized location.

and things being spread out makes people hate things at that locale.

games of this magnitude are event eating, event drinking, event carousing and eventually event attending. you want them all near each other.

its why for the BET, all us NYCers hung out at the Garden bars and never left till late. because once we did, it was just another night out in NYC...so you stay right there, annoyed at waiting for an overpriced beer and pissed off that the storz and gtown people are not moving from bar stools. event drinking made it ok.

Syracuse, in all its glory...does not fit the bill.

Albany, in all its darkness...actually does.

but again, the womens F4 is about as high as it could fit.

 

[xc84]

its not Syracuse negativity or pro-Albany-ness, somebody mentioned Albany so I went with it.

I was merely talking about the Dome being 'hidden', if I may, up on campus.

serious question, do some people for basketball have to park at South Campus and be bussed to the Dome??

if so, we can stop right now because that's not happening for a F4...mens or womens. they wont do that to the big $$ fans coming in.

im saying people want things easy, want it all right in front of them.

they want to park their car and walk to the game, the fanfest and the restaurants & bars.

M Street is way too small with not enough options for that, so the masses would have to be downtown in a centralized location.

and things being spread out makes people hate things at that locale.

games of this magnitude are event eating, event drinking, event carousing and eventually event attending. you want them all near each other.

its why for the BET, all us NYCers hung out at the Garden bars and never left till late. because once we did, it was just another night out in NYC...so you stay right there, annoyed at waiting for an overpriced beer and pissed off that the storz and gtown people are not moving from bar stools. event drinking made it ok.

Syracuse, in all its glory...does not fit the bill.

Albany, in all its darkness...actually does.



but again, the womens F4 is about as high as it could fit.

With an improved dome, Syracuse is as good or better than Albany for W Final 4.

 

[Toga]

I was at the old Pepsi arena (is that what is was called then?) in that infamous 2003 year. Great memories but more about the game itself and driving to some corner bar with SU fans pouring from the bar and filling the street. What happened was memorable, the rest was forgettable. In fact, we had a cooler in the car , passed out beers to a thirsty throng of our fans so they didn't have to venture inside the overwhelmed bar. I can only imagine my memories of the arena and area itself (dark, dark) if we had ever lost. Not to diss on Albany but I have been to all the regional men's tournaments in the dome (except in 2010 & 2015) and don't see where your negativity concerning all that's SU and Syracuse, that you do.

That was my fault (recommendation). I thought it was far enough away but still had TVs and that we could take it over. Ended up being too small. Still a pretty good weekend!

 

[TexanMark]

Uber fixes the cab problem literally overnight (tonight)

Great the airport taxis are a huge scam... A pox on that company

 

[Cusefan78]

Clearly Minneapolis in early April is a tropical paradise. The weather is just an excuse. It's not the deal-breaker that the Stephanie Miners of this world make it out be. If the area can start offering more job opportunities to stem the exodus of millenials and college graduates, things can turn around in a hurry. The drone industry has unlimited potential if the local defense contractors and state leaders play their cards right. If you're lucky enough to be in the right field, Syracuse is a great place to live and raise a family. Otherwise you're best bet is to pack up and move. It's why this area winds up in the top 10 lists for best and worst places to live.

I totally agree, Minneapolis is a great goal to get syracuse to. I'm there a few times of year and it's a great city. Always construction going on, downtown is clean and improving all the time, mall of America is busting at the seems, and the airport is easy to get in and out of. Highways are like Rochester with the loops so moving around town is a breeze. Syracuse should look to them and see how they are making it work. People complain about how cold Syracuse is well it's like a tropical paradise compared to Minnesota. My last winter trip there it was -40 temp plus a 30 mph wind. Now that's cold.

 

[CusefanATL]

Great the airport taxis are a huge scam... A pox on that company

They still have to iron out the Uber/Airport details. Not sure that is going to happen by midnight tonight - but Im sure it will soon enough. Long before any Final 4 is played here.