Turning the Court? Really? Give me your thoughts...

[realorange]

Wow!
What a new and unique thread! :noidea:

 

[Trueblue25]

All for it.

Agree with a lot of CTO's points though, except for the fourth respectively.

The sea of orange and good basketball is what make it a good, unrivaled basketball family experience... not really the dome dogs, souvenirs etc. that you can get anywhere else in the dome.

The open space is nice...but I think it's expendable.

 

[cto]

What do those people do during football games at the Dome (other than not go) or what do they do in major venues across America? Having a place to unwind for 10 minutes isn't that big a deal.

At football games, they tailgate before the games... or visit all the stuff on the Quad... or at the bookstore... or on Marshall Street... or whatever. October weather is very different from February weather in Syracuse. In February, as soon as you park... you want to get inside and stay inside.

 

[Millhouse]

You know, the local government commissioned a study on the biggest obstacles to growth in Syracuse? The number one impediment: the negative attitude of the people in Syracuse.
So, rather than stepping out of our comfort zone for one HUGE event that would draw news beyond ESPN, and put Syracuse in a positive light, people piss and moan because its different.
1) Don't move to the Dome. You'll never get more than 10K fans
2) You can't put field turf in the Dome.
3) You'll never sell court side seats for $6,000.00 a piece. (Not to mention those seats interfered with the sight lines of prior season tickets holders.)
4) There is no benefit to claiming that SU is NY's college team or advertising in NYC.
5) SU can't compete in women's sports.

I am a fan of TGD's can do, should do, will do attitude.

I would bet a lot of money that study is complete garbage. Would love to read it

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

 

[CusefanATL]

You really think my #4 is poor? Have you ever been at a big game at the Dome? Prior to the game.. and at half time, thousands of people are in that area behind the bleachers. They are buying souvenirs and refreshments for their kids. And the kids are running around. And working off energy. And participating in all the stuff available back there. It is the ONE THING that makes the Dome a family-friendly place for basketball games.

Our 35k crowds already ARE the talk of the country and the talking heads. No one is going to top them.

And PS.. the season ticket holders HAVE ALREADY bought their tickets for this season. So there is no way to tell them in advance that they are, so to speak, buying a pig in a poke.

1. I have been to plenty of big basketball games in the dome. I know all about behind the curtain. My point is that it is the least of my concern. And I, like most people specialize in meeting friends and family back there to drink beers and shoot hoops. And who knows... there could still be a smaller area to meet depending on the set up.

2. this will be bigger. a lot bigger.

3. I understand. Like I said - I either understand or agree with most of your post. Read Jurrie's post. That is spot on IMO.

I just get the feeling that you (and a few others) are unwilling to give in at all for this event to happen. And if I am correct, I dont understand that philosophy.

 

[dinno28]

My family and I have 4 season tickets and for one game a year I wouldn't mind being relocated to make it a special event ... what recruit wouldn't be impressed by 40-50k screaming fans at a Duke or North Carolina home game...

 

[cto]

I want to make one point clear. My position on this subject is NOT about my seats. My seats are always going to be where they are. (And if they're not, I may kill someone). My point about seats is for people like Tomcat, Jake, Bees, Cherie, and thousands like them... who have upgraded their seats over decades of being season ticket holders, and who now have pretty nice seats. I know where their seats are. If the court is moved to the center of the field... there is NO WAY their seats will be the least bit comparable to what they have now. So we will be playing what folks say is the biggest game in the history of the Dome... and all these loyal season ticket holders will be screwed. To me, that just isn't fair. These are people who have supported the program, year after year, with season tickets. They should not be screwed for a novelty.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

I'll gladly accept whatever seat relocation SU gives me for the game on one condition:

Everyone who's planning on watching at home on TV has to turn off their 70" flat screens and watch the game on a beat up 14" Black & White TV instead.

After all, if the season ticket holders have to "suck it up" for the good of the program, it can only be twice as good for the program if the fans at home share the suck.

 

[Bayside44]

At football games, they tailgate before the games... or visit all the stuff on the Quad... or at the bookstore... or on Marshall Street... or whatever. October weather is very different from February weather in Syracuse. In February, as soon as you park... you want to get inside and stay inside.

I am aware of the weather. In school we just got there in time for the game, so get there later. Halftime is negligible. For the event people can make due.

 

[Bayside44]

I'll gladly accept whatever seat relocation SU gives me for the game on one condition:

Everyone who's planning on watching at home on TV has to turn off their 70" flat screens and watch the game on a beat up 14" Black & White TV instead.

After all, if the season ticket holders have to "suck it up" for the good of the program, it can only be twice as good for the program if the fans at home share the suck.

It would sure beat watching SU play ECU on a 60 inch flatscreen.

What would you have done then in the "American."

 

[OrangeXtreme]

It would sure beat watching SU play ECU on a 60 inch flatscreen. What would you have done then in the "American."

You mean the ACC would have invited UConn instead of Syracuse? Because 35,000 tickets weren't enough?

:rolling:

 

[brandokc]

Many go in - not all come out.

HCSS approved

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Bayside44]

You mean the ACC would have invited UConn instead of Syracuse? Because 35,000 tickets weren't enough?

:rolling:

We got one of the last trains outta town, so whatever happens beats the alternative.

Remember losing VT and Miami for South Florida?

This is such a 1% sportsfan "problem."

 

[AZOrange]

I feel like we need the season to start ASAP!

But first, football.....

I heard tgd is proposing turning the football field the opposite way

 

[AZOrange]

Has syracuse even made the plans official or the seating charts? How does anyone even know if their getting"screwed"?

How much would it cost all in for 2 floor seats at every home game btw?

 

[Moontan]

As CuseFanATL alluded to, consider turning the court 90°, but don't place it in the middle of the Dome.
- pull the east end zone bleachers back 2 sections (back of bleachers reach section 129 instead of 101)
- invest in temporary, 1/3 pitch of current, bleachers : 6 sections worth and 12-15 yds deep instead of the current 2 sections of 5 yds
- create an "equivalency seating map" for the currently sold season ticket locations
- pre-announce the 1 or 2 games per year when the super-sized-seating configuration will be used
(Yes, this requires early conference & TV involvement...
these games need to be on Saturdays, either late afternoon or evening)

Before going through this, involve SU's virtual seating map partner to generate views from all locations in a sold out super-sized-seating configuration Dome. Share this with some trusted people in the SU community and get their opinions.

As someone who sat sideline-extended behind the basket at this year's Final Four, it was merely OK for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It's not something to do once or twice a year. Granted, the Carrier Dome is a bit more intimate, but a full-dome (maximum-sized) is likely too big. If you're going to do it, do it right... hence the suggested investment & configuration above.

Use virtual technology to check out a super-sized-seating configuration vs. a maximum-sized configuration.

BTW: don't forget to check with the city's fire marshall before investing too much...

 

[Rocco]

First off, everyone play nice. Jason was simply asking the question; no need to be snarky or sarcastic in your responses towards him. Post more often J Poles!!

Jekyll & Hyde...

I love the idea for branding & program recognition purposes (we already own all of the insane ncaa bball attendance records, but in a college world where things are constantly being out-trumped, why not follow suit?). I have this weird feeling that UK is planning on doing something huge like this down the road (greaseball Calamari is a big thinker even though he has pizza sauce on his shirt). We've already received big exposure from our record-breaking attendance days, but this would be on a whole other level IMO. As CTO mentioned, there are huge expenses for this; however, I do think that those costs would be more than covered (based on my napkin math - happy to elaborate but not right now at 4:44 am [yes a great time I know]). We need to capitalize on this while we still have the Dome (no not trying to hijack the thread with new arena speculations, just saying, Dome isn't exactly brand new). In today's day of college sports, bigger is better. That is what the recruits want and the 99% of college Bball fans want. A 50k+ crowd for a Duke/SU game??? The thoughts and sounds of it make me giddy. ESPN just bust a nut for the greatest Gameday setting ever. Jump on it, continue owning that slice of the college Bball world.

I also hate the idea for the longstanding season ticket holders and donors. To put it simply, it ain't fair to them. Anyone who is behind the bench/scoring table right now immediately gets a horrible downgrade in their seat sight line and value (being a level 200 guy, I feel right now I have the best seats in the house besides the seats on the court). You go from watching midcourt-ish action and JB reaming his players out to looking at the back of the backboard. Not a good scenario. To give all of the existing season ticket holders a "comparable" seat is a logistics nightmare. Nightmare. Who would determine if a "new" seat favorably compares to their "old" seat. It makes my head spin thinking about it. It's also been brought up that you could remove this marquee ticket(s) from the seasons tickets package, but then you are taking the steak off of the plate at a nice steakhouse. Are you following me? The best part about season tix IMO are knowing you have good seats for the big games. Formerly watching Canisius, Colgate and Eastern Michigan wasn't the reason people bought their season tickets; I don't think I need to point out the obvious here. It sucks we are no longer BE for Bball, but the ACC Bball will be awesome. Those are the games that people dream about when purchasing season tix (and dreamt about while we were still BE).

All in all, absolutely love and hate the idea. I encourage the SUAD to hire a logistics firm to begin breaking this whole thing down for maybe the 14-15 or 15-16 season. That is about the only thing you can do as a next step. Season ticket holders need to be well aware of the situation before re-upping their tickets again.

Thanks Jason, keep us posted with your feedback.

 

[cuseattle]

I figure none of us get to decide.
It would be an amazing spectacle. Doesn't have to happen this year, but let's do it eventually just to show we are the only one who can. (if and when it happens, put CTO in spitting distance)

 

[kirbivore]

If they're going to do this, it should not be this year against Duke. If SU is going to do this it has to be for JB's last game. It should be a way to honor him, not our opponent.

 

[Bill Orange]

If they're going to do this, it should not be this year against Duke. If SU is going to do this it has to be for JB's last game. It should be a way to honor him, not our opponent.

For the 444th time, JB will not announce his retirement before the season begins. No "rocking chair" tour for him.

 

[sutomcat]

That would be interesting...

Awful idea. Move on to something that makes sense and that the season ticket holders would support.

There have been dozens of posts explaining the many reasons this should not happen. cto's post in this thread is a good place to start.

At the very least, don't do this immediately after the deadline for payment for season tickets for basketball for next year. This is going to be an extremely controversial move regardless, and one the vast majority of season ticket holders will not support, but if for some reason you feel compelled to impose it on the fan base, announce your intentions some year before season ticket sales/renewals begin.

Right now, it looks like the SU AD knew the season ticket holders would hate the idea and intentionally waited until they had their money before moving to make this happen.

The best thing the SU AD has going for it is the huge, extremely loyal season ticket holder base for men's basketball. Don't alienate the fans that have played such an important part in building this program. This is as bad as when Chancellor Cantor was trying to move ACC home games from the Carrier Dome to MSG.

 

[Tobias Funke]

I understand catering to season ticket holders. But you have to consider the overall imact of a game like this.

1. It could generate interest beyond the typical fan base and attract new season ticket holders.

2. As if the national attention isn't already going to be high. This will guarantee it to garner attention before and well after te game.

3. You are all assuming as a season ticket holder your sets will be awful. There are ways to do things properly that may work for everyone.

4. Recruiting. Can you imagine the impact if you bring your highest targets for the next 3 years to a game with 50k people.

5. Not everyone can be a season ticket holder based on distance. Many of us have our destination games, and like it or not single game ticket buyers still contribute a ton to the program. Through donations, merchandise, and concessions. Quite frankly single game attendees will likely contribute more in merch in one game then mt season ticket holders do annually.

6. An event like this will force Dr. Gross to make other upgrades at the dome that will impact all other games positively.


Are there negatives Absolutely. My recommendation would be to wait until year 2 or 3 so everyone who does hold season tickets gts to experience the Dukes and UNC of the world in the traditional fashion and then we could test out this concept.

 

[Full_Rebar]

Do it only when it can be done right and announced before people pay for their season tickets (along with their preferred seating contributions). As someone mentioned, the timing is very suspicious- the deadline for season tickets was a Friday and then this news comes out early the following week. Tell DG to respect the loyalty of the long-time contributors to Syracuse Athletics- the people who make up 65-70% of the hoops attendance, and those who have supported him as he's upgraded the overall Athletics program.

If these donors take their money away from Athletics, it won't hurt football and hoops, but it will stop all positive momentum in the Olympic sports. Being innovative is fine, looking to increase revenue and SU's profile is great, but it can't be done at the expense of the core of the support.

For everyone talking about national attention, no one's mentioned the two games that Mich St has played in Ford Field. Were either of those games major events outside of the sports world? The Kentucky game drew ~75k and I don't think it did one thing to elevate Mich St hoops beyond where they have been.

 

[Vorony]

It makes no sense to do this next season or the season after. This is the inaugural season in the ACC. That's the point. The first time JB and K are facing each other as the top 2 winningest coaches. I'd like to assume that this is meeting #1, and that we travel to Duke later in February or early March. Hence why Gameday is coming here.

Only way it makes sense to do it in 2-3 years is if we bring in Kentucky or Kansas. A national superpower that would be a huge game. It wouldn't have the same effect if we waited 2-3 years for Duke or UNC.

 

[cto]

I think the 2/1 scheduling of the Duke game should end this discussion for this year. A lot of sports fans in Metro NYC (see UEO's comments in the other thread) will want to be in NYC for the Super Bowl hoopla. Also, all the media hype for the first genuine cold-weather Super Bowl will drown out media discussion of the Duke/Syracuse basketball game. No sense trying to set up for 50k if you're not going to get them.