AD David Benedict Hinting At Big News In The Near Future

[BlueDogs]

Where is all this money coming from?

State credit card:

"The proposal has passed and will be funded by bonds issued in March 2018 which the school will eventually repay. The rec center will be repaid by student fees while the athletic facilities will be repaid by a combination of private donations and ticket revenue. The bonds are authorized by the UConn 2000 Act which has been a cornerstone of the flagship university’s improvement over the past few decades."

 

[CL82]

Where is all this money coming from?

Bonding in the near term. I vaguely remember one of the building campaigns pre-authorized that. In the long term, I don't know.

Remember that only @$60M is for "stadia." The rest is for general use university projects, in particular the new rec center.

 

[Chin Diesel]

If true, that is very impressive. Too bad college baseball starts in mid February. It's a sport that the NE teams could do very well in and draw larger crowds than a lot of southern schools. 3rd most, I really love that fact!

SEC, ACC and some Big12 programs draw baseball like Hockey East does for hockey. It's a regional thing. Most ACC and SEC baseball stadiums are AA or AAA quality. 5-7k fans is the norm.

 

[Husky25]

Springer Field at Baylock Park inside the J.O. Christian Athletic Complex has sort of a ring to it.

 

[J187Money]

Agreed. UConn has found that you can't to get into a P-5 conference with athletic facilities that are of high school quality that P-5 conference teams would be embarrassed to play on. It's time to improve the total package of facilities like Louisville did before they got their ACC invite.

Feedback I got at the time is that the overall facility roadmap was a factor in Louisville getting the nod. They had just spent north of $200M on all of their secondary facilities.

 

[J187Money]

Where is all this money coming from?

Bonding, to be paid back with donations/ticket revenue.

 

[Palatine]

Wouldn't it make more sense to put that soccer stadium where the football practice field is located, and move the football practice area just outside the door of the Scheck?

 

[huskymedic]

Wouldn't it make more sense to put that soccer stadium where the football practice field is located, and move the football practice area just outside the door of the Scheck?

It was mentioned that the outdoor football practice field footprint wasn't big enough for the new Rizza-Morrone complex/soccer practice field without talking out Lot D (parking is a premium) and the plan is for Soccer, Baseball/Softball to share the Athletic Trainer/Strength & Conditioning space that will be built into the new soccer stadium.

 

[RSTuthill]

BTW, if Hockey East sees UCONN building facilities other than a hockey rink (condition of acceptance into the league), does that mean they will be kicking the program out of Hockey East?

It's called managing expectations. HE is well aware of the difficulty of getting CAPEX in this environment, they are also well aware of what the plan is, and they are OK with the XL as an interim solution because they like gate that UConn gets there. Personally I am happy with the food and drink choices at the XL, some of which will not be available at an on-campus facility.

 

[Jarhead_1775]

That tweet this morning wasn’t targeted to any single fan base. He is the Athletic Director for all sports/teams. Why should other student athlete get shunted? I’m sure the Soccer/Baseball/Softball and maybe Hockey teams/fans are excited tonight.

More specifically, I'm sure he isn't talking to the boneyard!

 

[BlueDogs]

More specifically, I'm sure he isn't talking to the boneyard!

I'll wager he's more aware than one might suspect. Treasure trove of free customer sentiment analysis.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

"The proposal has passed and will be funded by bonds issued in March 2018 which the school will eventually repay. The rec center will be repaid by student fees while the athletic facilities will be repaid by a combination of private donations and ticket revenue. The bonds are authorized by the UConn 2000 Act which has been a cornerstone of the flagship university’s improvement over the past few decades."

The bold print and underlined information is pretty clear.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

They need lights and turf for a new baseball field. It gets dark at 6 o’clock for half their season and the first handful of games are usually cancelled because of snow on the field. When they play off campus (New Britain, Norwich, Hartford) they draw pretty well but no one is going to Storrs to sit in crappy bleachers for a 1 o’clock game in April. Making the field a destination will help a lot.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

does that mean they will be kicking the program out of Hockey East?

No, UConn will not be kicked out of Hockey East. The only scenario where that would become even a consideration is if XL completely shuts down and UConn is forced to play in Freitas, but the school makes no progress/has no interest in building a new facility. Hockey East is fine with using XL moving forward. Though they'd like a new arena, XL is a feasible option from a longer-term perspective. Hockey East would not be OK if UConn makes it clear they want to play in Freitas for the next 10 years were XL to shut down. I also don't think UConn would ever get itself into that situation.

 

[huskymedic]

They need lights and turf for a new baseball field. It gets dark at 6 o’clock for half their season and the first handful of games are usually cancelled because of snow on the field.

In the plans for both baseball and softball... "Competition field with artificial turf, drainage, lights, scoreboard and press box"

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

In the plans for both baseball and softball... "Competition field with artificial turf, drainage, lights, scoreboard and press box"

You and your reading. I’m never going to learn if you keep enabling me like this.

 

[huskymedic]

You and your reading. I’m never going to learn if you keep enabling me like this.

Yeah but at least I point you in the right direction

 

[BlueDogs]

The bold print and underlined information is pretty clear.

Yes it is. That's why I posted it. Also, don't confuse facts with forecasts of future performance.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

In the plans for both baseball and softball... "Competition field with artificial turf, drainage, lights, scoreboard and press box"

Artificial turf for the baseball stadium?? I'd rather have 'The George Springer AndyBaylock Matt Barnes Field at JO.Christian Stadium' to have grass...

 

[formerlurker]

Artificial turf for the baseball stadium?? I'd rather have 'The George Springer AndyBaylock Matt Barnes Field at JO.Christian Stadium' to have grass...

I'd help pay for this too but assuming it's so we can play early season home games?

 

[huskymedic]

Artificial turf for the baseball stadium?? I'd rather have 'The George Springer AndyBaylock Matt Barnes Field at JO.Christian Stadium' to have grass...

I'd help pay for this too but assuming it's so we can play early season home games?

Penders wants turf. He’s tired of not being able to play games @ home due to weather issues (snow, ice, drainage). Makes complete sense - embarrassing to have to rent neutral fields to play/lose home games.

 

[formerlurker]

Penders wants turf. He’s tired of not being able to play games @ home due to weather issues (snow, ice, drainage).

I completely understand but I'm old school and believe the sport is meant to be played on natural grass. I also worry about the possibility of increased injury risk and the team not being used to grass when they head South. All of that aside, it probably makes the most sense. I'm all for whatever it takes to get all of our sporting venues up to P5 standards.

 

[huskymedic]

I completely understand but I'm old school and believe the sport is meant to be played on natural grass. I also worry about the possibility of increased injury risk and the team not being used to grass when they head South. All of that aside, it probably makes the most sense. I'm all for whatever it takes to get all of our sporting venues up to P5 standards.

I like grass as well but a lot complexes outside the Northeast are moving to turf as well. University of Texas, Louisville, Houston and Tulane are field turf.

 

[formerlurker]

I like grass as well but a lot complexes outside the Northeast are moving to turf as well. University of Texas, Louisville, Houston and Tulane are field turf.

You never cease to amaze me, Medic.

 

[Uconnalliance]

Hell, I'll take ANY good news at this point, even if it's a new book collection at the Homer Babbidge Library...

Thought maybe they lowered the spread for Saturday’s game

 

[UConn76]

Artificial turf for the baseball stadium?? I'd rather have 'The George Springer AndyBaylock Matt Barnes Field at JO.Christian Stadium' to have grass...

Would eat up 50% of the budget just to create that sign...

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Artificial turf for the baseball stadium?? I'd rather have 'The George Springer AndyBaylock Matt Barnes Field at JO.Christian Stadium' to have grass...

Need to plow it.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Yes it is. That's why I posted it. Also, don't confuse facts with forecasts of future performance.

And yet, apparently still not so clear to some readers.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

Would eat up 50% of the budget just to create that sign...

True...but think about the MLBs who played for UConn...and the visiting teams...