Old CUSE Stuff
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kuethstheman
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Not sure what you're asking. What publication?
The first one depicts one of the options they considered for where to build a new stadium, in the 70's
The first one depicts one of the options they considered for where to build a new stadium, in the 70's
Orangejet
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Edited the comment. Coach Maloney used to show this to recruits while avoiding taking them to Archbold Stadium.
CuseLegacy
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And here I thought, from the title, you were talking about a certain segment of our forum. 
OrangeAl
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Isn't that plan just a little bit too simplistic?
I remember those days well. (That may be an overstatement.)
Orangejet
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Coach Maloney had a custom built model of the proposed new Skytop stadium in his office and it looked like the old Foxboro Stadium design, but watered down. When the new players saw the inside of Archbold Stadium for the first time to start preseason practice in August '77, we were all shocked how bad it was. Thank God for the Dome!Isn't that plan just a little bit too simplistic?
I remember those days well. (That may be an overstatement.)
Last edited:
SU68
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I represent that remark!And here I thought, from the title, you were talking about a certain segment of our forum.
sutomcat
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I would love to have gotten a look at that model. I have attached a picture of Foxboro Stadium from long ago that might give people an idea of how it would have looked.
My first impression of this stadium is one I routinely have when I visit other stadiums. Why are the seats so far from the field? Why is the seating so flat? My extensive familiarity with the Carrier Dome, which has an extremely small footprint, really influences my perspective. I dislike these stadiums and think being far away detracts from the fan experience. I like intimate and there is no place as intimate as the Carrier Dome.
What if an outdoor stadium like this was built up on Skytop in the late 1970s?
What impact would it have had on the football program? What impact would it have had on the basketball program?
How big would it have been? It was a gutsy decision to build the dome to hold 50K. Archbold at its peak could hold 40K or so. Fan interest had dropped off dramatically by the late 1970s and I believe we were drawing average crowds of around 20K (more for Penn State). I know what it was announced that the Dome would hold 50K, there was some criticism. Way too big. What are they thinking?
Whatever size it was, they would have had the ability to expand it later if there was sufficient demand. I suspect the knowledge that there could be no expansion with a dome drove the decision to include extra capacity, so it would be there if there was eventually a need.
With an outdoor stadium, that wouldn’t have been a consideration. I think they would have built it with an initial capacity of about 40K. That 40K size is what BC, Rutgers and UConn all ended up with (Rutgers eventually had the foresight to expand their stadium to accommodate future visiting fans from Penn State, Maryland, Ohio State, Michigan, etc).
Assuming we would have had similar success turning the football program around in the 1980s, the stadium would probably have been expanded in the late 1980 to around 55K, where it probably would have stayed even to today.
Tailgating would have been excellent. That might have driven fan interest a bit. It would have been easier to park and walk to the stadium.
I would imagine that a spur would have been built that would connect I-481 to the stadium site when the section of I-481 connecting Jamesville Road to I-81 was built in the early 1980s.
These things might have helped with attendance to some degree. But there would have been no guarantee of good conditions for all games like fans enjoy today for games, even late in the season. All told, I don’t think attendance would have changed much.
What about the effect on recruiting? An outdoor stadium would have been just another ho hum, low end modest facility and would not have stood out compared to the stadiums on the BC and Rutgers campuses (and later with UConn, not on their campus). I suspect that the uniqueness of the dome probably gave the program a small but significant advantage over these other schools that continues to this day. Maybe the resurgence of the program would have been somewhat diminished with an open air stadium? I think it is very possible.
I think we end up being not quite as successful as we have been with the dome but very close. We win some BE championships and go to a lot of bowl games. The tailgating culture at Syracuse is far more advanced and popular and it helps to retain internet and attendance during lean times.
Before talking about the impact on basketball, let’s discuss briefly discuss lacrosse. I am going to assume lacrosse games were played at Archbold until Coyne Stadium was built. Not sure exactly when Coyne was built but I know I went to see SU soccer games there circa 1975. I assume the lacrosse team probably started playing there once it was available. My guess is that the lacrosse team would have kept playing at Coyne. My guess is that when Roy Jr took over the program from his dad, his dynamic personality and the enormous amount of local talent would have made Syracuse into a power again, regardless of whether the dome was built. It is possible that the stands at Coyne would have been expanded, and it would have grown into a very nice enclosed stadium that held 5K. That stadium would also be used for soccer.
We probably end up winning 5 NCs or so, doing very well but never becoming the dominant power in the sport, and never drawing the kinds of enormous crowds we draw for big games at the dome.
For basketball, we probably stay in Manley for a while. We still end up in the Big East for basketball. The better home court advantage somewhat helps to offset the recruiting advantages playing in the dome in front of huge crowds. We routinely sell out Manley and go to the NCAA tournament. Money flows into the athletic program, and due to the great demand for tickets and the many limitations at Manley (lack of space for concessions, bathrooms, etc) a new basketball arena is eventually built, right next to the outdoor football stadium at Skytop. It opens in 1988. The new arena holds 18K and we routinely sell it out. People criticize the decision to only have a capacity of 18K.
Manley again becomes an indoor practice facility.
The basketball program continues to be a regional power and wins a NC, but isn’t as consistently great and doesn’t quite reach the heights the program reached playing in the dome. But the new arena is a great venue to watch games at, the seats are right on top of the court and we retain a great home court advantage indefinitely. The team is introduced in the dark with spotlights and the sound system and center hung scoreboard, just upgraded, are amazing. For games in late November and late February/early March, there is even tailgating for some basketball games.
