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re: Florida wins the UAB lottery. Gators setting up a super tough schedule in '17

Posted on 1/19/16 at 10:04 am to
Posted by JustGetItRight
Member since Jan 2012
15715 posts
Posted on 1/19/16 at 10:04 am to
quote:


The problem is and always was the way it was handled. If you are considering shelving a program, you should clearly define what they need to do to keep it. If they do not, that is that.

Honestly, it does not really matter who is buying the tickets as long as they are bought. This is pretty similar to UA basketball (at least during Grant tenure --- avery may change that) lots of tickets were purchased but not used.


I don't disagree with the first part at all. I don't think it is possible to frick up a situation any more than Watts did this one.

As far as the second one goes, I disagree. If private citizens want to buy tickets and not go, that's fine. Their money. Where I firmly disagree is with the city straight out subsiding the program at a cost to the taxpayers of $1,000,000 cash money. I don't so much mind in-kind support through services like buses, parking lot use, LE support, etc but plain out cash like that is simply too much for me. That's about 20 miles of road paving that went to empty seats in Legion field.
Posted by higgs_boson
State College, PA
Member since Sep 2014
22456 posts
Posted on 1/19/16 at 10:09 am to
quote:

As far as the second one goes, I disagree. If private citizens want to buy tickets and not go, that's fine. Their money. Where I firmly disagree is with the city straight out subsiding the program at a cost to the taxpayers of $1,000,000 cash money. I don't so much mind in-kind support through services like buses, parking lot use, LE support, etc but plain out cash like that is simply too much for me. That's about 20 miles of road paving that went to empty seats in Legion field


See your point, but that is not how the city views it.

The city does not do it out of the kindness of their heart though. They want to keep Legion Field viable and hopefully one day put a stadium of some capacity in a redone BJCC. All cities take a loss like this trying to encourage business. Look at how much cities spend in tax breaks for stadiums. UAB and the city have a mutually beneficial arrangement. The University bought lots of eyesore property to help the city when it was cash strapped and has done some really good work like the Woodlawn Initiative. It would be difficult justify keeping Legion Field upkeep solely for the Classic, which is huge economic boon to the city.

I do not know what the future holds for UAB, but I think they at least now have pretty clear expectations to be met. That gives them a shot. What happens now is up to them and the fans who live in the area.
This post was edited on 1/19/16 at 10:10 am
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