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re: Tennessee AD John Currie announces plans to complete $450M renovation of Neyland Stadium
Posted on 6/17/17 at 5:39 am to BigOrangeBri
Posted on 6/17/17 at 5:39 am to BigOrangeBri
quote:
There are gonna bigger/nicer seats and a cut to capacity.
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Posted on 6/17/17 at 6:40 am to volfan30
They have done a pretty good job turning that erector set travesty into something presentable. 
Posted on 6/17/17 at 7:58 am to WhiskeyPapa
I do not understand Walter's extreme dislike of Currie this early in his tenure. This is a good project that needs to be completed and not sure why you think he doesn't care about winning. He's already put Baby Shoes Lyle on notice.
Posted on 6/17/17 at 8:20 am to David Ricky
quote:
I do not understand Walter's extreme dislike of Currie this early in his tenure. This is a good project that needs to be completed and not sure why you think he doesn't care about winning. He's already put Baby Shoes Lyle on notice.
I hadn't heard anything that he had put Jones on notice. I think an AD who was a former coach/player would be better. This guy is a protege of Hamilton's after all.
And they were going to abandon the Big Orange Caravan. Weasels. I am not optimistic with Jones at the helm of the football program and I don't think the Administration is listening to the fans. Further I have to wonder if the Administration even cares if the Vols fall out of any consideration as an elite program.
Posted on 6/17/17 at 8:31 am to WhiskeyPapa
LINK
This was like two weeks ago. He didn't mention any names in particular but it's pretty easy to see he's talking about football.
Also, Butch and his agent have still been trying to get a contract extension before the season and it has not happened and doesn't look like it will.
quote:
“Number one, we’ve got to win more, ok?” Currie remarked. “But we have to do that in the context that of what we’re here about and that’s our student athletes and representing the University of Tennessee the right way, and that’s being an asset to the city, to the state and to all of college athletics.
“So we have to win more, I don’t run away from that, that’s important to the people of Tennessee, and it better be important to our student athletes and coaches, and I think it is.”
This was like two weeks ago. He didn't mention any names in particular but it's pretty easy to see he's talking about football.
quote:
Now to be clear, Currie was speaking somewhat broadly about multiple sports and coaches but it’s hard not to construe the comments as being somewhat directed at the flagship football program in particular. Head coach Butch Jones is entering his fifth season in Knoxville and has finished no higher than second in the lackluster SEC East while failing to hit the double-digit win mark in the same time frame.
With a new man in charge and expectations fully on display for everybody now, it’s not exactly surprising to see that the time to take the next step is now for the Vols or else some changes will be afoot down in Tennessee.
Also, Butch and his agent have still been trying to get a contract extension before the season and it has not happened and doesn't look like it will.
This post was edited on 6/17/17 at 8:33 am
Posted on 6/17/17 at 9:25 am to David Ricky
quote:
“Number one, we’ve got to win more, ok?” Currie remarked. “But we have to do that in the context that of what we’re here about and that’s our student athletes and representing the University of Tennessee the right way, and that’s being an asset to the city, to the state and to all of college athletics.
That could just be boiler plate. Not approving an extension of Jones' contract is indicative. Time will tell certainly. But Currie will have a lot on his plate fixing the bathrooms on the south side of the stadium.
Posted on 6/17/17 at 11:29 am to BigOrangeBri
What's happening here is pretty evident:
1. Tennessee is going all-in on enhancing fan experience to get butts in seats and drive donations. Nothing like a little brick and mortar to get those dollars rolling in. Wins don't matter so long as checks are being written. Just ask UGA fans, we're all too familiar; Florida and Tennessee are developing these master plans not because they actually intend to follow them to the letter but because it creates excitement and a desire to spend. However, you also have to pay for master plans and there is some level of expectation to follow through on most of them (hence UGA scoffs at the day of having an updated one made and just hops from one stadium refurb to the next). This leads me to:
2. Y'all are higher than giraffe pussy if you think any major college program is going to completely rebuild a stadium anytime soon. The arms race isn't about winning games, it's about driving booster donations in the face of increased reasons to stay at home and watch games from there. Traffic, noon kickoffs, lackluster stadium amenities. The SEC Netowrk deal is a double-edged sword as it provides the means to build bigger and better but it also entices fans to stay at home. The arms race isn't between schools. It's between the consumer and the producer.
1. Tennessee is going all-in on enhancing fan experience to get butts in seats and drive donations. Nothing like a little brick and mortar to get those dollars rolling in. Wins don't matter so long as checks are being written. Just ask UGA fans, we're all too familiar; Florida and Tennessee are developing these master plans not because they actually intend to follow them to the letter but because it creates excitement and a desire to spend. However, you also have to pay for master plans and there is some level of expectation to follow through on most of them (hence UGA scoffs at the day of having an updated one made and just hops from one stadium refurb to the next). This leads me to:
2. Y'all are higher than giraffe pussy if you think any major college program is going to completely rebuild a stadium anytime soon. The arms race isn't about winning games, it's about driving booster donations in the face of increased reasons to stay at home and watch games from there. Traffic, noon kickoffs, lackluster stadium amenities. The SEC Netowrk deal is a double-edged sword as it provides the means to build bigger and better but it also entices fans to stay at home. The arms race isn't between schools. It's between the consumer and the producer.
This post was edited on 6/17/17 at 11:32 am
Posted on 6/17/17 at 11:58 am to tylerdurden24
quote:
The arms race isn't between schools. It's between the consumer and the producer.
This is why I like where LSU has gone with the expansion and upgrades to Tiger Stadium.
I alluded to this before, in another post...
quote:
It's not the number of seats it's the kind of seats you add that will make a difference.
You don't want to build an expansion like this...
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...because there is no need to for more bleacher seats. That's old school. What you want is something like LSU built...
quote:
...an addition that will add suites, club seating, general seating, and SRO space. The fans up top can stand in line for concessions and still see the action on the field.
Something like that.
LINK
You have to offer the fans some reason to leave their lazy boys and big screen TV's to drive to and sit in a football stadium.
Especially when we know that TV quality will continue to improve. So why would a fan leave the comfort of his/her living rooms to sit on crowded bleacher seats? Where it is an ordeal to go to the bathroom, get food & drink from the concessions?
Fans want and deserve better seating options. Options that make it easy to get to/from their seats.
That's what LSU did with their expansion. And since Tiger Stadium has always had more exits in the stands than just about any other stadium...there's over a hundred...it's probably the easiest for fans to move around in.
That's the kind of things that will keep fans coming to the stadium.
This post was edited on 6/23/17 at 8:10 pm
Posted on 6/17/17 at 12:39 pm to tylerdurden24
quote:
The arms race isn't about winning games, it's about driving booster donations in the face of increased reasons to stay at home and watch games from there.
That is a good point and what I am railing against. They bring in tons of money whether they win or not. Winning is not the first object.
Win the games and they will show up.
The seats in Neyland -are- pretty narrow. I guess you could restripe them all and reduce the seating capacity to what - 90K? 95?
The 2008 UF game was seen by the largest crowd - right at 108K. Then they added the sky boxes on the east side, reducing the total seats to about 102K.
With 4K TV's, surround sound, picture in picture, cold beer right to hand and a handy bathroom when you need it, there is no way to improve the experience for the great mass of people in the regular seats enough to make a difference.
Posted on 6/17/17 at 12:50 pm to TigersOfGeauxld
Posted on 6/17/17 at 12:51 pm to WhiskeyPapa
Posted on 6/17/17 at 12:52 pm to volfan30
It looks great, but that doesn't look 450 M great. Where the hell is all the money going?
Posted on 6/17/17 at 1:20 pm to Farmer1906
You haven't seen inside the Dunkin Donuts yet
Posted on 6/17/17 at 1:34 pm to volfan30
This is probably the worst stadium in the SEC
Posted on 6/17/17 at 1:36 pm to WhiskeyPapa
I suspect in 10-20 years you'll see Tennessee do exactly this, stripping out all of the bleacher seats for professional-style folding chair seats in the upper decks and cushioned folders with cup holders in the lower decks. With it will come a fairly noticeable mark-up in ticket price to cover the lost attendance figure. But with THAT comes driven demand as the supply of seats is reduced from what has normally been appreciated. Schools like Tennessee and Alabama and Auburn could easily do this given that there is only one product like Tennessee football in the state (Titans, Vandy, and non-playoff Predators can't compete).
UGA and Florida are in a different boat, though, as fans have a virtually unlimited number of alternatives to spend their money on (UGA in particular with Suntrust and Mercedes-Benz stadium having just been built). Hence it has been so damn perplexing that UGA has drug its feet on Sanford Stadium and Foley Field fan-experience improvements (that or they know they can't compete with what is being built in Atlanta so why bother). However, UGA is quietly doing something noteworthy with Stegeman Coliseum as they are refurbishing it into a venue that caters to fan experience and can compete with a middling Hawks team:
Stegeman 2015-2016
Stegeman 2017-2018
UGA and Florida are in a different boat, though, as fans have a virtually unlimited number of alternatives to spend their money on (UGA in particular with Suntrust and Mercedes-Benz stadium having just been built). Hence it has been so damn perplexing that UGA has drug its feet on Sanford Stadium and Foley Field fan-experience improvements (that or they know they can't compete with what is being built in Atlanta so why bother). However, UGA is quietly doing something noteworthy with Stegeman Coliseum as they are refurbishing it into a venue that caters to fan experience and can compete with a middling Hawks team:
Stegeman 2015-2016
Stegeman 2017-2018
Posted on 6/17/17 at 1:39 pm to volfan30
awesome, volunteers!
Posted on 6/17/17 at 1:57 pm to volfan30
Knowing UT's financial issues, they'll probably paint a few rusty poles, throw up a few fake walls on the concourse, have a sky crane visible to make it look like a construction site then change the seat width from 12 inches to 9 inches and increase the ticket price $25 a game.
Posted on 6/17/17 at 2:54 pm to volfan30
Per its wiki Neyland Stadium is the fifth largest stadium in the country, sixth largest in the world and second largest in the SEC.
Posted on 6/17/17 at 2:55 pm to stat19
Posted on 6/17/17 at 2:56 pm to stat19
As of 2015 UT had the 3rd most profitable Athletic Department in the NCAA.
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