For Sale. College Football Stadium on Old Airstrip

[Dann]

Until UConn fires Manuel and Pasqualoni he is boycotting games.

He's gone from a passionate fan to whiny little brat who is throwing himself on the floor and holding his breath until he gets what he wants. I guess that's what the big boys do, since that is who we're supposed to be like.

sounds liek it worked for utah and lville

 

[Husky25]

ppl who want to shop or eat at the new place at the rent will go any time but during game days becuase of the crowd. its not going to make moms and daughters want to go to the fbsll game. not how it works. sorry to ruin u and the iodot leadership we have dreams.

amy can go buy a barbie at toys r us and watch tv in her bedroom. shes not going to the rent to buy a abrbie and watch a uconn game live in the cold weather. this target audience is wrong and the idea is wrong. east hartford is nobody land. it has no emotional attachment to 99% of ppl in this state. eating at that buffalo wings vs the one in your local town is not going to make casual fans mor eliekly to come. sorry to burst your dreams. this is the basic type thinking that ppl get away with becuase other ppl around them are also weak minded.

but the patriots rah rah rah. listen the pats are a nfl team with a big established fanbase a short ride outside a major city who have been on a very impressive 10-15 what? year run as a solid franchise. a couple eats and a fan shop are nice and good things. but they were going to get crowds with or with out. what were doing isn't going to improve crowds, its going to make tailagting thinner and also slowly just eat away at the fanbase will to see thinsg uconn vs outside uconn tradition.

the dive bar u drank at in college? would u rather throw 2 back in that befor eor after a game vs go to the upscale outsider eats and bar that just moved on the block? its about the excpierence and the culture.

If you went to any games you would know that women and little girls are a big part of the crowd and it doesn't get uncomforatbly cold until after Halloween.

Foxborough is about 45 minutes outside of Boston. It might actually take a lesser amount of time to get there from Providence.

As for the dive bars on Campus? There is a reason we went there. We had no money. I think you severely overrate the nostalgia angle of this arguement. No one goes to Huskies because the $0.05 Popov well drinks tasted good. It's the $0.05 that was key.

 

[hexlub]

As for the dive bars on Campus? There is a reason we went there. We had no money. I think you severely overrate the nostalgia angle of this arguement. No one goes to Huskies because the $0.05 Popov well drinks tasted good. It's the $0.05 that was key.

Your mention of Popov gave me immediate liver pain.

 

[BlueMAB]

ppl who want to shop or eat at the new place at the rent will go any time but during game days becuase of the crowd. its not going to make moms and daughters want to go to the fbsll game. not how it works. sorry to ruin u and the iodot leadership we have dreams.

amy can go buy a barbie at toys r us and watch tv in her bedroom. shes not going to the rent to buy a abrbie and watch a uconn game live in the cold weather. this target audience is wrong and the idea is wrong. east hartford is nobody land. it has no emotional attachment to 99% of ppl in this state. eating at that buffalo wings vs the one in your local town is not going to make casual fans mor eliekly to come. sorry to burst your dreams. this is the basic type thinking that ppl get away with becuase other ppl around them are also weak minded.

but the patriots rah rah rah. listen the pats are a nfl team with a big established fanbase a short ride outside a major city who have been on a very impressive 10-15 what? year run as a solid franchise. a couple eats and a fan shop are nice and good things. but they were going to get crowds with or with out. what were doing isn't going to improve crowds, its going to make tailagting thinner and also slowly just eat away at the fanbase will to see thinsg uconn vs outside uconn tradition.

the dive bar u drank at in college? would u rather throw 2 back in that befor eor after a game vs go to the upscale outsider eats and bar that just moved on the block? its about the excpierence and the culture.

This is simply wrong. My wife was with me at every game until we had kids. Now they are too young to sit there in the stadium for a few hours. But she would gladly come and tailgate, then go shopping or to a movie with the kids while I went to the game, and then we could meet after for more tailgating or dinner. Until the kids are old enough to sit through games. In fact, with more family friendly things around the stadium, you make it easier for many people to go. People who aren't going because of their family obligations may be more likely to. People who go now, aren't going to stop going just like they didn't stop when Cabela's went up. People leave now when the weather gets nasty or cold. NOT having an alternative there for them doesn't prevent them from leaving. Having one now, will at least make them more likely to show up in the first place knowing there's other options if the weather gets too bad.

People will also go there for the shopping on off days, see the stadium, and think it might be nice to come back for a game seeing as how easy it is to get to it.

Put a hotel or two around the stadium with more entertainment, and recent alumni (most of whom leave the state) could be enticed to come make a weekend out of it.

You have yet to explain why people who show up late and leave early are going to change from that habit to one of making an entire day out of a game on campus. what about after the game? What are they going to do? Take their kids to x-lot and show them where the cops came through in riot gear and tear gas during spring weekends back in the day?

Texas has larger HS stadiums then memorial stadium. We're not going to go from what we were, to what you want, by simply putting a stadium on campus. It gives people LESS reason to go, not more. It narrows the people you attract, not expands. It will only slow the growth process, not hasten it.

 

[Dann]

If you went to any games you would know that women and little girls are a big part of the crowd and it doesn't get uncomforatbly cold until after Halloween.

Foxborough is about 45 minutes outside of Boston. It might actually take a lesser amount of time to get there from Providence.

As for the dive bars on Campus? There is a reason we went there. We had no money. I think you severely overrate the nostalgia angle of this arguement. No one goes to Huskies because the $0.05 Popov well drinks tasted good. It's the $0.05 that was key.

im sorry but the crowd does not have a huge number oif little girls. and guess what those little girls dont pay for drinks or buy tshirts of talk on message boards or watch games late at night or wear uconn stuff pround 24/7 or so much more. there dads do.

i have never met a fan(besides red) who went to more uconn stuff or rooted for them more than me considering i didnt go to uconn. keep chipping away, your not getting anywhere. you want to mold a culture of little girls as fans at the rent? brillant! call up susan and the govt and lets make sure we get a toy r us and a build a baear sotre in this plazza they are building at the rent. have special packages for little girls to host birthday parties on game weekends. this is going to double the fanbase easily...

 

[Waquoit]

People in CT are vastly different culturally than people in SC, NC, and WV if you haven't noticed. What you want to achieve will not be achieved doing what they did. We have to do it in a manner that fits our culture.

Exactly. It's not a bad thing that our lives don't revolve around college football.

 

[Dann]

This is simply wrong. My wife was with me at every game until we had kids. Now they are too young to sit there in the stadium for a few hours. But she would gladly come and tailgate, then go shopping or to a movie with the kids while I went to the game, and then we could meet after for more tailgating or dinner. Until the kids are old enough to sit through games. In fact, with more family friendly things around the stadium, you make it easier for many people to go. People who aren't going because of their family obligations may be more likely to. People who go now, aren't going to stop going just like they didn't stop when Cabela's went up. People leave now when the weather gets nasty or cold. NOT having an alternative there for them doesn't prevent them from leaving. Having one now, will at least make them more likely to show up in the first place knowing there's other options if the weather gets too bad.

People will also go there for the shopping on off days, see the stadium, and think it might be nice to come back for a game seeing as how easy it is to get to it.

Put a hotel or two around the stadium with more entertainment, and recent alumni (most of whom leave the state) could be enticed to come make a weekend out of it.

You have yet to explain why people who show up late and leave early are going to change from that habit to one of making an entire day out of a game on campus. what about after the game? What are they going to do? Take their kids to x-lot and show theme where the cops came through in riot gear and tear gas back in the day?

Texas has larger HS stadiums then memorial stadium. We're not going to go from what we were, to what you want, overnight. And by simply putting a stadium on campus, which gives people LESS reason to go, not more, will only slow that process.

kids leave early now becuase its possible which is another story that uconn and the bus sytem shoudl fix but im not going to rant that up right now. i think u know of that issue.

fans who leave early are casual. uconn nees to leave the rent open for hours after not 1 and the whole time be pushing ppl out anyway. there nothing to do after the game at the rent. on campus u could have fans going to dts(once u develope it with a stadium) the bookstore to uy gear, the building to check out the cafe or revisit a old memory and other things. have post game events and other things. on campus bring many new iseas and event possibilities to the table to keep ppl around longer. right now the ren tis tailgate-game-go home or just game-go home. on campus opens a ton of new doors. its a culture thing that i keep saying but its true.

 

[Dann]

Exactly. It's not a bad thing that our lives don't revolve around college football.

it doesn't need to be around "college football". it neds to be around the school. the unviversity as a whole. its the fact that your pround of your degree and your job thanks to it. its the getting aau staus and having a ton of in state jobs revelve around that. its the sports side of entertainment vs going to nyc or boston for a pro sports game. stuff liek thaat. your wife likes going to broadway? cool. maybe she takes u one friday night to a play at uconn or soemthing. its the over all school/state culture.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

none until some ppl leave this state.

in college i went to 2-4 a year. in grad school i only made 1-2 a year fball wise. for bball, in college it was 5-10 games and a mix of hartford and storrs. i used to get student tix for gampel and borrow some 1s id just in case and go with my gf at the time. last year i went to 6 bball games as tuesday nigths types were great gettinga round school for my schedule. always go to a couple baseball games if i can also

i am now on the bats crazy train and wont go to any games until certain ppl are gone from storrs or things change.

travel has nothing to do with it. just certain little things with me wether its beef with class schedule or hating warde...for a non uconn student me and my friends from springfield made some noise for uconn for 4 years. you would be surprised how uconn pro that city is. a lot of the college kids either were from ct or grew up with umass sucking diick so uconn was popular. city ppl like uconn ball also. can't tell u how many times i got crowds hyped with hot 93.7 up in the building drunk as f. hof weekend was great all the time also. had big baby pay for a stripper for my table at mardi gras 1 weekend becuase my buddy had his uconn polo shirt on and he talked to us about rayray.

im no uconn slouch if thats what u think. i know a couple things and will rant until a cow eats me.

I'm just going to respond to the first paragraph because I can't understand a thing you wrote from the second one. So my understanding (and please correct me if I'm wrong) is that you expect us to change the culture around UConn athletics, to grow our fanbase, think traveling an extra couple of hours for a lot of people isn't a deterrent, want to build a new football stadium on campus, and you only go to a couple of games a year? No offense, but put up or shut up. You probably invest more time into UConn athletics than 99.9% of UConn fans and have exacting standards of how things should be, but you only make it to a handful of games a year. Come on man.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

it doesn't need to be around "college football". it neds to be around the school. the unviversity as a whole. its the fact that your pround of your degree and your job thanks to it. its the getting aau staus and having a ton of in state jobs revelve around that. its the sports side of entertainment vs going to nyc or boston for a pro sports game. stuff liek thaat. your wife likes going to broadway? cool. maybe she takes u one friday night to a play at uconn or soemthing. its the over all school/state culture.

Which will be completely revolutionized by putting a football stadium on campus?

 

[BlueMAB]

kids leave early now becuase its possible which is another story that uconn and the bus sytem shoudl fix but im not going to rant that up right now. i think u know of that issue.

fans who leave early are casual. uconn nees to leave the rent open for hours after not 1 and the whole time be pushing ppl out anyway. there nothing to do after the game at the rent. on campus u could have fans going to dts(once u develope it with a stadium) the bookstore to uy gear, the building to check out the cafe or revisit a old memory and other things. have post game events and other things. on campus bring many new iseas and event possibilities to the table to keep ppl around longer. right now the ren tis tailgate-game-go home or just game-go home. on campus opens a ton of new doors. its a culture thing that i keep saying but its true.

Your argument is:

Don't put anything else to do around the rent, because it won't attract people to go games.

Put the stadium on campus, and people will go to the bookstore which will attract more fans. Eventually, when there's something else to do, even more people will come, because now there's something else to do.

Oh, and they'll have no problem dealing with an extra hour or two of traffic, despite the fact many show up late and leave early from a location that is extremely convenient.

Sure, that makes a lot of sense.

 

[Husky25]

im sorry but the crowd does not have a huge number oif little girls. and guess what those little girls dont pay for drinks or buy tshirts of talk on message boards or watch games late at night or wear uconn stuff pround 24/7 or so much more. there dads do.

i have never met a fan(besides red) who went to more uconn stuff or rooted for them more than me considering i didnt go to uconn. keep chipping away, your not getting anywhere. you want to mold a culture of little girls as fans at the rent? brillant! call up susan and the govt and lets make sure we get a toy r us and a build a baear sotre in this plazza they are building at the rent. have special packages for little girls to host birthday parties on game weekends. this is going to double the fanbase easily...

What's a baear? What's a sotre? I get plazza, you just added an extra z but still...

Oh, And what don't I get? The little girl will wear whatever Daddy buys her to wear. She's the one pulling on his shirt tails begging for the pink husky shirt. Legal tender is still being spent!!!! But because it's not at Ted's or Huskies or the Civic Pub (or whatever it's called now), it becomes Monopoly money??

What else is there to do in those towns that support those other schools you keep listing? Aside from Pittsburgh, which is right downtown, there is NOTHING ELSE around. We live in the most affluent state per capita in the nation. Rentschler field is just over 100 miles from two top 5 media markets. Hartford-New Haven itself is the 30th largest media market. What's Tuskaloosa? What's Columbia? What's College Station, or College Park? The counties where they reside are larger than Southern New England, let alone the entirety of Connecticut!!! Do you know what that means? There is more to do in this state and more people have the means to do it than anywhere else on average in the Country. UConn HAS to be that much more in the forefront and that DOES NOT OCCUR by tucking the football team back deep in the woods of Toland County.

 

[Husky25]

kids leave early now becuase its possible which is another story that uconn and the bus sytem shoudl fix but im not going to rant that up right now. i think u know of that issue.

fans who leave early are casual. uconn nees to leave the rent open for hours after not 1 and the whole time be pushing ppl out anyway. there nothing to do after the game at the rent. on campus u could have fans going to dts(once u develope it with a stadium) the bookstore to uy gear, the building to check out the cafe or revisit a old memory and other things. have post game events and other things. on campus bring many new iseas and event possibilities to the table to keep ppl around longer. right now the ren tis tailgate-game-go home or just game-go home. on campus opens a ton of new doors. its a culture thing that i keep saying but its true.

1. I don't know where you park(ed), but security rarely enforced the 1 hour rule unless there is no one on the access roads leading out.

#2, Well I've already addressed the on-campus dive bar and book stores fallacy. There are fewer and fewer "old memories" at UConn because of UConn 2000 and the new buildings. If one was to walk around campus to see how it has changed, they'll do it once, not before all 7 games. The last thing I want to do is go back to AS-55 6 times a year to show my son where I once got a B on a psych exam...Do you really want to go see what Ryan Refectory looks like now? I tend to doubt it.

Did you go to the Michigan game in Ann Arbor? What did the fans do afterward? They went back to their car, had a beer, and went to dinner...at an off campus restaurant...the students went back to campus for on-campus events, but they were for students.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

I'm also not sure in all of this, how even with the storrs center project, the restaurants/bars/etc. are going to be able to support a day's worth for 15-20k fans. Storrs is getting better, but aside from BBall games, there really isn't much to do unless you're in to bars where your feet stick to the floor and jack daniels is considered top shelf liquor.

 

[Husky25]

I'm also not sure in all of this, how even with the storrs center project, the restaurants/bars/etc. are going to be able to support a day's worth for 15-20k fans. Storrs is getting better, but aside from BBall games, there really isn't much to do unless you're in to bars where your feet stick to the floor and jack daniels is considered top shelf liquor.

In all fairness, I haven't had a Dough in 14 years. Do they still make the Drop Zone?

 

[WhereistheDove?]

In all fairness, I haven't had a Dough in 14 years. Do they still make the Drop Zone?

I was never a fan. I'll be honest, eating any of the food options around UConn when you're sober and there are alternatives other than dining hall food... it's awful.

 

[Husky25]

I was never a fan. I'll be honest, eating any of the food options around UConn when you're sober and there are alternatives other than dining hall food... it's awful.

Never said I was sober, which brings me to another anti-nostalgia jag...

We used to drink Icehouse because it was cheap and we considered it a "dark" beer. I had an Icehouse at friend's house about 7 years ago (Yes, I was playing A, but it's okay. I was still in my 20's)...Do I really need to explain that I haven't had an Icehouse since and probably won't ever again? Some memories are such merely due to how much change you have in your pocket. Heck, we went through two 30 packs of Red Dog on National Championship night in April '99!!!

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Never said I was sober, which brings me to another anti-nostalgia jag...

We used to drink Icehouse because it was cheap and we considered it a "dark" beer. I had an Icehouse at friend's house about 7 years ago (Yes, I was playing A, but it's okay. I was still in my 20's)...Do I really need to explain that I haven't had an Icehouse since and probably won't ever again? Some memories are such merely due to how much change you have in your pocket. Heck, we went through two 30 packs of Red Dog on National Championship night in April '99!!!

Once you have a little extra change in your pocket, there is no going back. The stuff I ate and drank in college, I just can't even imagine doing that again... and I graduated in May.

 

[Husky25]

Your just a pup!!! Do you even know what Icehouse is? I feel really old now...

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Your just a pup!!! Do you even know what Icehouse is? I feel really old now...

I've seen it a couple times. Never drank it and it's definitely not one of the beers of choice in Storrs anymore.

 

[hexlub]

Your just a pup!!! Do you even know what Icehouse is? I feel really old now...

Ah. Remember the Ice Age? Ice House? Bud Ice? Genny Ice? Those were bad times.

 

[junglehusky]

Never said I was sober, which brings me to another anti-nostalgia jag...

We used to drink Icehouse because it was cheap and we considered it a "dark" beer. I had an Icehouse at friend's house about 7 years ago (Yes, I was playing A, but it's okay. I was still in my 20's)...Do I really need to explain that I haven't had an Icehouse since and probably won't ever again? Some memories are such merely due to how much change you have in your pocket. Heck, we went through two 30 packs of Red Dog on National Championship night in April '99!!!

I graduated in 98. Definitely had my share of Icehouse and Red Dog back then. I think I may have had some first year of grad school but never after that. I honestly don't remember what they taste like. Though once in a while I do get cheapo beers, Pabs, High Life, Miller Lite.

 

[huskymedic]

Clearly based on sportsart's comment earlier in the thread suggesting UConn should hire a new hockey coach and reference to Quinnipiac's recent hockey success. Of course, some schools recruit older players. Pecknold's noted for it more than the averages ...
'

Sorry... I meant original Sportarts post.

 

[upstater]

I don't know why I bother trying to introduce reality and logic to someone who insists on comparing the culture of Penn State to the culture of CT.

Enjoy your delusional alternative reality where unicorn blood cures cancer, and people who show up late, and leave early are going to spend all day on campus.

What a loser.

 

[pablos990411]

In the event any NASCAR or MLS officials are checking the message boards, I wanted to let them know we have a PERFECT stadium for either of their needs available ASAP.

Reasons why it is perfect:
1. It seats 40,000 people. This is ideal for MLS, where the average stadium built over the last 5 years seats between 18,000-24,000. Nothing screams big time soccer like a half empty stadium every week.
2. It seats 40,000 people. Average NASCAR attendance is nearly 100,000. We promise that even though 35-38k create mass chaos on the roadways leading into your track, 100,000 will fit quite nicely.
3. Geographic proximity. Ideal for MLS, as they ONLY have teams in Boston and New Jersey. If we learned nothing from the UFL, that market between the two is perfection personified.
4. Geographic proximity. NASCAR has Sprint Cup events in New Hampshire (Loudon), New York (Watkins Glen) and Pennsylvania (Poconos). We all know that the Northeast is the biggest target market for NASCAR. Insert solution.
5. Cost of renovations. For NASCAR, the stadium is far too small at this time. However, look at this as an opportunity to spend a ton of money to renovate nearly the entire stadium to add the track configuration and seating you'd need to make the track profitable.
6. Connecticut's history of selling-out sporting events. Ok, Ok, you've got us there, but we come pretty close! We rarely, if ever, sell out one of the smaller BCS Football stadiums in the country. Attendance for the most dominant Women's Basketball and one of the most dominant Men's Basketball teams have been in a steady decline as well. And the one professional team we've had? We had our diehards, but for the last decade, didn't eclipse averaging 12,000 fans until the final season, when a phony season ticket minimum was announced to keep the team. But we can assure you this is worth your significant investment! Both of you!

Please contact HFD with your offer. He's just looking to get out of the deal, so he'd prefer an offer in writing ASAP.

This is right on. Just a little effort and we can sell this stadium

 

[whaler11]

1. I don't know where you park(ed), but security rarely enforced the 1 hour rule unless there is no one on the access roads leading out.

#2, Well I've already addressed the on-campus dive bar and book stores fallacy. There are fewer and fewer "old memories" at UConn because of UConn 2000 and the new buildings. If one was to walk around campus to see how it has changed, they'll do it once, not before all 7 games. The last thing I want to do is go back to AS-55 6 times a year to show my son where I once got a B on a psych exam...Do you really want to go see what Ryan Refectory looks like now? I tend to doubt it.

Did you go to the Michigan game in Ann Arbor? What did the fans do afterward? They went back to their car, had a beer, and went to dinner...at an off campus restaurant...the students went back to campus for on-campus events, but they were for students.

After the Michigan game I sat in traffic for hours to get back to the hotel.

 

[Husky25]

We parked at the lumber yard...easy out. Went to dinner at a local off campus burger joint. Michigan fans were very gracious in victory. In hindsight it may have been more like, "Aaawww, look how cute. They think they can hang with us on the field."

 

[FfldCntyFan]

thanks. i like the idea i guess. im just not sold on the way the system is setup. i guess my question is how much exposure can uconn sports get from it as i dont see the connection really being made. but overall a + for the school.

This is purely a guess on my part but I see this as step one in a move towards turning all satellite branches into stand alone schools (eventually UConn-Stamford to UConn will be similar UNC-Charlotte to UNC or Nebraska-Omaha to Nebraska). This (removal of the satellite branches from UConn's overall academic rating) will significantly improve our rankings when compared to other major public universities.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

You assume everyone just wants to come for the game. People make a day of it.

Bingo.

One of the biggest problems with our current situation is that (with for a stadium the size of ours) a football game is an all day event (if you live close enough, it would be a nearly all day event). A very large part of our attendees see it as something that should be only a slighter longer time investment than a basketball game in Hartford. The number of hours the parking lots are open do not help this as it would be far easier for our ticket holders to make this an all day event if they could begin their tailgating (as many other schools allow) a couple of hours earlier than we are allowed and to remain after the game a few hours longer than the Rent currently permits.

If we do become as large as many of us aspire to (needing a stadium nearly double the Rent's current capacity, regardless of where this venue is located), a contingent ~ 150% the size of the current ticket holders will need to view it as an even longer all day event (there are lots at WVU that start receiving tailgaters at 5:00 am for noon kickoffs, allowing those willing to hit the road very early in the morning the benefit of avoiding at least some of the traffic) while the remaing continget (~ 50% of what we currently have) would need to view it aas more than a one day event (this would requre RV lots that allow two or three day utilization and better hotel presence in the vicinity of the stadium).

Under the right conditions I would have no issues with an on-campus, 70K+ seat stadium (which ideally should be our ultimate goal, for when our football program approaches the level of relevance our basketball programs have reached) but we are a generation (if not more) from being in a position where this would make any sense. We would need to have ~ 20k people (I would be one of them) willing to take Fridays off to drive up to Storrs for the weekend to attend a saturday game. We would need another ~25K willing to depart between 2:00 am - 3:00 am to get to their parking lots before too much traffic hit and the remaining ~ 20k (other seats filled by students & visitors) willing and able to depart ~5:00 am - 6:00 am (depending on their distance from campus) and endure the heavy traffic in order to get to the game with enough time for a small tailgate before kickoff and a larger one afterwards. Today, a situation such as this would cost us about half of those who attend games in East Hartford as too many would view what they get out of the time investment as being not worth the effort.

 

[upstater]

After the Michigan game I sat in traffic for hours to get back to the hotel.

I lived in Ann Arbor for two years. You can't compare it to Storrs, since the on-campus/off-capus divide doesn't exist. City roads cut through the middle of campus. It's urban in that sense. You're sitting in a private establishment next to campus buildings. But yes, though there are big traffic problems on gameday, people hang out at restaurants, etc.