I'm not sure what your post has to do with mine. No number of wins is going to get us an on-campus stadium. The only way UConn might get an on-campus stadium is if a P4 conference made it a requirement for an invitation, and even then CT would probably find a way to mess it up.
So, let's look at the new various stadiums. SMU holds 32k, Cincy has been expanded to 40k, Houston is 40k, UCF is 44.2k, and the new USF stadium is 35k. The Rent is ~40k and can had 42.7k for the Michigan game. The Rent did not hold back UConn getting a P5/4 invite, but the play of the field and the lack of football history did.
The bottom line is the stadium is in the East Hartford wasteland. Programs fly to CT and all they see are Bradley and Retnschler Field. It's college football. Not abandoned airfield football. The stadiums you mentioned are all nice on-campus stadiums which is a far superior model than ours. That's just the way it is.
Back when the stadium opened and we were winning 8-10 games regularly and playing solid programs, that stadium was packed. It sure felt like a college stadium to me. I sat in the student section when Tyler Placko false started or had a delay of game 3 straight downs from their own 20 because the student section was so loud. Winning cures all. Win and the fans come back and your stadium that you keep complaining about will feel like a college stadium again.
Sure the games are fun and tailgating is top notch. I suppose you could poll students who don't go to many games because of the distance. Students who don't go to games but might if they were on campus. Alumni who haven't been to the campus in years. You don't have to agree that an on-campus stadium would be far better than East Hartford. But the proof is in the vast majority of college campuses which have stadiums on campus and use those stadiums all the time.
It has been said that the ease of getting from Bradley to the stadium is a plus for visiting teams.
Those Rent supporters are ambitious. I am sure college football players are all about the bus ride from the airport to the stadium. It's all about the bus ride. In fact UMass is considering building a new stadium not on campus but in Agawam to be closer to Bradley. and 6 Flags.
It has nothing to do with the football players. It has to do with those who are scheduling games.
haha. come on. the ride from Bradley to East Harford has zero to do with anything. at least if we are talking DI football.
My brother has a house in New Fairfield on one and an half acre, the house is modest but it was recently appraised at $1.2 Mil. New Fairfield is not cheap, especially if you’re anywhere near Lake Candlewood.
Meh, they'll just hijack another thread with the same fever dream pink unicorn search.
Of course, that easy drive from the airport "isn't getting us into a P4" either.
Odd. ITS never mentioned by any of their ADs publically we had become in a linear fashion a bad football program as a measure of our commitment to football but the stadium the stadium. It's where they have the stadium that's holding back their votes. 7-8 wins a year and this would be a nothing burger.
I'm not sure that seven or eight wins a year will make a difference one way or the other. If we get invited to a P4 it is unlikely that will be because they need us to improve the quality of their football. It it will, in all likelihood, be due to some geographic or demographic reason which improves the target conference's overall financial health. In the case of the big 12, it may, in fact, be due to the strength of our basketball programs, which, would be ironic.
I know you know but for clarification for the casual fans: The State of Connecticut owns Pratt & Whitney Stadium.
This is really the gist. At some point it will require much much more investment. If a P4 invite comes then we need a much better stadium in either location. It would make more sense if there were another tenant or two to share the cost and usage but for one football program, it's a very expensive proposition. We can all agree the stadium is fine. For P4 we would need expansion and a great deal of improvements. If we stay G5 or <gulp> go FCS, then smaller and better makes sense.
Yep. It's owned by the state, but managed by the CDRA who hire Oak View Group to be management company for the management company. Ironically, I think it's a part of the Office of Policy and Management. Apparently running the football stadium requires three layers of management.
They were getting 30k crowds well into Diaco's third season after a 6-win season the year before. Not fielding competitive football will always be the problem.
www.sportsbusinessjournal.com
Have to wonder how much further drag on progress a new President search and a new AD Search at the same time will cause: Trustees approve updated USF stadium plan, paving the way for full construction to move forward
The visiting teams like coming to UConn. Bradley, 45 minutes to East Hartford decent stadium. Out and back on plane an hour after the game.
27 minutes with no traffic.
