Stadium on campus? | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Stadium on campus?

Chin Diesel said:
Industrial Tract and the southern location near the rest of the athletics make the most sense to me. I'd listen to arguments made for either location, and if I had a vote on it, wouldn't put up much of fight between the two. Horsebarn hill seems like more of a stretch.
Industrial Tract has more existing parking nearby a proposed stadium and is closer to the arteries leading to the major roads.
The southern location would be more of a collegiate feel as more fans would be going through Storrs (Downtown? Proper? Central?) and around the other athletic facilities.
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This is exactly the way I see it Chin.

If we were to build in the vicinity of Horse Barn Hill, I would do it in the woods behind it so that none of the existing fields are disrupted. Could you imagine having to drive through those to get to the stadium? It would be beautiful and unique.

That said, the athletic campus makes the most sense to me. I really like the concept of having all the buildings together. It is in close proximity to Burton and Shankman. You could use the stadium parking lots as overflow lots for baseball and hockey. It's the site that makes the most sense. They're also were environmental studies done there when we built Toscano, and there were no environmental problems at the site. Finally, if I recall correctly, that particular site requires no approvals from Mansfield. It seems like a winner all the way around.

The industrial tract site has shorter access access to 44, but if you made Calhoun Way, Hillside Avenue and discovery Drive one way in before the games and one way out after the games I think you could move traffic fairly quickly off-campus.
 
huskidork said:
on campus stadium talks until the Big 12 votes against us? god I hope I'm wrong
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Where have you been? They already voted, it’s a done deal, only thing still up in the air is how long does football have to wait for a full share. The only thing that could kill it is UConn’s BOT don’t like the terms and THEY vote against it.
 
politics said:
There would be no finer spot for a picturesque Michie Stadium-ish structure than Horsebarn Hill. Can you imagine the blimp/drone shots in October? .... but, the anti-any development of any kind (and anti-sports) forces will mobilize quicker than Seal Team 6 as they have time and time again. Nothing nastier than an army of Edith Pragues (RIP).
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Horsebarn Hill would be perfect but will never happen. The site on the depot campus I posted would be equally as beautiful and have multiple access points
 
Platt81 said:
There is no reality in the near term future an on campus stadium is considered. Rentschler has decades of life left and the state isn’t going to abandon it, let’s just be realistic. Adding capacity as it was designed for would be a definite possibility as well as some upgrades, but when the team competes and names people care about come in it’s a great atmosphere. It’s those two components that have made it a ghost town the last decade, when West Virginia and Baylor start coming back again, so do the fans.
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I don't think the B12 leadership is going to be impressed with an off-campus stadium unless a pro football team plays there. The Rent was a bad idea from the start. Also, an on-campus stadium would allow uconn to have a single site for graduation ceremonies. Central CT State Univ can take the Rent over. They deserve a boost in their football program.
 
Dream Jobbed 2.0 said:
Horsebarn Hill would be perfect but will never happen. The site on the depot campus I posted would be equally as beautiful and have multiple access points
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A stadium at the depot campus could be really beautiful with plenty of room for tailgating, a separate RV lot etc. The only downside is that it is off-campus. If we are going to go through the expense of building and on campus stadium, we should actually build it… on campus.
 
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Dream Jobbed 2.0 said:
Horsebarn Hill would be perfect but will never happen. The site on the depot campus I posted would be equally as beautiful and have multiple access points
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Too far to walk for the students and employees, and Mora and his crew, campus police would hate it, everyone would have to drive to it. Ingress and egress would be a nightmare. Horsebarn Hill is the obvious choice for an on campus stadium, the question is how big, does it have a north/south alignment, who do they name it after, etc.
 
LoyalFanCT said:
I don't think the B12 leadership is going to be impressed with an off-campus stadium unless a pro football team plays there. The Rent was a bad idea from the start. Also, an on-campus stadium would allow uconn to have a single site for graduation ceremonies. Central CT State Univ can take the Rent over. They deserve a boost in their football program.
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I frankly don’t think B12 leadership cares about location. It’s 20 minutes from the airport and has more accommodations closer to the venue. I think from a logistics standpoint they would prefer its location, but would require upgrades to capacity and amenities. I think it’s vastly overthought about by people here that want it on campus.
 
Platt81 said:
There is no reality in the near term future an on campus stadium is considered. Rentschler has decades of life left and the state isn’t going to abandon it, let’s just be realistic. Adding capacity as it was designed for would be a definite possibility as well as some upgrades, but when the team competes and names people care about come in it’s a great atmosphere. It’s those two components that have made it a ghost town the last decade, when West Virginia and Baylor start coming back again, so do the fans.
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What planet are you from?
 
politics said:
There would be no finer spot for a picturesque Michie Stadium-ish structure than Horsebarn Hill. Can you imagine the blimp/drone shots in October? .... but, the anti-any development of any kind (and anti-sports) forces will mobilize quicker than Seal Team 6 as they have time and time again. Nothing nastier than an army of Edith Pragues (RIP).
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… and environmentalist. The juice won’t be worth the squeeze. I can’t see Horsebarn Hill being a relative option.

Home | UConn Forest

Welcome to the UConn Forest The UConn Forest consists of 2100 acres of forest land distributed among parcels of various sizes in the Storrs-Mansfield vicini ...
forest.uconn.edu forest.uconn.edu
 
CONN78SEJ said:
What planet are you from?
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One based in reality. We aren’t even 24 hours removed from “maybe” joining the Big XII and people on here are ready to drop $1 billion like we’re being handed a blank check. It’s not like this potential move is happening and we’re still playing in Memorial.
 
CL82 said:
The site I showed in the graphic above in the athletic campus requires no approvals from Mansfield residents.
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I was involved in lobbying many years ago at state capitol as a former football guy! Unfortunately the town of Mansfield put up barriers, traffic etc for about 6 weekends a year! Short sighted... they have the land from Huskies to the North, you'd walk by the Alumni Center toward the stadium!
Just think of this: Alums on campus,hotel or 3, food sales etc etc! Great for the economy of the area, my son went to PSU, there were a few great condos in the that alums would own , make it a 3 day weekend on campus, take in a show at Jorgensen, nice restaurants, no fore sight! I now live outside CT , would love to bring Grandies to a weekend, worth the travel to show them where I went! UConn alum would support it! And it would help small businesses immensely!
 
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Platt81 said:
One based in reality. We aren’t even 24 hours removed from “maybe” joining the Big XII and people on here are ready to drop $1 billion like we’re being handed a blank check. It’s not like this potential move is happening and we’re still playing in Memorial.
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You want reality? Why don’t you go into your front yard and start drawing a perfectly plumb and straight line and keep going until you’ve come back to where you started from. :rolleyes:
 
CONN78SEJ said:
You want reality? Why don’t you go into your front yard and start drawing a perfectly plumb and straight line and keep going until you’ve come back to where you started from. :rolleyes:
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I don’t have a front yard, that’s not a feature on planet reality.
 
Platt81 said:
I frankly don’t think B12 leadership cares about location. It’s 20 minutes from the airport and has more accommodations closer to the venue. I think from a logistics standpoint they would prefer its location, but would require upgrades to capacity and amenities. I think it’s vastly overthought about by people here that want it on campus.
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This is actually a possibility. It's logical and pragmatic, particularly from their perspective as visiting teams. Based upon the comments that I read in our two prior flirtations with them, though, I don't think that it's the case.
 
Platt81 said:
There is no reality in the near term future an on campus stadium is considered. Rentschler has decades of life left and the state isn’t going to abandon it, let’s just be realistic. Adding capacity as it was designed for would be a definite possibility as well as some upgrades, but when the team competes and names people care about come in it’s a great atmosphere. It’s those two components that have made it a ghost town the last decade, when West Virginia and Baylor start coming back again, so do the fans.
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The only real problem with the Rent is it’s not close to campus and I agree that, with upgrades, it’s got at least 20 years life left in it. So I think the stadium itself is up to power conference standards but not ideal because of where it’s located. I just don’t get why the B12 presidents would care about Uconn student access to the Rent (the B1G doesn’t seem to to care about UCLA’s)

And yet reports are that any B12 agreement will be contingent on certain Uconn financial commitments to football. What else is that about if it’s not about a new stadium?
 
huskymedic said:
… and environmentalist. The juice won’t be worth the squeeze. I can’t see Horsebarn Hill being a relative option.

Home | UConn Forest

Welcome to the UConn Forest The UConn Forest consists of 2100 acres of forest land distributed among parcels of various sizes in the Storrs-Mansfield vicini ...
forest.uconn.edu forest.uconn.edu
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It could be really stunning, but I agree it's never going to happen. It's far more pragmatic to build in the athletic campus a short walk from Burton and Shenkman.
 
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Kowalski said:
The only real problem with the Rent is it’s not close to campus and I agree that, with upgrades, it’s got at least 20 years life left in it.
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Agreed, though I would say 20 more years at most, not at least. The question is will the state legislature want to pay the, let's call it, 175 million, to upgrade the Rent or would they rather put that toward a brand new stadium in Storrs which will have a useful life of at least 30 years? I don't know the answer to that.

Rentschler Field is a great place to see a game, though. They're literally is not a bad seat in the house and tailgating is great. As you point out, it's biggest flaw, other than its age and need for updates, is 30 minutes too far West.
 
Kowalski said:
The only real problem with the Rent is it’s not close to campus and I agree that, with upgrades, it’s got at least 20 years life left in it. So I think the stadium itself is up to power conference standards but not ideal because of where it’s located. I just don’t get why the B12 presidents would care about Uconn student access to the Rent (the B1G doesn’t seem to to care about UCLA’s)

And yet reports are that any B12 agreement will be contingent on certain Uconn financial commitments to football. What else is that about if it’s not about a new stadium?
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Salaries for coaching staffs, commitment to a certain number for NIL.
 
As an EO alum and Mansfield resident, I’m all for the on-campus stadium.
Putting it at EO Smith isn’t ideal, though. EO Smith contributes to the business in downtown Storrs (both customers and employees). For a facility that would likely only get used 6 times a year + practices, I’d rather it not take up the prime real estate in the center of Storrs and push out EO Smith to Depot, which is basically the middle of nowhere.

Discovery Drive is the most ideal place. A little bit on the outskirts of campus while still being walkable from the center of campus, plenty of land, and about as easy of access to Route 44+195 as you can get. I’ve heard from locals there might be zoning issues there with wetlands, but there’s so much land there and they’ve already started to develop there, I’d have to imagine there’s space for a stadium.
 
Kowalski said:
The only real problem with the Rent is it’s not close to campus and I agree that, with upgrades, it’s got at least 20 years life left in it. So I think the stadium itself is up to power conference standards but not ideal because of where it’s located. I just don’t get why the B12 presidents would care about Uconn student access to the Rent (the B1G doesn’t seem to to care about UCLA’s)

And yet reports are that any B12 agreement will be contingent on certain Uconn financial commitments to football. What else is that about if it’s not about a new stadium?
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It not a college game day atmosphere, it’s 25,000 people from the Hartford area, middle aged and older pretending for the last 25 years they’re going to an NFL game just so they can tailgate. That’s the reality!!! Robert Kraft played the whole state of CT all those years ago and when he got what he really wanted in Foxboro he left, and the result is the circus you see today. Also, maybe the Big 12 wouldn’t care about UConn having it’s stadium in East Hartford if the football program had already won 17 conference championships like UCLA has.
 
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RayIsTheGOAT said:
As an EO alum and Mansfield resident, I’m all for the on-campus stadium.
Putting it at EO Smith isn’t ideal, though. EO Smith contributes to the business in downtown Storrs (both customers and employees). For a facility that would likely only get used 6 times a year + practices, I’d rather it not take up the prime real estate in the center of Storrs and push out EO Smith to Depot, which is basically the middle of nowhere.

Discovery Drive is the most ideal place. A little bit on the outskirts of campus while still being walkable from the center of campus, plenty of land, and aboutbrill as easy of access to Route 44+195 as you can get. I’ve heard from locals there might be zoning issues there with wetlands, but there’s so much land there and they’ve already started to develop there, I’d have to imagine there’s space for a stadium.
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RayIsTheGoat is brilliant! I ask any of you just to take a drive on Discovery Drive if you are not familiar with the location. You will quickly see why it would be a great site for a college FB stadium.
 
JMick said:
The sooner everyone involved with UConn stops caring about what the townies think, the better.
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I actually tend to agree with this statement.

Of course, I would never want the University to publicly come out and say that but... People who live nearby have to know that they live in a college town. Yes putting a stadium on campus would increase traffic, congestion, etc. but honestly, 6-8 home games per year? Not the end of the world. My only concern would be the 1 lane roads - question - is it possible that they could build a 6 lane highway to and from the campus linking it to the other highway system? THAT would be a huge undertaking, but maybe something to consider for ease of getting to and from campus...

AS for the locals, you don't like the increase in activity, traffic, etc., then move. That sounds harsh I know. But before that even happens, I would expect the university and developers to have many discussions with the townsfolk to talk about all the benefits of expansion. Really try outreach to help people realize how great growth would be for the town/area, etc.

I would also hope that an on campus stadium would help increase the need for local businesses - restaurants, shops, etc. Start turning Storrs in to a bustling college town. People have talked about other college campuses - and how incredible the "college town" atmosphere is. Would love to see sleepy Storrs (Snorrs) become something more vibrant.

When i went to UConn (graduated 1987), it was pretty much a donut shop, Store 24, and maybe a few other small businesses. It's already gotten way better, and would be great to exponentially ramp that up.
 
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EricLA said:
I actually tend to agree with this statement.

Of course, I would never want the University to publicly come out and say that but... People who live nearby have to know that they live in a college town. Yes putting a stadium on campus would increase traffic, congestion, etc. but honestly, 6-8 home games per year? Not the end of the world. My only concern would be the 1 lane roads - question - is it possible that they could build a 6 lane highway to and from the campus linking it to the other highway system? THAT would be a huge undertaking, but maybe something to consider for ease of getting to and from campus...

AS for the locals, you don't like the increase in activity, traffic, etc., then move. That sounds harsh I know. But before that even happens, I would expect the university and developers to have many discussions with the townsfolk to talk about all the benefits of expansion. Really try outreach to help people realize how great growth would be for the town/area, etc.

I would also hope that an on campus stadium would help increase the need for local businesses - restaurants, shops, etc. Start turning Storrs in to a bustling college town. People have talked about other college campuses - and how incredible the "college town" atmosphere is. Would love to see sleepy Storrs (Snorrs) become something more vibrant.

When i went to UConn (graduated 1987), it was pretty much a donut shop, Store 24, and maybe a few other small businesses. It's already gotten way better, and would be great to exponentially ramp that up.
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I’m with you. Unfortunately my fellow townies who do not care about sports do not share this sentiment.
Storrs is absolutely trending in the right direction. Just look at what it is now compared to 15 years ago. I wish the buildings were made of brick and less like a plastic Hollywood movie set, but we’ll take what we can get I guess.
I would love for it to be a bustling college town with more a night scene in Storrs downtown. It’s just still so sleepy. I wish it could be more like Church Street in Burlington VT. And we can do that without sacrificing the beautiful landscape and forestry that I/other townies love around here.
 
RayIsTheGOAT said:
Discovery Drive is the most ideal place
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I'd list that as the number two choice behind the athletics campus but before Horse Barn Hill. The downside is the distance from Burton and Shenkman and the fact that building on Discovery Drive would require approvals from the town of Mansfield. Given their history, I think we could expect a concerted effort to slow down the project by NIMBYism. To the best of my belief, no approval by Mansfield is necessary to build in the athletic campus.
 
CL82 said:
I'd list that as the number two choice behind the athletics campus but before Horse Barn Hill. The downside is the distance from Burton and Shenkman and the fact that building on Discovery Drive would require approvals from the town of Mansfield. Given their history, I think we could expect a concerted effort to slow down the project by NIMBYism. To the best of my belief, no approval by Mansfield is necessary to build in the athletic campus.
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You're the man. Just went back to your post on page one and that site behind the athletic campus does seem ideal.......other than not having a great view from a hill top.

We often left that way from home games at Gampel to get to 32 and it really is easy. Make some road upgrades on campus and 32 and 44 and no one.........check that, it's Mansfield...... could complain.
 
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