Warde on Record: 10,000 More Seats (Hartford Business Journal)

[Dooley]

Agree with most - the time to proactively expand the Rent has come and gone. Unfortunately for us, we had Jeff Hathaway at the helm when that time presented itself. Expanding proactively now is a tough sell given our attendance drop of the past few seasons. The good news is that there is a new coaching era in place with an incredible sense of attention to detail and there seems to be a raised awareness amongst most of the UCONN fanbase that we all need to support football if we ever want out of the AAC.

UCONN fans have an opportunity to make a very loud and strong statement this upcoming year if we can boost season ticket sales, average attendance and have a strong showing at Yankee Stadium despite dropping down to an AAC schedule and three years of horrendous Pasqualoni football. I think what the B1G and ACC conferences want to see most is that UCONN fans will support football the same way that we support basketball. I think it's fairly obvious that UCONN football will never get to an Alabama level and that's fine, given our recruiting territories and disparity between the way we invest in football. But there is absolutely no reason to think that UCONN can't strive for the same level of consistency of other programs like Michigan State. I'm not saying it will be easy to get there but given our athletic department's history of building successful programs, it's certainly an attainable goal OVER TIME. And a great first step towards that level would be a sold-out Rent with tremendous fan support. Bottle up some of that positive juice that we all enjoyed a few weeks ago and carry it on into the fall. Sellout crowds make it easier for Coach Diaco to recruit and that makes it easier for us to win and that paves the way towards getting out of the AAC.

 

[UConnJim]

If UConn wants to be in the P5, you expand the stadium. Currently, there are only 4 P5 stadiums that seat lower capacity than The Rent: Vanderbilt, Washington St., Duke, and Wake Forest. Do any of those schools scream big time football? The answer is no. Going to 50k, would put The Rent ahead of BC, TCU, Utah, Oregon St., Northwestern, and Syracuse and in the same neighborhood as Stanford, Baylor, Kansas St., Kansas, and Minnesota.

Expanding the stadium shows commitment to football, which is what UConn needs to prove, something all of us can agree on. Even Geno agrees! Expanding the stadium is not the only thing UConn needs to do to get a P5 invite, but it helps. And, you need to invest to grow. If it cost Connecticut $40 million to expand The Rent, an invite to the Big 10 would be worth that much every year in media rights and you would generate more money from the tickets sold!

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Going to 50k, would put The Rent ahead of BC, TCU, Utah, Oregon St., Northwestern, and Syracuse

Just out of curiosity, how many of those programs scream big time football?

I've been to Ryan Field at Northwestern. That place makes the Rent look like Met Life Stadium in comparison.

 

[UConnJim]

Just out of curiosity, how many of those programs scream big time football?

I've been to Ryan Field at Northwestern. That place makes the Rent look like Met Life Stadium in comparison.

None, but it would put The Rent ahead of 10 P5 stadiums and in the neighborhood of 5 more. Makes UConn harder to exclude.

As an FYI, there are many G5 stadiums bigger than The Rent including: BYU, Memphis, Air Force, UTEP, East Carolina, UCF, USF, UTSA, Fresno St.... UConn needs to not only bridge the gap vs the P5, we need to widen the gap with the other G5.

 

[huskymedic]

... and now the roaches appear:

kenkrayeske9:46am via Tweet Button
@UConn More seats in football stadium is, um, DUMB! What happens when you have to pay the players? #lipstickonapig

 

[Dooley]

Let's buy tickets! If you already have 'em, talk a friend or family member into buying some! The rally canon aboard the USS Connecticut has been fired. Let's answer her call!

 

[CTMike]

... and now the roaches appear:

kenkrayeske9:46am via Tweet Button
@UConn More seats in football stadium is, um, DUMB! What happens when you have to pay the players? #lipstickonapig

He's the worst.

 

[CTMike]

I'm not going to dwell too long on it but goshdarn it's another reason to hate that the P years (really, Hathaway) ever existed.

All we have ahead of us is the most important season of UConn Football ever. No biggie. In Diaco We Trust!

 

[Dooley]

... and now the roaches appear:

kenkrayeske9:46am via Tweet Button
@UConn More seats in football stadium is, um, DUMB! What happens when you have to pay the players? #lipstickonapig

Sure the Connecticut economy will fix itself. Look at all those people going into the Rentschler shopping project before and after our Memphis game!

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

... and now the roaches appear:

kenkrayeske9:46am via Tweet Button
@UConn More seats in football stadium is, um, DUMB! What happens when you have to pay the players? #lipstickonapig

Eh, let's not give this clown any attention.

 

[Dooley]

Honest question - who is this guy? His twitter page just says he's some attorney from New Haven. Does he have a history of posting things like this or is this just some bozo against helping UCONN?

 

[huskymedic]

Honest question - who is this guy? His twitter page just says he's some attorney from New Haven. Does he have a history of posting things like this or is this just some bozo against helping UCONN?

Google his name and Jim Calhoun....

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Honest question - who is this guy? His twitter page just says he's some attorney from New Haven. Does he have a history of posting things like this or is this just some bozo against helping UCONN?

He's the guy that prompted " not a dime back".

From accounts I heard from UConn law( where this d bag went) everyone disliked him.

 

[Dooley]

Google his name and Jim Calhoun....

Ahhhhhhh...this was that guy??? I never knew his name. Thanks - now I know not to pay him any mind.

 

[huskymedic]

Eh, let's not give this clown any attention.

Agree in some respect... but I guess my point in posting it was that there are many more like him and spending the money to expand the Rent will not go unchallenged.

 

[Dooley]

He's the guy that prompted " not a dime back".

From accounts I heard from UConn law( where this d bag went) everyone disliked him.

Thanks - I never knew his name (or forgot it). I remember the press conference and the stir that this bozo caused. He just seems to have it out for anything UCONN. Ironic that he's biting the hand that fed him if he went to UCONN law.

 

[huskymedic]

Thanks - I never knew his name (or forgot it). I remember the press conference and the stir that this bozo caused. He just seems to have it out for anything UCONN. Ironic that he's biting the hand that fed him if he went to UCONN law.

 

[RedSoloCup]

I think the term for him is gadfly.

Another term is 'waste of oxygen'.

 

[Pudge]

Agree in some respect... but I guess my point in posting it was that there are many more like him and spending the money to expand the Rent will not go unchallenged.

Sure.

Nothing is easy & there is always opposition. In fact, as we know, we have two distinct polar groups now in our country. We could say buy milk ... and they would say but it's not chocolate.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Everybody take one wild guess where Ken Krayeske went to undergrad school.


Here's the thing - and no way around it.

If you can build reasonably to 50,000 seats, and you can make that money up, and do it smart financially (and we can) - I would wager it will be in the ball park of expense that the new basketball facility is costing - yet those 10,000 seats are actually capable of drawing money......regularly...... BUT - say you can do that .....and then the time comes when you can sell those seats and you don't have them to sell? you facked up. We should have had a 50,000 seat arena by last season. The previous administration facked up. This one can't, it needs to get done, because we need the revenue streams those extra 10,000 seats can generate in the future.

It's basically gravy on top, that 50,000 permanent seats would make Rentschler a bigger 1A/FBS dedicated venue than Chestnut Hill or the Carrier Dome. That would be something that recruiters can put on their list to talk about - the biggest home stadium in New England and New York State.

We need these things in the new conference we're in.

 

[coachcap]

Everybody take one wild guess where Ken Krayeske went to undergrad school.


Here's the thing - and no way around it.

If you can build reasonably to 50,000 seats, and you can make that money up, and do it smart financially (and we can) - I would wager it will be in the ball park of expense that the new basketball facility is costing - yet those 10,000 seats are actually capable of drawing money.regularly. BUT - say you can do that .....and then the time comes when you can sell those seats and you don't have them to sell? you facked up. We should have had a 50,000 seat arena by last season. The previous administration facked up. This one can't, it needs to get done, because we need the revenue streams those extra 10,000 seats can generate in the future.

It's basically gravy on top, that 50,000 permanent seats would make Rentschler a bigger 1A/FBS dedicated venue than Chestnut Hill or the Carrier Dome. That would be something that recruiters can put on their list to talk about - the biggest home stadium in New England and New York State.

We need these things in the new conference we're in.

Carl isn't Yale Bowl larger capacity? It used to hold @ 70K. After the refurbishment, isn't still around 60K capacity?

 

[Carl Spackler]

Yeah coach - yale bowl with their new renovations is something like 65k. But it's still damn old and rickety - and the Ivy League is not division 1A and isn't scheduling division 1A opponents.

 

[Kolumbo]

Shouldn't they be focusing on building a stadium on campus? Let high schools use The Rent.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Yeah coach - yale bowl with their new renovations is something like 65k. But it's still damn old and rickety - and the Ivy League is not division 1A and isn't scheduling division 1A opponents.

Actually I believe Army is coming into the Bowl this year..........

 

[jostar1]

The website of the company that did the concrete says that it can be expanded by 20,000 seats. That would make 60,000 seats possible.

Approximately half of the 40,000-seat structure is comprised of structured seating utilizing a precast structural framing system totaling 97,600 SF. The lower bowl portion of the facility is below grade. The layout and design for the structure will allow expansion of another 20,000 seats in the future.

http://blakesleeprestress.com/proje...3E-8AE1656170DACE59&categoryIDs=&searchString=