The back story on Rutgers to Big 10 ( plans to capitalize on NY-NJ market)

[CL82]

A 60,000 seat stadium in Storrs. It's at least an extra hour round trip with no traffic. It would be a minimum hour in and hour out without spending hundreds of millions on roads.

We probably have one of the five best stadiums in the country as far as access and traffic. Why give people a reason to not attend because traffic sucks.

Even Rutgers told the Big 10 that a new stadium was a 'non-starter'. It's right in the article.

The people who live there don't want it, the legislature would freak abandoning a stadium that isn't even a decade old yet. Nobody lives there and it's nothing but extra time and distance to drive. You might as well just ask people not to come.

Could not disagree more. I think being on campus would improve attendance, and as noted above, getting in and out won't be that much of an issue since the traffic would be more 'feathered' since hanging around is more attractive.

 

[huskymedic]

Disagree. You have to take a lot of small roads (or a boat, which is great if you ever get the chance.) Yet somehow they manage to get people in and out of their stadiums without it being a disaster. How do they do it? Well for Army people come early and leave late and spend the day on campus. It is a family atmosphere and great place to see a game. On campus stadiums tend to be tough to get to. It is manageable, especially with the new downtown Storrs development. It is a moot issue, to be sure, but if it wasn't we'd figure it out. (Rutgers turns roads into two lanes in one direct to speed people out, for instance.) By the way, I like the Rent. I'd rather it was bigger and on campus but it is a nice facility.

Where did West Point come into the discussion? You lost me.

... And Rutgers uses light rail and shuttle busses from the other campus. Hey - maybe we can re-route the New Britain to Htfd busway?

 

[Fishy]

Where did West Point come into the discussion? You lost me.

... And Rutgers uses light rail and shuttle busses from the other campus. Hey - maybe we can re-route the New Britain to Htfd busway?

He used West Point as an example of an on campus stadium and why it works despite very limited ingress and egress. You'd have to drive there to understand it.

I feel as if some of these threads develop without any regard for the obvious.....there is zero chance that the state is going to let UConn build an on-campus stadium. They didn't build the Rent so they could have a place to have flea markets on fall Saturdays.

 

[huskymedic]

He used West Point as an example of an on campus stadium and why it works despite very limited ingress and egress. You'd have to drive there to understand it.

I feel as if some of these threads develop without any regard for the obvious.....there is zero chance that the state is going to let UConn build an on-campus stadium. They didn't build the Rent so they could have a place to have flea markets on fall Saturdays.

I guess I was trying to figure out his transition since he disagreed with me and i never brought Michie/West Point into the discussion. I have been there and agree, but somehow i don't equate West Point and Storrs as the same game day destination.. Michie is also the same size as the Rent and the proposed on campus venue would be larger by ?20k.

I agree it's a moot point Fishy, that's why I'm amazed that it keeps coming up and my self control to ignore it dissipates.

 

[whaler11]

Could not disagree more. I think being on campus would improve attendance, and as noted above, getting in and out won't be that much of an issue since the traffic would be more 'feathered' since hanging around is more attractive.

You have not lived in Connecticut for 40 years I guess. Do people hang around after games at Gampel or do they leave on fire halfway through the second half.

I honestly can't believe this is an argument. People barely show up in East Hartford. Make it further away and fewer show up. This could not be an easier concept.

 

[whaler11]

West Point is a great example. I've been there twice for UConn games. It's an amazing scene. I love the idea of going there some Saturday that UConn is off. Yet getting there and parking and leaving is such a nightmare I don't ever do it.

 

[uconnric]

On campus stadiums are generally great, but putting a stadium in Storrs would be a big mistake and we'd lose attendance. Don't even know why its a topic for discussion because the stadium is already built.

 

[uconNYC]

I think an on-campus stadium is a non starter. Besides B1G schools would love the Rent as it provides easy access for their alumni living between Boston and New York City. I actually think we would be one of the most convenient and popular destination for B1G away fans.


Just as a hypothetical - if UConn were to move football to campus, the Rent should really try to lure an MLS team. Even though the team is owned by Bob Kraft, I know the New England Revolution are really trying to find a better stadium situation for their team. Gillette is too big, has artificial turf and hipsters in Boston have not bought into that team.

 

[MTHusky]

I think an on-campus stadium is a non starter. Besides B1G schools would love the Rent as it provides easy access for their alumni living between Boston and New York City. I actually think we would be one of the most convenient and popular destination for B1G away fans.


Just as a hypothetical - if UConn were to move football to campus, the Rent should really try to lure an MLS team. Even though the team is owned by Bob Kraft, I know the New England Revolution are really trying to find a better stadium situation for their team. Gillette is too big, has artificial turf and hipsters in Boston have not bought into that team.

Let's work with the ownership of the Pats again, not!! Don't you remember the last time we tried that, with moving THE Pats to CT?

 

[Waquoit]

West Point is a great example. I've been there twice for UConn games. It's an amazing scene. I love the idea of going there some Saturday that UConn is off. Yet getting there and parking and leaving is such a nightmare I don't ever do it.

Exactly. Once every five years is about right.

 

[SubbaBub]

No doubt on campus would be an atmosphere plus... But how long would the required roadway infrastructure take to get approval? My guess w/ environmentalists and local opposition 5+ years (yet alone the funding).

Planned campus extension to RTE 44 has been in development for going on 25 years. YMMV.

I doubt there is room on the main campus for a stadium that size plus parking.

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[CL82]

I guess I was trying to figure out his transition since he disagreed with me and i never brought Michie/West Point into the discussion. I have been there and agree, but somehow i don't equate West Point and Storrs as the same game day destination.. Michie is also the same size as the Rent and the proposed on campus venue would be larger by ?20k.

I agree it's a moot point Fishy, that's why I'm amazed that it keeps coming up and my self control to ignore it dissipates.

Wait, I thought you were the one who brought it up....anyway, I agree it is a moot point, but it is "doable." Another example is Rutgers which has a miserable entrance road. On the way out they close the incoming lanes so that both lanes can be outbound. There are other examples but the point is you don't need a highway coming right up to a stadium enterance to make it viable.

You have not lived in Connecticut for 40 years I guess. Do people hang around after games at Gampel or do they leave on fire halfway through the second half.

I honestly can't believe this is an argument. People barely show up in East Hartford. Make it further away and fewer show up. This could not be an easier concept.

40 years? You'd be guessing wrong.

Basketball vs. football are an apples to oranges comparison. People don't tailgate for basketball games. It is a different culture. Turn out might well improve at a destination location rather than a landing strip and a Cabelas.

Again, I like the Rent and I know that there is no chance that we are building a second stadium in the foreseeable future, but egress isn't an insurmontable problem, in my opinion.

 

[CL82]

Planned campus extension to RTE 44 has been in development for going on 25 years. YMMV.

I doubt there is room on the main campus for a stadium that size plus parking.

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Horsebarn Hill? Husky Hill (the old ski slope?)

 

[auggie22]

Planned campus extension to RTE 44 has been in development for going on 25 years. YMMV.

I doubt there is room on the main campus for a stadium that size plus parking.

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Storrs campus is comprised of nearly 3500 contiguous acres of which about a 1/3 is developed or actively used for agricultural research. Contrast that with the University of Alabama which has just under 2000 acres total...and they manage to squeeze in a pretty nice stadium with parking.

In the master plan for north campus, there are huge portions of flat, buildable land set aside as "farmland preservation". While I don't think we will see a stadium on campus (unfortunately), it will not be because there is no room for a stadium and parking.

 

[SubbaBub]

Could not disagree more. I think being on campus would improve attendance, and as noted above, getting in and out won't be that much of an issue since the traffic would be more 'feathered' since hanging around is more attractive.

Football traffic would make Gampel traffic look like Zombieland.

 

[SubbaBub]

Storrs campus is comprised of nearly 3500 contiguous acres of which about a 1/3 is developed or actively used for agricultural research. Contrast that with the University of Alabama which has just under 2000 acres total...and they manage to squeeze in a pretty nice stadium with parking.

In the master plan for north campus, there are huge portions of flat, buildable land set aside as "farmland preservation". While I don't think we will see a stadium on campus (unfortunately), it will not be because there is no room for a stadium and parking.

Most of that land is either unbuildable (for a variety of reasons), needed for the Ag School, or just too difficult and expensive to modify. Trust me, I know what I'm saying here. The North Campus is about 330 acres and the buildout agreed to with the Army Corps and DEEP is all that will be allowed.

 

[The Funster]

The thing that jumped out to me is that MD and Rutgers aren't getting a full share of the $$$ for six years. I wonder if it's a sliding scale or a set % for the six years. Six years is a loooooong time, IMO.

 

[CL82]

Football traffic would make Gampel traffic look like Zombieland.

If everyone comes at the same time, perhaps, but that almost certaintly would not be the case.

 

[CL82]

Most of that land is either unbuildable (for a variety of reasons), needed for the Ag School, or just too difficult and expensive to modify. Trust me, I know what I'm saying here. The North Campus is about 330 acres and the buildout agreed to with the Army Corps and DEEP is all that will be allowed.

I don't think so since the Pfizer building was going to built there.

 

[buggsy]

I went to Piscataway this year. Their ferocity was no greater than ours at the better games at the Rent in past years, and that's with the 10K+ Rutty has (stadium wasn't filled either, btw).

Come on man. That's an outright lie. UCONN's gameday experience, as described by many of your own fans...pales in comparison to Rutgers. It's not even close, really.

 

[SubbaBub]

I don't think so since the Pfizer building was going to built there.

And yet it wasn't. Neither were several other proposed developments.

As for traffic, the development plan that was approved maxes out the capacity of 195.

It's not that it can't be done but, it ridiculously cost prohibitive that it would never be done. As I've said half jokingly in previous posts on this topic, it would be cheaper to move the campus to East Hartford.

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[whaler11]

If everyone comes at the same time, perhaps, but that almost certaintly would not be the case.

When a game is at noon on a Saturday how can everyone not come at the same time?

To tailgate for 3 hours before a noon game in Storrs and see the kickoff you'd have to leave Hartford at 7:30 and Fairfield at 6:30 under the best traffic conditions.

It's a great fantasy.

 

[CL82]

When a game is at noon on a Saturday how can everyone not come at the same time?

To tailgate for 3 hours before a noon game in Storrs and see the kickoff you'd have to leave Hartford at 7:30 and Fairfield at 6:30 under the best traffic conditions.

It's a great fantasy.

6:30 am on a Saturday it's no more than an hour and half from Fairfield to Storrs, so you'd arrive by 8 for 4 hours of tailgating. But here's the deal a lot of people might be okay leaving at 7:30 or 8:30 or even 9:30 or god forbid 10am, thus the feathering of traffic.

I agree that it is a moot point. I just don't get why some on this board, get so rabid about it being impossible, often being a little creative to make it that way. Most other schools have on campus stadiums and somehow still manage to have a football program. Somehow I suspect that we could as well. Again, we won't but it could be done.

 

[whaler11]

6:30 am on a Saturday it's no more than an hour and half from Fairfield to Storrs, so you'd arrive by 8 for 4 hours of tailgating. But here's the deal a lot of people might be okay leaving at 7:30 or 8:30 or even 9:30 or god forbid 10am, thus the feathering of traffic.

I agree that it is a moot point. I just don't get why some on this board, get so rabid about it being impossible, often being a little creative to make it that way. Most other schools have on campus stadiums and somehow still manage to have a football program. Somehow I suspect that we could as well. Again, we won't but it could be done.

It's an hour and a half with no traffic. No traffic is a fantasy. You also won't stop tailgating and magically be transported to your seat. 6:30 to park at 8:30 to walk in at 11:30 gives you three hours and assumes you park in a timely fashion.


I don't know why some can look at our fanbase and how they attend games, consider the state demographics and determine it's in the programs best interest to move the games to an isolated geography far from the population and income base.

An isolated geography that has no interest in the change, no current infrastructure and tosses away the money spent on a stadium that isn't even 10 years old.

 

[huskypantz]

I know the campus stadium would be optimal, but I'm hoping that the development of the land around the Rent can get some traction in the next couple of years. It doesn't have to be Patriot's Place, but if it was man that would be sweet.

 

[Jarhead_1775]

I know the campus stadium would be optimal, but I'm hoping that the development of the land around the Rent can get some traction in the next couple of years. It doesn't have to be Patriot's Place, but if it was man that would be sweet.

The plans for a blueback square type place with residential units thrown in is still on the books, just died because the economy took a . Cabelas was the kickoff. Part of it included highway improvements.

 

[SubbaBub]

6:30 am on a Saturday it's no more than an hour and half from Fairfield to Storrs, so you'd arrive by 8 for 4 hours of tailgating. But here's the deal a lot of people might be okay leaving at 7:30 or 8:30 or even 9:30 or god forbid 10am, thus the feathering of traffic.

I agree that it is a moot point. I just don't get why some on this board, get so rabid about it being impossible, often being a little creative to make it that way. Most other schools have on campus stadiums and somehow still manage to have a football program. Somehow I suspect that we could as well. Again, we won't but it could be done.

I've seen the math.

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[huskymedic]

I've seen the math.

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Did it include the Monorail from the Casinos??

 

[huskypantz]

Did it include the Monorail from the Casinos??

Brockway, Ogdenville and North Haverbrook have monorails and by gum, it put them on the map.