re: Forward Together Update

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To be honest, it's really all we need right now...

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Finally... A voice of reason... I mean, how many sellouts did we have last season ? 2 ? Maybe ? But yet people want to add 18000 seats and 25 more luxury boxes... We aren't Bama or LSU.. We aren't UGA or Florida... Hell, we aren't aTm , Auburn or even South Carolina... People need to stop trying to convince themselves that we are.

Adding 10k seats is not that big a deal once you allot more for the students. We sold the second most tickets in school history last year without playing Bama or LSU at home while coming off the worst season in school history. We are 1500 tickets away from selling out of season tickets when we only allot 8k tickets to students when state allots 12k. Do y'all really not think that 2014, we will sell out? Do you really not think RN, Tunsils, and MegaQuons last year at OM in 2015 will not sell out? We won't bowl our NEZ until the arena is built which is 2016. By then we will have had three, almost 4 years in a row selling out season tickets. Then we have to wait 2 years to build the thing. That's 5 years of straight sell outs and with every sell out we are turning down potential fans. I have no problem with that half bowl as long as the full bowl in the works somewhere down the future. It's a great idea to do the NEZ in two phases. I just wish he would have said that

I agree... I think Bjork's kinda trolling the fan base.. If we raise more $ I wouldn't be surprised if they release a new artist's rendition of the expansion... I also think our front loaded schedule has hindered our season ticket sales some... When we only play 1 home game (an FCS opponent mind you) the first month and a half of the season , ticket buyers don't Have that impulse to purchase ASAP.

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i think people are over-reacting about the proximity of the arena to the west side.

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Exactly. That parking lot next to the stadium has enough room for an arena and future expansion.

My only gripe is that the top level of the seats on the rendering of the bowl is not consistent all the way around.

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That's the exact level the East side was when I first started going. IIRC, when they expanded it upwards and built the Rebel club and it didn't interfere with seating during a season during construction.

I figure they'll build what is essentially a shell over that lower bowl much like they did to the East side.

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Pank, we must be about the same age. I remember being in the student section when the stadium only held about 42K. Back then, we didn't sell out games and people thought we were crazy expanding to 50k. When we did, it sold out, then they said the same thing when we wanted to expand to 60k. We had quite a few years with a lot of sellouts. Then came the post-Eli years and crowds and wins suffered. We could easily support 70k+ once the team has some consistent winning. If you don't believe me, leave early and go to the Grove during a big game, when the staidum is full. You'll see about 20-30k still in the Grove during the game.

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New plan is 64-65K

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That is what I was thinking. I wish we could doctor that rendering up a little bit. Make it similar to what the Tampa Bay stadium (Raymond James) looks like. Give it an Ole Miss look with columns and brick restaurant/bathroom/Rebel Shop up there with a big plaza with picnic tables, landscaping, Vaught statue, etc. Enough room for the standing room crowd to enjoy the game. Then add two smaller video boards in each of the corners of the SEZ.