Arms Race

[BigTenFan]

 

[BigTenFan]

Ridiculous amount of money going into college football now- As most have said...it has turned into the G league for NFL

 

[uconnyankee]

View attachment 100909

Doesn’t sound like they are too concerned about any pending court case

 

[metsfan2323]

I think 100 Million was recently proposed to renovate Gampel. This seems like a bargain compared to that.

 

[Palatine]

It shows how profitable college football can be if done right.

 

[cohenzone]

Ridiculous amount of money going into college football now- As most have said...it has turned into the G league for NFL

Money scale might be different, but big time hoops is becoming the same as far as player development goes. Two of my kids went to the former Big10, Michigan and Northwestern (which actually beat UM twice while they were in school). Now NU is building a new stadium smaller than The Rent. UM is a whole other world.

While I’ve never been inside the PSU stadium, I’ve been by it and thought it dominated the surrounding landscape, not in a nice way. The Big House, being a bowl, is far less obtrusive.

 

[huskymedic]

Ridiculous amount of money going into college football now- As most have said...it has turned into the G league for NFL

Gotta fund the payroll…

 

[LoyalFanCT]

The price tag gives an idea how much is involved to turn the Rent into a Power 4 stadium. Much better to build a new stadium in Storrs.

 

[Alum86]

The price tag gives an idea how much is involved to turn the Rent into a Power 4 stadium. Much better to build a new stadium in Storrs.

The Mansfield Ladies Guild and the Spotted Frog Society would say otherwise.

 

[uconnric]

The price tag gives an idea how much is involved to turn the Rent into a Power 4 stadium. Much better to build a new stadium in Storrs.

Nice piece of twisted logic.

 

[Ldandy]

The price tag gives an idea how much is involved to turn the Rent into a Power 4 stadium. Much better to build a new stadium in Storrs.

I'm not sure that the price tag for renovations at Beaver Stadium is representative of the costs that UConn would incur to update The Rent. First and foremost, Beaver Stadium is over twice the capacity of The Rent. It is also an older structure badly in need of infrastructure updates that go far beyond cosmetic. I'm talking narrow concourses, p*** troughs and no hot water in the bathrooms, an ancient press box, far too little in terms of luxury boxes or premium seating. These needs have to be addressed in order to host potential playoff games.

While addressing these legit issues the school decided to improve the facade of the building to make it both more cosmetically appealing and technologically relevant to the era that we are currently living in. Penn Staters are a bit split on this, as many appreciate the aesthetic of the old gray battleship rising up out of the rolling pastureland that surrounds it. That will take some getting used to for sure, but ultimately it's for the best. The rent obviously needs maintenance, but adding additional seating and improving technology in the stadium would be a fraction of the cost of building a new stadium on campus.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

I'm not sure that the price tag for renovations at Beaver Stadium is representative of the costs that UConn would incur to update The Rent. First and foremost, Beaver Stadium is over twice the capacity of The Rent. It is also an older structure badly in need of infrastructure updates that go far beyond cosmetic. I'm talking narrow concourses, p*** troughs and no hot water in the bathrooms, an ancient press box, far too little in terms of luxury boxes or premium seating. These needs have to be addressed in order to host potential playoff games.

While addressing these legit issues the school decided to improve the facade of the building to make it both more cosmetically appealing and technologically relevant to the era that we are currently living in. Penn Staters are a bit split on this, as many appreciate the aesthetic of the old gray battleship rising up out of the rolling pastureland that surrounds it. That will take some getting used to for sure, but ultimately it's for the best. The rent obviously needs maintenance, but adding additional seating and improving technology in the stadium would be a fraction of the cost of building a new stadium on campus.

Even if some consultants tell us to spend $200 to $300M on the Rent (which is a conservative estimate) to provide UConn an up to date Power 4 stadium, would you rather put it into an aging complex located 40 minutes or more away from the campus or would you rather spend a bit more and get a complex that students could walk to and could be used for a single university graduation.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

For purposes of comparison, Univ Nebraska is planning to spend $450 million to renovate their football stadium. USF's brand new stadium is estimated at between $200M to $400M. The high end for a new stadium is $800M at Northwestern.

 

[NEforceUConn]

 

[uconnfan68]

Even if some consultants tell us to spend $200 to $300M on the Rent (which is a conservative estimate) to provide UConn an up to date Power 4 stadium, would you rather put it into an aging complex located 40 minutes or more away from the campus or would you rather spend a bit more and get a complex that students could walk to and could be used for a single university graduation.

Will the Ladies Garden Club of Mansfield allow that?

 

[Drew]

For purposes of comparison, Univ Nebraska is planning to spend $450 million to renovate their football stadium. USF's brand new stadium is estimated at between $200M to $400M. The high end for a new stadium is $800M at Northwestern.

Btw re-Nebraska renovation, that is also only for some cosmetic and experience related stuff (WiFi, seatbacks, connecting the stadium so you can walk all the way around inside, etc) and limited to only the East and West sidelines. They’ll have to do a separate project for South Stadium as well on top of the $450

 

[LoyalFanCT]

Will the Ladies Garden Club of Mansfield allow that?

There are only six home games a year, and if UConn makes it into the ACC one of them could very well be played at Fenway or MetLife. Not a huge impact on Mansfield Center.

 

[huskymedic]

There are only six home games a year, and if UConn makes it into the ACC one of them could very well be played at Fenway or MetLife. Not a huge impact on Mansfield Center.

Hey - let’s go build a new $350-$400M+ stadium on campus and then agree to play one of the home games in Boston or New York - that’s a hellava selling point.

 

[CL82]

I think 100 Million was recently proposed to renovate Gampel. This seems like a bargain compared to that.

it was 300 million for a complete renovation.

 

[CL82]

The Mansfield Ladies Guild and the Spotted Frog Society would say otherwise.

Fortuitously neither have any say.

 

[giddyup]

Getting private equity involved in college sports is beyond obscene. Everything is a money grab - colleges, coaches, players, investors, sports books. A great uniquely American amateur sport once done for love of the game and thrill of victory is reduced to this garbage. There is a piece of me that says just go to FCS and screw the madness.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Getting private equity involved in college sports is beyond obscene. Everything is a money grab - colleges, coaches, players, investors, sports books. A great uniquely American amateur sport once done for love of the game and thrill of victory is reduced to this garbage. There is a piece of me that says just go to FCS and screw the madness.

The plus side of private equity getting involved will be the money grabs (at least as it pertains to the colleges and their coaches & players) will no longer be an issue as once the PE forms are done with it there won't be any money left over for the colleges, coaches or players.

 

[Windham4th]

Will the Ladies Garden Club of Mansfield allow that?

I would be against it. Why ruin a nice rural part of Connecticut for mediocre football at best. Plus the fact that Storrs is hard to get to would be another. Bulldozing hundreds of home to create a highway/widening roads would be a 25 year legal battle and would cost the state probably over a billion dollars (guessing on time frames and amounts, but what I mean is it will be hell of allot more than just building a stadium) Imagine 40K people descending on the infrastructure of Storrs and surrounding areas without major updates.

 

[Forte]

I would be against it. Why ruin a nice rural part of Connecticut for mediocre football at best. Plus the fact that Storrs is hard to get to would be another. Bulldozing hundreds of home to create a highway/widening roads would be a 25 year legal battle and would cost the state probably over a billion dollars (guessing on time frames and amounts, but what I mean is it will be hell of allot more than just building a stadium) Imagine 40K people descending on the infrastructure of Storrs and surrounding areas without major updates.

They could save money by using parts from the route 11 expansion and bridge.

 

[Ldandy]

Even if some consultants tell us to spend $200 to $300M on the Rent (which is a conservative estimate) to provide UConn an up to date Power 4 stadium, would you rather put it into an aging complex located 40 minutes or more away from the campus or would you rather spend a bit more and get a complex that students could walk to and could be used for a single university graduation.

Ideally you would have a stadium on campus easily accessible to students, however I was under the impression from reading this board that the local townships would shoot down any major construction near campus. My comments were basically comparing the costs of renovating The Rent vs. Beaver Stadium. Theoretically a really nice renovation could be done at The Rent for a fraction of the cost of renovating Beaver Stadium due simply to the size and scope of each project.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

Ideally you would have a stadium on campus easily accessible to students, however I was under the impression from reading this board that the local townships would shoot down any major construction near campus. My comments were basically comparing the costs of renovating The Rent vs. Beaver Stadium. Theoretically a really nice renovation could be done at The Rent for a fraction of the cost of renovating Beaver Stadium due simply to the size and scope of each project.

Local officials and residents for years were opposed to Storrs center development. But now there are many businesses, restaurants and housing units across from EO Smith High School. From what I see a lot of locals shop and buy food there. I suspect the locals would also be among the fans attending UConn football games in an on-campus stadium. It's also possible that local cops can prevent traffic from going on Route 195 through Mansfield Center during. before and after the games and have motorists use other routes. Especially, if they put the new stadium on Discovery Drive which heads up to Route 44, it would not have a drastic impact on Mansfield Center traffic. Plus, there are only six or so home games a year. Not a huge impact on the local residents. The state can hand the Rent over to Central CT State Univ's football team rather than knocking it down.

 

[billybud]

The plus side of private equity getting involved will be the money grabs (at least as it pertains to the colleges and their coaches & players) will no longer be an issue as once the PE forms are done with it there won't be any money left over for the colleges, coaches or players.

While I am not a financial guy at all...There is a misunderstanding, I think, of how some so called private equity funding is being viewed in terms of CFB funding...The groups that were mentioned in a link anyway....(Wetherford Group, etc)..

It's private credit that they are offering. They're not taking an ownership stake (equity) but are instead taking a percentage of the upside in basically what amounts to an annual distribution. where if true private equity, they might take annual distributions, but also take an equity ownership position.

There are other ways to fund...UCF is receiving $88 million from Orange County to improve their stadium...

Orange County gets the $$ from soaking tourists...

Tourist Development Tax revenue is amassed through tourism funds coming into Orange County, specifically a 6% tax on hotel stays and other short-term rentals in the county. The funds are then redistributed to fund tourism-related expenditures, such as sports venues, convention centers, the arts and other facilities that in turn promote more tourism within Orange County. The $88 million grant will be drawn from excess revenues of the Tourist Development Tax over the course of nine years.

 

[ScottVib]

The state can hand the Rent over to Central CT State Univ's football team rather than knocking it down.

If Rentschler Field loses money when UConn draws less than 20k... what happens if CCSU plays there as the primary tennant? Rentschler Field gets torn down if UConn doesn't play there, it would actually be the only fiscally responsible thing to do if UConn football (or an even larger draw (if one existed)) did not play there.

 

[giddyup]

While I am not a financial guy at all...There is a misunderstanding, I think, of how some so called private equity funding is being viewed in terms of CFB funding...The groups that were mentioned in a link anyway....(Wetherford Group, etc)..

It's private credit that they are offering. They're not taking an ownership stake (equity) but are instead taking a percentage of the upside in basically what amounts to an annual distribution. where if true private equity, they might take annual distributions, but also take an equity ownership position.

There are other ways to fund...UCF is receiving $88 million from Orange County to improve their stadium...

Orange County gets the $$ from soaking tourists...

Tourist Development Tax revenue is amassed through tourism funds coming into Orange County, specifically a 6% tax on hotel stays and other short-term rentals in the county. The funds are then redistributed to fund tourism-related expenditures, such as sports venues, convention centers, the arts and other facilities that in turn promote more tourism within Orange County. The $88 million grant will be drawn from excess revenues of the Tourist Development Tax over the course of nine years.

This is classic. Yes, it will be credit but what will be required almost certainly is a public surety that will back the debt with full faith and credit. This will essentially limit credit risk while charging higher asymmetric finance rates this arbitraging the credit risk to rate deferential. There is no way in hell they will finance any single purpose infrastructure without a guaranteed revenue stream. It’s a neat way to fleece taxpayers. PE firms doing public private partnership deals is just legalized public theft.

 

[huskymedic]

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