Bo Bounds vs Rob Jay on the Jackson State stadium issue....

[CadaverDawg]

So, I heard a clip on ESPN Radio tonight of Bo Bounds' interview with Rob Jay about the stadium downtown from his morning show. Rob is animate that a 50,000 seat stadium is needed, because he claims that multiple JSU games a year have better than 20,000 fans. Bo was saying a 20,000 seat stadium is plenty.
Rob argued with him that JSU and Alcorn had 23,000 fans this year at their game, so they need 50,000 seats (great logic). Bo goes on to list the attendance of every home game, and the Total for the Year was only 47,000 at JSU...for the entire season.
Rob then says that someone is "undercounting", his word not mine, and he's not sure why...but that he could tell just by looking at the crowd of the JSU/SouthernU game, that there was at least 20,000 people there. The reported attendance for that game was less than 10,000 I believe.

My question is, is Rob Jay really dumb enough to think JSU is "undercounting" their attendance by 13,000 fans for a game and reporting that to the NCAA? I mean, I think Rob Jay is an idiot, but can he be this dumb? Or is there some terrible attendance figures being thrown out, and are they really "undercounting" the attendance figures for JSU?

I rarely agree with Bo, but I do on this. 20,000 seats is plenty, and it would still allow UMC to buy that property where the old stadium sits, so it would be a win/win in my opinion. Also, I think Rob and JSU need to realize that if they will just build a 20,000 seat stadium, and it starts filling up for every game (which it won't) it opens the door for raising prices and making more money. Bo mentioned that in the clip too, but Rob disagreed saying it wasn't only for JSU sports....but let's be honest, they will not find enough events to use that stadium more than 100 days per year (give or take) , regardless of how many seats it has.

Thoughts?

 

[rabiddawg]

He is level headed when talking about the Big 3 but completely loses it when referring to SWAC football. He doesn't realize that attendance figures support the fact that JSU only brings about 11,000 PAYING customers to a game and SWAC football does not = $200,000,000 domed stadium. Jxn has no other team that would be interested in using it with them so the need is just not there. If JSU wanted to be in a better league than the SWAC then that is another story but they will never put that SWAC crutch down and be accountable in a real conference.

They see our stadium and renovations going in and the millions of dollars the SEC and ESPN pump into our school and they feel like they should get something too. They don't realize our stadium and renovations will be paid for by the demand for seats. They want a huge welfare check handed to them for this stadium project that far exceeds what they need so that the people involved with its planning and development can embezzle the **** out it

 

[Arthur2478]

Something like the Fargo Dome would be all JSU/Jackson needs:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fargodome

 

[Koldfire]

Dem don't need no new stadium. Let'em wait till we build a new one and move Davis Wade to Jackson. A stadium with our capacity and new, ha, ha, ha. The fine gentlemen of Mississippi would never let it come to past, at least not on OUR $.

 

[Koldfire]

He is level headed when talking about the Big 3 but completely loses it when referring to SWAC football. He doesn't realize that attendance figures support the fact that JSU only brings about 11,000 PAYING customers to a game and SWAC football does not = $200,000,000 domed stadium. Jxn has no other team that would be interested in using it with them so the need is just not there. If JSU wanted to be in a better league than the SWAC then that is another story but they will never put that SWAC crutch down and be accountable in a real conference.

They see our stadium and renovations going in and the millions of dollars the SEC and ESPN pump into our school and they feel like they should get something too. They don't realize our stadium and renovations will be paid for by the demand for seats. They want a huge welfare check handed to them for this stadium project that far exceeds what they need so that the people involved with its planning and development can embezzle the **** out it

Yep.. Welfare and stealing. That's what they do. I'm just glad some of them play on our football team. Otherwise the SWAC would be one hellava league.

 

[CadaverDawg]

Yep.. Welfare and stealing. That's what they do. I'm just glad some of them play on our football team. Otherwise the SWAC would be one hellava league.

This guy is a troll trying to make the board appear racist. Get rid of this clown.

 

[rabiddawg]

Maybe you can understand it this way. Hinds Community College has the same need for a 50,000 seat stadium as JSU does. Hinds Community College misappropriated millions of dollars in state funds to build one of the nicest courses in the state to play golf on. HCC knows not to ever ask the state for **** ever again because they know it will be denied. JSU has done the same thing MULTIPLE times but the money went to employees instead of golf courses. And they keep coming back asking for more.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Fairly common negotiating ploy. Ask for more than you want, then work down. They know this won't happen, they probably want to "settle" for a 25-30k outdoor stadium for much less than $200 mil.

 

[Koldfire]

This guy is a troll trying to make the board appear racist. Get rid of this clown.

I just took context from the quoted post. If you didn't find racism in his, how in the hell did you find it in mine?

 

[CadaverDawg]

I just took context from the quoted post. If you didn't find racism in his, how in the hell did you find it in mine?

I truly thought you were being serious. If not, sorry.

Welfare is not racist, and I didn't realize you replied to his post...I thought you replied to the OP.

 

[rabiddawg]

They actually claim they can raise $75,000,000 on their own. The state should say "you show us $75,000,000 and then we will talk".

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

And that's just from Kennuf Stokes.

 

[DreadNought.sixpack]

One of the dirty,little secrets about Memorial Stadium in Jacktown is that after the first quarter they used to let people in for free. I have a feeling it has only gotten worse.

 

[rabiddawg]

Something about me working at UMMC and a coworker of mine was the wife of a non-faculty employee there who worked in facilities management and his Rolls Royce and her 8 series created a lot of suspicion about JSU and how they spent the money given to them to beautify their campus when the downtown corridor was being landscaped all the way to JSU.

 

[Todd4State]

Rob Jay is a JSU homer.

I know some JSU football fans and pretty much from what they told me, JSU people pretty much show up for the first half, watch the band and then leave after the band plays. I have no idea if they let people in after the first quarter, but I could find out pretty easily next season.

Something like the Fargo Dome would work for Jackson. If they really needed more seats, they could always expand. It's not like Scott Field started out at 67K or whatever it seats.

JSU used to draw better than they do now- I'm not sure why they don't draw better now. But even then, I think it was something like 27K that they were drawing. Their max ceiling- and this is being generous- is probably 30-35K at best.

 

[patdog]

What needs to happen is for JSU to give the current stadium back to the State in exchange for the State building a 30,000 seat stadium on JSU's campus, or better just south of the Convention Center. The State would then give the current stadium to UMC. And I think something similar to this eventually will be what happens.

 

[mcdawg22]

Maybe you can understand it this way. Hinds Community College has the same need for a 50,000 seat stadium as JSU does. Hinds Community College misappropriated millions of dollars in state funds to build one of the nicest courses in the state to play golf on. HCC knows not to ever ask the state for **** ever again because they know it will be denied. JSU has done the same thing MULTIPLE times but the money went to employees instead of golf courses. And they keep coming back asking for more.

Are you saying they used the funds and built one of the nicest golf courses or they were supposed to?

 

[RocketDawg]

I agree about the capacity ... just under 20,000 for football. That's all they need, and probably wouldn't fill that up. But why a dome at all? The weather in Jackson doesn't really require a dome ... the weather in Fargo and Syracuse doesn't necessarily necessitate one but it sure makes almost unbearable weather ... bearable, and no doubt increases attendance. Perhaps it could be used for alternate uses, such as concerts, but if that's the case you certainly don't need one that seats 50,000 for FB and presumably much more for concerts and the like.

I really don't understand the supposed requirement for such a facility, especially for a small school in a lower ranking conference that doesn't draw large crowds.

 

[Arthur2478]

The weather in Jackson doesn't really require a dome

Jackson desperately needs some sort of indoor arena for hosting concerts, basketball games, graduation ceremonies, etc. The coliseum at the Fairgrounds is a complete dump, not just for the spectators but also for the performers. We get passed over by a lot of acts simply because the coliseum isn't viewed as an acceptable venue.

 

[esplanade91]

Shoot for the moon!

Honestly, I don't know why JSU is stuck on "this is for Jackson too"... Why does it matter to them? Prestige?

"OUR facilities are used by Jackson and the state of Mississippi."

I think a lot of it has to do with finding something to draw recruits back to HBCU's. It's at the point now where their rosters couldn't beat most JUCO teams, and the people who are on the teams are there because they couldn't cut it anywhere else. Why go to a HBCU when MSU is up the road and has national exposure and has one of if not the highest percentage of African-Americans of any non-HBCU school in the southeast?

I get it. I know that it's been something HBCU programs have been dealing with, but building a $200m stadium isn't going to do anything for it. Fortunately racism has dwindled down so low and diversity is such a huge thing now there isn't a need for HBCU's like there was when Walter Peyton, Jerry Rice, or Steve McNair attended them. Hell, Alcorn has a white coach.

 

[dawgstudent]

It would be awesome for the city and State of MS to have the stadium but it's just not economically smart in my opinion. JSU doesn't need it.

 

[biteyoudawg]

If it's built on the JSU campus area then I won't be attending anything in that area. Went there one time to attend something at their basketball arena and numerous vehicles were vandalized in broad daylight. Been there my last time for sure.

 

[dawgstudent]

It's supposed to be built close to downtown I believe off of Gallatin.

 

[bonedaddy401]

I couldn't agree with Bo more here and yes Rob Jay is an idiot but not why you think. He is can't really believe that they need a 50K seat arena but he is an idiot for indebting himself to the JSU brass.

If they built a 20K or even 30K dome and used it for entertainment, expo's or other events I think it would be a great addition to Jackson. But if they use it only for JSU stuff... that's infuriatingly selfish and shortsighted.

 

[vhdawg]

Maybe you can understand it this way. Hinds Community College has the same need for a 50,000 seat stadium as JSU does. Hinds Community College misappropriated millions of dollars in state funds to build one of the nicest courses in the state to play golf on. HCC knows not to ever ask the state for **** ever again because they know it will be denied. JSU has done the same thing MULTIPLE times but the money went to employees instead of golf courses. And they keep coming back asking for more.

Can you document this? That golf course has been there as long as I can remember (at least 35 years), and Hinds has built a ton of "****" since then. I'm not sure I believe you.

 

[johnson86-1]

Where in the hell did you find racism in that post? If JSU is seriously asking for just under $200M from the state for a stadium (I doubt they are really serious), that's absurd. If MSU or UM asked for taht much money for an athletics facility, they would rightly be laughed out of the room. Asking for welfare would be a polite way of describing what they were doing. Why would you think there was something racist about that?

 

[Son_of_34]

...The only reason why

Jackson desperately needs some sort of indoor arena for hosting concerts, basketball games, graduation ceremonies, etc. The coliseum at the Fairgrounds is a complete dump, not just for the spectators but also for the performers. We get passed over by a lot of acts simply because the coliseum isn't viewed as an acceptable venue.

I want them to build it. The coliseum is a complete dump and if I was an entertainer I wouldn't perform there.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Here's the thing - Jackson State is going to get a new stadium. The question is the size and how much could it be used for other events. I don't think 50,000 seats will be doable so something like a FargoDome (like MStateDawg mentioned) on steroids might be a better answer-- considering that it only cost $80 million to build in today's dollars. I don't know how much extra the cost would be for an extra 11,000 - 16,000 seats for somewhere around the 30K - 35K range. JSU wouldn't want a 20,000 seat facility simply because that would be less seats than Alcorn's Jack Spinks Stadium.

 

[rabiddawg]

It was actually the Eagle Ridge Conference Center where the money was misappropriated. I was wrong about the golf course but knew it had something to do with the golf course.

 

[rabiddawg]

http://kingfish1935.blogspot.com/2013/03/jsu-wants-new-toy.htmlThe project’s overall cost of $200 million, Hoard said, would be met, in part, by the use of “13 or 14 different options” to fund the stadium.

 

[GhostOfJackie]

If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk.

Where in the Mother Mary's name do they expect to come up with all this money for a stadium with 50k when they can't even fill up their hole? This is outragious that we are even having this conversation.

 

[NewTweederEndzoneDance]

Hell, the State should tell them that they will build them a nice new stadium in downtown Jackson, which will also be used by the City and State, with 1 caveat.

This only happens if the HBCs agree to merge into 1 entity, located in Jackson.

 

[EAVdog]

Did anyone watch the press conference in Atlanta to announce their new stadium?

That is how it is done! The folks in Jackson, and specifically JSU in this instance, need to learn a thing or two.

Arthur Blank (Falcons owner) is standing up at the dais with:
Kasim Reed (Mayor of Atlanta)
Nathan Deal (Governer of Georgia)
Members of the Atlanta City Council
Representatives from the surrounding neighborhoods
Representatives from the Georgia World Congress Center

Everyone who has an interest was represented, Arthur Blank didn't just release his study that he did off in his corner of Flowery Branch and expect everyone to just get on board. They still have to work on the details but getting buy-in from all the partners is the most important step to getting a projec like this off the ground. As far as anyone can tell JSU had been working on this for a while but is very shady on giving any specifics.

UMMC wants that land that the existing stadium is on,and they will get it. The State/City want that Medical Corridor to grow. Jackson State needs an on-campus or near campus stadium/facility and they will get on. I don't think anyone wants to begrudge them. They all need to get together and build a consensus, formulate a viable conceptual master plan, and then re-launch this project.

Unfortunately this is classic Jackson politics.

ETA. 200 Million won't buy a 50k seat Domed facility with the required parking, site improvements, utilities etc... required to make this project real in the Downtown area.

 

[RocketDawg]

Kind of apples and oranges to compare Atlanta to Jackson. There's a slight difference in population ....