Time For A Soccer/Lacrosse Stadium?

[OrangeXtreme]

Lacrosse only facilities would be great (weight room, admin offices, treatment area, etc). I remember the current weight training areas for the Olympic sports to be suboptimal. That was about 3 years ago, so things could have changed. - The OSU lax only stadium is ridiculously nice.

When the Lally Center is completed, the football team gets a brand new weight room, and the olympic team gets the old weight room. A decent upgrade.

 

[Cuse4455]

No way...need to share with soccer

Oh I know but he's def wanted a Lacrosse only HQs separated from Manley.

 

[Lax2020]

I thought Gait wanted a standalone support facility, not stadium?

Also, Tsai's donation at Yale went to a Lacrosse Fieldhouse (support facility) and I believe soccer shares as well. They continue to play at Reese Field, which they share with soccer.

I think after the $150 Lally upgrade is done, the current Ensley will be Lacrosse only support facility.

Great Daily Orange story on Cliff Ensley...

Trustee Member, Alumnus Cliff Ensley Reflects on Taking Challenges, Making an Impact

In 1978, Cliff Ensley ’69, ’70, G’71 had an idea to start his own business and just $2,500 to do it. He was used to taking on challenges—there was no stoppi ...

news.syr.edu

 

[Bayside44]

Didn’t Gait say one of his priorities was to help build a lacrosse only stadium? I might be making this up. I think it would be great but I do wonder what they would do in February.

Practice facility.

 

[Zack80]

Klöckner Stadium hosts UVa soccer and lacrosse. It has 3500 seats and room for 3600 more people to sit on the hillside next to the stadium.

It would be nice if UVa would admit that Klockner is not that good for big crowds and move the UMd game to Scott stadium.

 

[Hoo's That]

It would be nice if UVa would admit that Klockner is not that good for big crowds and move the UMd game to Scott stadium.

Why, because you want it to snow again?

 

[Zack80]

Why, because you want it to snow again?

Nah, but sitting on that hillside might not be too nice, if there was a wet snow or heavy rain that previous night and morning. Hopefully fans would stay home.

But I know what Klockner can be like when there is like 6,000 or so fans in it, and it ain't good.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I think a community stadium of somewhere from 7000-10000 seats.

Should ideally be close to campus.

One if not two sidelines should be fully covered with an extended roof.

Should support SU Soccer, Pro Lacrosse and Soccer, SU Lacrosse in April and May, local college and HS tournaments.

Could look something like this
View attachment 222747

Will never happen. SU and the lax program consdier the Dome a legendary place to play and a major asset with the season now starting essentially at the beginning of February. Even if they built a new stadium for Soccer, SU is never leaving the Dome for lax... ever.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Yes hes wanted a Lacrosse stadium and lacrosse only facilities

Yes he definitely wants some new lax only facilities but a move out of the Dome was ruled out already by Admin.

 

[DMVCuseLax]

Yes he definitely wants some new lax only facilities but a move out of the Dome was ruled out already by Admin.

Was told last year he would like to build the facility on south campus past the dorms to house the men’s and women’s team. Everything that happens for the men will include the women. He was raising the money and has approval from school. Not sure where the money stands.

 

[laxfan1]

Been at all the other ACC venues plus Michigan and a few others. Honestly, it is cool having the dedicated lax facility. It's always been odd to me that two of the most storied programs - SU and Maryland - play on football fields. Granted that allows for more people, but it just seems "borrowed". Plus, I understand that places like Arlotta, etc. have not only locker rooms but also dedicated kitchens and entertainment space for the team. Kinda becomes a bit of a 2nd home just for them. Honestly, I don't see SU lax getting priority in the Dome during football season.

Understand the weather challenges, but why not front load the calendar with road trips and home games later. That's literally what every baseball team north of the mason-dixon line does to get by.

 

[Zack80]

Been at all the other ACC venues plus Michigan and a few others. Honestly, it is cool having the dedicated lax facility. It's always been odd to me that two of the most storied programs - SU and Maryland - play on football fields. Granted that allows for more people, but it just seems "borrowed". Plus, I understand that places like Arlotta, etc. have not only locker rooms but also dedicated kitchens and entertainment space for the team. Kinda becomes a bit of a 2nd home just for them. Honestly, I don't see SU lax getting priority in the Dome during football season.

Understand the weather challenges, but why not front load the calendar with road trips and home games later. That's literally what every baseball team north of the mason-dixon line does to get by.

Maryland has a lot of lacrosse tradition in Maryland (Byrd) stadium.
Maryland (Byrd) stadium never seems borrowed to me. In the Spring it's lacrosse and in the fall it's football.

 

[DMVCuseLax]

Been at all the other ACC venues plus Michigan and a few others. Honestly, it is cool having the dedicated lax facility. It's always been odd to me that two of the most storied programs - SU and Maryland - play on football fields. Granted that allows for more people, but it just seems "borrowed". Plus, I understand that places like Arlotta, etc. have not only locker rooms but also dedicated kitchens and entertainment space for the team. Kinda becomes a bit of a 2nd home just for them. Honestly, I don't see SU lax getting priority in the Dome during football season.

Understand the weather challenges, but why not front load the calendar with road trips and home games later. That's literally what every baseball team north of the mason-dixon line does to get by.

Don’t really need to be in the Dome during FB season. Honestly, I prefer to watch a game in the Dome. Much better than freezing outdoors. The team should ride in on buses from Manley on game day. Lol

Next springs Maryland game will be miserable outdoors. I’ve watched an outdoor game in Feb at Michigans Field and it sucked. Didn’t enjoy one min. of the game.

Will be interesting to see if OSU plays outdoors at their new stadium in Feb when they normally play in their indoor facility early season. Apparently they installed heat under the field.

 

[Zack80]

Next springs Maryland game will be miserable outdoors. I’ve watched an outdoor game in Feb at Michigans Field and it sucked. Didn’t enjoy one min. of the game.

If there is measurable precipitation it will probably be miserable.
The average high in College Park on Feb 18 is 48 degrees.

 

[Faegan]

I would put it right where the soccer stadium is now. There is a big field between it and Lancaster that as far as I can tell is just vacant land. Too small to be used as a practice field. Why not move the footprint of the stadium in some, and take advantage of all the room east of the stadium?

I suspect lacrosse fans will not be happy with a stadium with that small of a capacity. I think the soccer stadium only holds about 2500 now, though that could be expanded to 5000 pretty easily just adding stands on the east side of the field. There is of course more capacity on the small hill just south of the field; maybe that adds another 500 or 1000.

This is a significant problem. You ideally have a facility that is big enough for a sports’ biggest crowds but not ridiculously big for other sports.

A 7K stadium would be great for mens and womens soccer but too small for mens and (hopefully some day) womens lacrosse. A 12K stadium might be great for lacrosse but too big for the soccer teams.

Let’s look at some peer schools and how they do things.

Dorrance Field hosts UNC soccer and lacrosse. It has 4200 individual seats.

Dorrance Field - University of North Carolina Athletics

Carolina boasts one of the finest soccer and lacrosse facilities in the nation.

goheels.com

Klöckner Stadium hosts UVa soccer and lacrosse. It has 3500 seats and room for 3600 more people to sit on the hillside next to the stadium.

I think those are the two best facilities in the ACC.

Since Syracuse lacrosse is so much more popular than UNC or UVa lacrosse, going down to a field with cavities like theirs would be a problem.

I like that you have sized a Syracuse version far bigger. It would be nice to have a room to keep fans dry in bad weather. Individual seats, a state of the art video board, ample bathrooms and concessions and a wide, open concourse would be great. It would probably cost at least $10 million to build. I think a naming gift from a large corporation about to move into the community would be a great way to start building a good relationship with the CNY community.

I have been to Dorrance a few times and would love to use it as a model but get your concerns. Wish they could make something like that happen!

 

[longtimefan]

The Dome is unique. Be careful giving that up.

 

[JustSayin]

The Dome is unique. Be careful giving that up.

Agree, there is no place like dome. Climate controlled facility that can seat large crowds. I wouldn't want to go back in time when we sat in the bleachers at Manley. Imagine sitting in an outdoor facility in February? Yikes!

 

[Lax2020]

I agree with most here regarding Lacrosse and the Dome - leave what is not broken alone. If we can afford to open up the Dome for 10,000 lacrosse fans so be it.

I have been advocating improving the Soccer Stadium for quite some time. The capacity is listed at 1500 and for the important games, they are Standing Room Only - I know this first hand as I tried to attend some of the Men's games and was not able to get in. It seems the Soccer Teams deserve another upgrade to their home pitch - keep in mind they got some amazing new grass a few years ago and a grounds crew focused on making their field 2nd to none. I've been told by the players that the field is a joy to play on and as good or better than any others.

If we could expand the capacity to 3000 and make some improvements that make the place feel more like a high D1 College facility vs a Section 3 High School facility this will advance our programs - who knows where that takes us.

 

[Powellfan]

Looks like they are putting seatbacks in the Dome for lowe level seating. Quite the announcement (and honestly hard to find out what the improvements are) for seat backs.

This project includes the installation of upgraded chairback seating and the introduction of new premium offerings throughout the venue Bench seating will be replaced throughout the 100, 200 and 300 levels, resulting in added comfort and accessibility. It also means the JMA Dome will have a new seat map and revised capacities for football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s lacrosse and women’s lacrosse competitions.

 

[SkyTopBus44]

Looks like they are putting seatbacks in the Dome for lowe level seating. Quite the announcement (and honestly hard to find out what the improvements are) for seat backs.

This project includes the installation of upgraded chairback seating and the introduction of new premium offerings throughout the venue Bench seating will be replaced throughout the 100, 200 and 300 levels, resulting in added comfort and accessibility. It also means the JMA Dome will have a new seat map and revised capacities for football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s lacrosse and women’s lacrosse competitions.

The spectator seating is an upgrade. In the past I know those silver seats used to impact visiting goalies and their ability to track the ball. The Dome used to be a house of horrors for visiting teams.

The Dome and Syracuse lacrosse are special and I would hate if we went to another venue. Dating myself but I recall Dom Starsia talking about how when Virginia teams would travel by bus up route 81 as soon as the team saw the Dome in the horizon they were intimidated in some seasons had already lost before the game had even started.

As a student there was something special about walking in from the cold outside into the Dome for a fast breaking - high octane SU lacrosse game. The experience was a stark contrast of color and excitement to the otherwise bleak gray weather outside. It also led to anticipation for summer and the end of the semester.

Plus it felt big time that our team played in the same venue where the other big orange sports competed. The special games when they opened up the top section was also such a tremendous experience. The wave of fans following Casey Powell down the field against Virginia in 1996 is one of my favorite memories from my time on the Hill. The crowds, swagger and style that is Cuse lacrosse. It is something that I am hoping Gary Gait brings back!

 

[Moontan]

Will never happen. SU and the lax program consdier the Dome a legendary place to play and a major asset with the season now starting essentially at the beginning of February. Even if they built a new stadium for Soccer, SU is never leaving the Dome for lax... ever.

I would definitely be in favor of having a lax-only turf to install in the Dome.

It gets a bit tricky around football's Spring game swapping them, but playing lacrosse on a field with the football lines and end zone is less than ideal.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

I would definitely be in favor of having a lax-only turf to install in the Dome.

It gets a bit tricky around football's Spring game swapping them, but playing lacrosse on a field with the football lines and end zone is less than idea.

The current field turf is a permanent install. Otherwise, we'd still be rolling up the turf and storing it outside for basketball games.

 

[wgdsr]

It would be nice if UVa would admit that Klockner is not that good for big crowds and move the UMd game to Scott stadium.

it's been a long time in my memory since uva pulled 7-8 k for a game. bigger games have been 3-4 k for years. unless they go for a big promo for a game or are inudated with requests, won't happen. which probably means it won't.

should be plenty of legroom.