Ohio Stadium to be reduced by 2,600 seats.

[SanAntonioCat_rivals376502]

Based on your comments, I think a lot of my critics on here can at last agree with one of my posts. LOL

No, no one on here, I'm talking about the Texas A&M folks that spent FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILLION to EXPAND their seating by 20,000 seats to 102,500, most in Texas AND the SEC-----the team that tied for fifth and sixth in the SEC West with MSU, along with Vandy the only SEC teams with less capacity than us------wait a minute, they just expanded and we reduced, we are only ahead of Vandy in the SEC now. What a blessing Vandy has been for our football program, how inconsiderate of them last year.

What in the world could they have been thinking------maybe that if they do have 20,000 empty seats they will still have 20,000 more paying customers than us when we have a sellout----and they will have quite a few sellouts coming up, AND will probably never have less than 61,000 at a game, just the way it works.

But look at the bright side, we could (and possibly will) have more sellouts than them next year!

The major portion of the Kyle Field expansion went rebuilding the east side of the stadium. Also, interest in Aggie football is 100 times higher than UK. Their investment was well spent as long as the coach wins big.

 

[vhcat70]

So Jauk you'd rather have had a 70k seat stadium with no recruiting area and no football practice facility? Because you couldn't have gotten both for the same amount of money. We would have had to expand the footprint of the stadium. Which means no money for the football practice facility, which btw is what the recruits are really excited about.

Well you could have gotten 70K seating, recruiting area, & practice facility within the same budget - if that's what you wanted. But what went for such increased seating wouldn't have gone for premium seating expansion, a stone exterior that improves game viewing experience, & loose colorful gravel being kicked all over the parking lots.

 

[TBCat]

Why do people care about the reduced seating? We don't sell out every game so what does it matter?

This. I've never understood the argument here. Is there anyone on here who can really watch a game on TV and notice the difference between 67,000 and 61,000? You only know those numbers because you see them being reported. You have no idea if they are even correct in the first place. The stadium looks awesome in person and on TV. I could care less about the recorded attendance.

 

[Chuckinden]

This. I've never understood the argument here. Is there anyone on here who can really watch a game on TV and notice the difference between 67,000 and 61,000? You only know those numbers because you see them being reported. You have no idea if they are even correct in the first place. The stadium looks awesome in person and on TV. I could care less about the recorded attendance.

I agree.

The trend seems to be upgrading the stadium for those who WANT to be there and willing to pay the price...thus the addition of more suites and less bleachers. It's where the real money is. The common fan is the one that suffers.

I gave up my seats this year in the upper deck. I didn't attend all the games anyway and now will just pick and choose the games I can attend and buy better seats from scalpers. I plan to go to more away games and will watch the Cats play as much or more than I used to on my own terms.

 

[kb22stang]

Who cares about stadium capacity, so we don't have the biggest stadium. That doesn't chit when it comes to winning games, which is all I personally care about.
Win games, pack a smaller place, make the tickets more difficult to come by.

 

[DACats86]

Mitch is an accountant - he's not a "businessman" (they usually will take some risks).
If you don't think UK would get desperate if football attendance returned to Joker's last year, you are naive. Let's hope we don't have to find that out.
And yes, I'm disgusted with Mitch's defending the projector and folding tables while many of his boot-licking sycophants on here lauded UK has "having some of the best facilities in the nation." Stoops shot holes in that in his introductory press conference.
Winning cures many ills. We need to at least get to a bowl this year. It won't be easy.

 

[WildCard]

Why do people care about the reduced seating? We don't sell out every game so what does it matter?

CWS reduced seating was a smart move. Recruits wont have to see upper corners empty - it just looks bad. You will see how bad 10-15k empty looks soon enough.

It’s a matter of making money. The number of attendees at college football games has been reduced across the US based on two things 1) a weak economy, and 2) high definition televisions. People are staying at home and saving money. Florida used to sell out every home game until about four years ago. Now they are lucky if the fill 80% of their stadium. I realize some of it has to do with the quality of their football team over the past few years also. At FSU, we have had a reduction in attendance also. Many universities are going to the club seat format (like Kentucky). It reduces your overall seats but it puts more money back into the university. The club seats are more expensive than the regular seats. If the university can’t sell all their seats at a game, why not format the seating to make more money.

I think we sold out 6 of our 8 home games last year. UL might have sold out 2 games in a stadium that seats 6k less than ours. I can understand adding more boxes or suites but adding 10k common seats is one of the worst ideas they've ever had. Even in a good season their fans don't show up and in a down year their attendence falls off of the face of the earth

Look you still come over here and want to rail on MB, but yet your ad is adding 10k seats that will almost NEVER have any fannies in them just so you can now say you have a bigger capacity than big brother...IF and when big brother is winning that will all be taken care of...I for one am TOTALLY satisfied with what is taking place facility wise at UK and in about 4-5 months we will have as good or better facilities as ANY school school in the country...

Let me try to answer all you guys...

Regarding CWS, you can make a good argument that expansion of CWS was unnecessary but renovation was imperative. However, since CWS was not that big to begin with I just don't get this "less is more" mentality. My only criticism of the CWS renovation is that I think what was done could have been done with a substantially smaller loss of seating. Maybe not, but I would have to see some engineering drawings to be convinced of same. Wasn't it during the latter part of the Brook's era that the slogan "70,000 Strong" or something like that was the billboard slogan? (Since capacity was listed at 67,000 I never quite understood that one.) If Kentucky football goes as planned they may want those 6,000 seats back, most of which were "good" second level home side seats.

Regarding expansion to PJCS I can promise you a $55M investment is not being made just to have bragging rights on stadium capacity. In fact, the capacity would be ~61,000 right now had the legislature found the time to approve a project in which there was not a nickel of state money. The 1 year delay in nothing more than approval resulted in scaling back ~5,000 seats from planned expansion in the north end zone due to inflation in construction costs. Had the original plan been approved in a timely manner the currently planned expansion may have been considered "unnecessary".

Naturally, they will not sell out (much less fill up) for every single game but I think UofL's current expansion plan is driven by what they think they will need in the future, not what they need right now. The move to the ACC was sudden, unexpected and creating a pretty big ripple in the athletic department pool. While not the SEC in football (or conference shared revenues) it is a huge step up from where UofL was before it happened.

Lastly, about Mitch Barnhart. Yes, I have been critical of a number of his operational decisions. However, I have defended him against charges by many that he has ignored major investments in football infrastructure. Some thought, and likely still do, that Mitch can simply write a bond issue by himself anytime he wants to do so. The willingness of the administration to now underwrite an agency bond for football infrastructure is coincident with an increase in conference revenues AND the liquidation of other university debt.

Peace

 

[vhcat70]

The trend seems to be upgrading the stadium for those who WANT to be there and willing to pay the price...thus the addition of more suites and less bleachers. It's where the real money is. The common fan is the one that suffers.

That's what the NFL has been & is doing by & large.

 

[CATFANFOLIFE87]

Let me try to answer all you guys...

Regarding CWS, you can make a good argument that expansion of CWS was unnecessary but renovation was imperative. However, since CWS was not that big to begin with I just don't get this "less is more" mentality. My only criticism of the CWS renovation is that I think what was done could have been done with a substantially smaller loss of seating. Maybe not, but I would have to see some engineering drawings to be convinced of same. Wasn't it during the latter part of the Brook's era that the slogan "70,000 Strong" or something like that was the billboard slogan? (Since capacity was listed at 67,000 I never quite understood that one.) If Kentucky football goes as planned they may want those 6,000 seats back, most of which were "good" second level home side seats.

Regarding expansion to PJCS I can promise you a $55M investment is not being made just to have bragging rights on stadium capacity. In fact, the capacity would be ~61,000 right now had the legislature found the time to approve a project in which there was not a nickel of state money. The 1 year delay in nothing more than approval resulted in scaling back ~5,000 seats from planned expansion in the north end zone due to inflation in construction costs. Had the original plan been approved in a timely manner the currently planned expansion may have been considered "unnecessary".

Naturally, they will not sell out (much less fill up) for every single game but I think UofL's current expansion plan is driven by what they think they will need in the future, not what they need right now. The move to the ACC was sudden, unexpected and creating a pretty big ripple in the athletic department pool. While not the SEC in football (or conference shared revenues) it is a huge step up from where UofL was before it happened.

Lastly, about Mitch Barnhart. Yes, I have been critical of a number of his operational decisions. However, I have defended him against charges by many that he has ignored major investments in football infrastructure. Some thought, and likely still do, that Mitch can simply write a bond issue by himself anytime he wants to do so. The willingness of the administration to now underwrite an agency bond for football infrastructure is coincident with an increase in conference revenues AND the liquidation of other university debt.

Peace

When Commonwealth was completely sold out there were 69k and change there even though the listed capacity was 67k. I don't know if they were counting media and stadium employees or what.

Nearly all 6k of the seats that were lost were student seats. They weren't showing up so they lost their seats. The stadium has the capacity to add more seating if more is needed down the road.

UL fans will always be the same. They show up late and leave early. It's more of a parking lot social than a sporting event. They'll show up for ranked opponents but most won't show up for the middling ACC teams. If the weather is supposed to be bad forget it. UL has had some really good teams in the recent past but the fans haven't shown up to support those teams. Most aren't in their seats or even watching the game they're on the party deck trying to get laid instead. I think it was the year that you went to the Sugar Bowl and you played UCONN at home on senior day and the stadium was empty. Charlie got pissed and called out the fans telling them to be more like the BBN. You don't move forward on a $55 million project for seats that you don't need now but that you think you might need in a few years. That's fiscally irresponsible unless you don't care because you're in a d*** measuring contest

I think the Papa John's expansion looks ugly as hell in the renderings. That endzone section that's meant to look like the CenturyLink Field is an eye sore. It doesn't look like it belongs with the rest of the stadium. It doesn't even look connected like it stands alone in the endzone or something.

 

[jauk11]

This. I've never understood the argument here. Is there anyone on here who can really watch a game on TV and notice the difference between 67,000 and 61,000? You only know those numbers because you see them being reported. You have no idea if they are even correct in the first place. The stadium looks awesome in person and on TV. I could care less about the recorded attendance.

Perhaps the argument is because the players aren't at home watching the game, and are more impressed by how many are there than by how many are watching at home. And it is a pretty good bragging right to say you have 100,000 fans at some of your games instead of 61,000 fans, and they should be able to make a lot more noise than 61,000 fans. Then again, the stadium capacities are well known and publicized, and some of the really good players might think they can fill the empty seats.

 

[WildCard]

When Commonwealth was completely sold out there were 69k and change there even though the listed capacity was 67k. I don't know if they were counting media and stadium employees or what.

Yes, I believe UK counts everyone in the venue as "attendance". For years, they held the attendance record for basketball games played at Freedom Hall. This practice of counting "everyone inside" may well extend to teams and staff. Nobody outside the UKAA really knows.

Nearly all 6k of the seats that were lost were student seats. They weren't showing up so they lost their seats. The stadium has the capacity to add more seating if more is needed down the road.

No, the former student section seats are still there, now occupied by season ticket holders who were displaced from the south side due to reconfiguration. The student ticket allotment was downsized by about half and the new student section relocated to the east EZ. The seats that were physically lost and no longer exist were mainly on the south side. Yes, they can add seats.

You don't move forward on a $55 million project for seats that you don't need now but that you think you might need in a few years. That's fiscally irresponsible...

Some may call it good planning. If you wait until you need them, you don't have then. [winking] It is fiscally irresponsible if you don't have a means to pay for it.

That endzone section that's meant to look like the CenturyLink Field is an eye sore.

I'm not impressed with it either.

Peace

 

[CATFANFOLIFE87]

Yes, I believe UK counts everyone in the venue as "attendance". For years, they held the attendance record for basketball games played at Freedom Hall. This practice of counting "everyone inside" may well extend to teams and staff. Nobody outside the UKAA really knows.


No, the former student section seats are still there, now occupied by season ticket holders who were displaced from the south side due to reconfiguration. The student ticket allotment was downsized by about half and the new student section relocated to the east EZ. The seats that were physically lost and no longer exist were mainly on the south side. Yes, they can add seats.


Some may call it good planning. If you wait until you need them, you don't have then. [winking] It is fiscally irresponsible if you don't have a means to pay for it.


I'm not impressed with it either.

Peace

You know what I meant. It wasn't the students' physical seats but their ticket allotment was lost because of the renovation. There won't be a decrease in season ticket holders or single game tickets sold to fans

 

[CatsFanGG24]

You know what I meant. It wasn't the students' physical seats but their ticket allotment was lost because of the renovation. There won't be a decrease in season ticket holders or single game tickets sold to fans

He knew what you meant. He is a db more often than not anymore and pretty much worn out his welcome.