East Hartford’s Rentschler Field needs $63 million upgrade, new study says. ‘like walking into a time capsule’

[CONN78SEJ]

Yale plays in FCS and they have a 70,000 seat stadium. You just don't want a massive state project to sit empty. The neighbors in East Hartford do not want it to become a concert venue. Central would be great for the Colonial.

FYI - Yale Bowl was built in 1906 IIRC, and almost entirely out of expensive concrete, back when labor for things like that was very cheap.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Central is FCS. "UPGRADE" for that program is getting into the Colonial, where they should be, and maybe expanding their current stadium to 10k. Central is not an athletics school. It will never be an FBS school and has no interest in doing so.

The state also owns close to 1000 undeveloped acres east of route 9 that would be ideal for a new stadium if the situation ever arose. Again, there is no way CCSU taking on the Rent makes any sense to anyone with ties to the university.

Central has a proud football tradition going back to 1935. I never played there but many of my high school teammates did. Some big names played football at Central such as Steve Addazio, Mike Sherman, Scott Pioli, and Dave Campo.

 

[kemba]

Watching the Kansas TCU game. We need to build a “Kansas type” of stadium on campus. Fans can only access their seats via portals—no standing around in an open concourse to watch the game. The cost is manageable and the design provides the optimal “home field” effect. Get on it.

The open concourses are one of the better features of the rent and are how modern stadiums are built

 

[Ha Who]

Yale plays in FCS and they have a 70,000 seat stadium. You just don't want a massive state project to sit empty. The neighbors in East Hartford do not want it to become a concert venue. Central would be great for the Colonial.

F the neighbors

 

[Waquoit]

Yeah sure, like the Civic Center has been great for mens and womens basketball.

How many championships total?

 

[CL82]

How many championships total?

In the Civic Center? None.

 

[Iceman03]

College Sports belong on the College Campus. OK if you want one or 2 events a year in XL (Villanova and whomever else is a national power), but for those who think the drive is too far, or Traffic is too heavy, their option should be Television.

 

[RC111]

College Sports belong on the College Campus. OK if you want one or 2 events a year in XL (Villanova and whomever else is a national power), but for those who think the drive is too far, or Traffic is too heavy, their option should be Television.

No problem with Gampel or the drive, but the last game I saw there cost more than the civic center, my seat was on a metal bench instead of the chair back seating, and a group of stoned college kids were in my group's actual seats instead of the student section cause they wanted to sit together. Aside from the charm of being on campus, the atmosphere really wasn't better and the student section was pretty apathetic compared to my days as a student (not THAT long ago).

If UConn is going to do more games at Gampel, they can improve the experience. Spend some money to install better seating, an HVAC system that works (must have been 90 and humid), and better concessions. Those are pretty basic asks if I'm going to drop $100+ on a couple tickets. That being said, there's little incentive for them to do so, cause they know I and everyone else like me are going to fill the place either way.

 

[KingLurk]

A little background: I worked in venue management/ticketing for 14 years for two different countries in the industry. I worked outside of college football, more so with pro baseball (MLB owned my first employer) but I did work a game at Tulane and we did Tennessee and Minnesota.

As a spectator, the Rent is not a bad medium to small sized venue. I did not read about the renovations that are necessary and I'm sure everyone on here has seen my comments from my "tailgating podcast" hat (I hosted one of those one after I stopped working in that industry)... there's something to be said for how easy and affordable it is to park and attend UConn games. The problem is obviously going in and out of a power conference and having a losing record for a decade's worth of seasons. As @kemba commented above, the open concourse is a great feature of the stadium. I've spent full quarters watching the game up there... also the food and beer (availability of alcohol) is something that should not be taken for granted. Some of these legendary stadiums have their issues. As I've said here before, my father is a Varsity O member (former Ohio State athlete) and my mom went there as well, and grandfather taught there. We've gotten tickets through the school connections and had seats where you had to sit behind a pole. If anyone went to Michigan this year, you'll note that the stadium is basically built on one-tier so if you are at the top you are going go be walking up 100s of stairs or waiting forever for an escalator that doesn't always work or elevator to get to the a high up seat and some of the sights lines where I worked for Tennessee are horrible. Minnesota built a new stadium and it's nice... but they have big 10 money...

Whether or not the stadium should be on campus is a whole other debate (certainly played out on here and on twitter) but for the time being, this stadium is fine. Check out where we are playing most of our games second half (and I'm a fan of UMass's on campus stadium and its situation.. you can actually ride a bicycle to the stadium from 5 or 6 surrounding towns which is pretty cool)... but we definitely have a very good stadium at this time for what we are.

No one is not going to UConn games because of the state of the Rent.. they are not going because they have made 1 bowl game in the past decade, the stadium isn't on campus or because they aren't in a conference / schedule. Benedict/Mora are working on these issues (stadium location - they are making it easier/better for students)... I'm in a holding pattern here for a few years. If UConn is the BYU of the East in a few years, there's gonna be some decisions that need to be made.

 

[Zissou]

It’s not even 20 years old.

 

[powerplay]

I happen to think anything around horse barn hill is completely out of the question. You can’t build in the iconic hillside of the campus… Otherwise I think everywhere else including that Depot campus a couple miles down the road could work.

I couldn't find the criteria for Land Grant universities, but I believe there is an acreage minimum designated for agriculture which would prohibit the Horsebarn Hill area from being developed for a stadium. I could be wrong.

 

[CL82]

I couldn't find the criteria for Land Grant universities, but I believe there is an acreage minimum designated for agriculture which would prohibit the Horsebarn Hill area from being developed for a stadium. I could be wrong.

From what I could see, there doesn’t appear to be a specific land requirement. There is a requirement that agricultural experimentation occur and be disseminated. so you can’t just eliminate all agricultural activity. That may be what you’re thinking of.

Regardless, as someone else posted above Horsebarn Hill is an “iconic“ part of UConn. It shouldn’t be developed, so long as there are other alternatives. In the case of building an on-campus football stadium, there are other alternatives.

 

[LBird33]

It would suck to see Horsebarn hill disappear

 

[CONN78SEJ]

How many championships total?

Before or after they built Gampel on campus? Before they built an on campus venue the answer to your question is ZERO basketball championships. Of course, after they built Gampel, the answer is 15.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I couldn't find the criteria for Land Grant universities, but I believe there is an acreage minimum designated for agriculture which would prohibit the Horsebarn Hill area from being developed for a stadium. I could be wrong.

If you are speaking of land grant universities in general, I doubt there is an agricultural requirement. As far as UConn specifically, the agricultural school will always be a significant part of the university.

There is a tremendous amount being done on campus with livestock, grain fields, etc. (I only found out about this over this past summer) that requires nearly all of the land that is currently devoted to this (they actually are looking to add more). While there may well be a good amount of "development" in that area over time, there will not be any vertical construction.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

If you are speaking of land grant universities in general, I doubt there is an agricultural requirement. As far as UConn specifically, the agricultural school will always be a significant part of the university.

There is a tremendous amount being done on campus with livestock, grain fields, etc. (I only found out about this over this past summer) that requires nearly all of the land that is currently devoted to this (they actually are looking to add more). While there may well be a good amount of "development" in that area over time, there will not be any vertical construction.

Can’t the BOT can pass any changes they want? Pardon the pun but an on campus stadium would be a cash cow for the University and the state. Putting a large on campus stadium equidistant from Hartford, Providence, and eastern Massachusetts could definitely be used for a lot of things. The real challenge for the architects and the planners wouldn’t be where to put the stadium but where to put a massive parking area. The Men’s and Women’s basketball programs benefited immensely once Gampel was built on campus in recruiting and success on the court and conference affiliation. I think the football program would benefit also with an on campus stadium.

 

[Iceman03]

Very Well Put CONN78SEJ

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I'm not sure what changes the BOT can and cannot make to the school's mission (or charter) but I would be stunned if they would even consider sacrificing the research dollars they receive in order to build a football stadium that would generate a fraction of that money.

For the purpose of full disclosure, if I had the authority to make the decisions, we would have built a 75k seat on campus football stadium thirty five years ago and upgraded the football program five years before opening that stadium. Gampel would have seated 12k and adjoined a 5k seat ice hockey arena (and the hockey programs would have been upgraded then). Additionally, an actual highway from Hartford to Providence would have been built, passing just south of campus to allow the tens of thousands of automobiles arriving on campus for football games. Unfortunately I did not have that authority then and do not have that authority now.

I would love to have an on campus stadium, and on all candor, if the program had been further developed properly after the Fiesta bowl, the conversation today could have been "Should we improve the Rent or build new on campus?". Now. I don't see a feasible move (shy of downgrading to FCS) to an on campus stadium for at least another decade.

When you have some time google what major universities receive in research dollars. It towers over what they receive from athletics (to the point where many schools have downgraded athletics to protect research standing), even at schools that make the most from football.

 

[Patman]

major universities can do that now. Maybe not then.

Athletics leads the bus because athletics gets the public/voter buy-in. Once you have them buying in athletics and university importance then you can get them to buy in on facility support which then leads to the ability to reach out for grants.

At some level the academics game becomes a government/university cabal. That's why the AAU exists. Its a lobbying group. Until then you have to get popular support to get the facilities built for the university research and that only happens if you get the people convinced and they're convinced when they have a buy in with the university. Athletics need not be the only thing but its the easiest thing.

 

[Waquoit]

Pardon the pun but an on campus stadium would be a cash cow for the University and the state.

How do you figure?

 

[CONN78SEJ]

I'm not sure what changes the BOT can and cannot make to the school's mission (or charter) but I would be stunned if they would even consider sacrificing the research dollars they receive in order to build a football stadium that would generate a fraction of that money.

For the purpose of full disclosure, if I had the authority to make the decisions, we would have built a 75k seat on campus football stadium thirty five years ago and upgraded the football program five years before opening that stadium. Gampel would have seated 12k and adjoined a 5k seat ice hockey arena (and the hockey programs would have been upgraded then). Additionally, an actual highway from Hartford to Providence would have been built, passing just south of campus to allow the tens of thousands of automobiles arriving on campus for football games. Unfortunately I did not have that authority then and do not have that authority now.

I would love to have an on campus stadium, and on all candor, if the program had been further developed properly after the Fiesta bowl, the conversation today could have been "Should we improve the Rent or build new on campus?". Now. I don't see a feasible move (shy of downgrading to FCS) to an on campus stadium for at least another decade.

When you have some time google what major universities receive in research dollars. It towers over what they receive from athletics (to the point where many schools have downgraded athletics to protect research standing), even at schools that make the most from football.

All that for only 6 Saturdays in the Fall?

 

[LoyalFanCT]

How do you figure?

i am not sure the neighbors want concerts there, but may be okay with six games a year in storrs.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

How do you figure?

Why don’t you tell everyone why it wouldn’t be?

 

[Kolumbo]

Build a brand new state of the art high tech stadium in Windsor Locks near the airport or the river which would be home to both the Huskies and the Minutemen. Split the cost and it would be used twice as often. A smaller version of SoFi Stadium

 

[Iceman03]

Sure, that's the answer....FARTHER away from campus.