You're right -- I don't know for sure. However, given what I know about Collins, who seems like an intelligent, capable coach, I find it much easier to believe that he isn't being entirely truthful when he talks about the facilities than to believe that he is an idiot.
Growing more disgusted about facilities
- Thread starter Sec.112
- Start date
You're right -- I don't know for sure. However, given what I know about Collins, who seems like an intelligent, capable coach, I find it much easier to believe that he isn't being entirely truthful when he talks about the facilities than to believe that he is an idiot.
I'm using your quote NJCat, but this applies to everyone:
So let me get this straight, now that the football facility is getting started you can't complain and spread lies that it'll never get done, so instead you're going to be upset that we're huge money into football while making comparatively modest changes to basketball?
No. What I was referring to was anger that the basketball facilities suck, which they do. I was trying to inject a dose of reality by explaining that NU is already investing a quarter of a billion dollars, which is terrific, and to expect to invest any more in the near future is unrealistic. Frankly, I think NU made the right choice. The Lakeside facilities benefit the majority of athletes and also the general student population. Basketball and wrestling and baseball and softball will get their turn later.
You're right, RCF. Let's continue a decades-long practice at NU and just ignore the issue as well as the poor decision that will have basketball digging up from under the same rock in 2025.
We'll also:
a) Ignore the fundraising challenges NU has faced during this whole process.
b) Pretend that the football facility is actually "getting started" and that a school official did not confirm to the Tribune that there is no timetable on construction of the building ... less than one month ago.
c) Try not to discuss that "sources" told the Tribune in 2014 "the two-building complex will begin by early 2015."
d) Hope it's not true that Fitz was telling recruits in 2012 that he "hopes" the building opens in 2014.
No problem with the decisions or timetables here. Everything is just moving along as planned so there's probably no problems with the timetables for the future of the grand master plan.
Nothing to see. Just move along.
1. I haven't heard anything about fundraising challenges. Do you mean nobody has ponied up 270 million like it was 2.70? The only thing I heard was that fundraising is and continues to be great with occasional announcements of big donors.
2. Shovels are in the ground. They did ground breaking and have so permitting issues to work out. I'm sure they wouldn't have started digging til the lawyers said it'll be done in time. You don't risk putting a big ugly pimple of a dug hole with no building in it.
3. Ok it's mid 2015 not early 2015 and construction has begun. I'll let it slide
4. I'm sure Fitz did hope in 2012 that it would be open on 2014. This is going to be amazing for the program. Sooner the better!!!
Can we at least get some facts straight ... please?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...-lakeside-practice-fields-20150415-story.html
Pay attention to the last paragraph before you start saying digging for the building is going to begin in mid 2015. If they can't state a timetable now, "the building" - key phrase - is not going to be started in 2015.
You might also want to pay attention to three key words when talking about the digging ... outdoor practice facility.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...-lakeside-practice-fields-20150415-story.html
Pay attention to the last paragraph before you start saying digging for the building is going to begin in mid 2015. If they can't state a timetable now, "the building" - key phrase - is not going to be started in 2015.
You might also want to pay attention to three key words when talking about the digging ... outdoor practice facility.
The only true statement you have made is
Only your last sentence is truthful, while the rest are half truths or plain lies, so let's get it straight. There has been NO groundbreaking for the football facility, only the lacrosse, soccer and practice field.
I still find it almost inconceivable that they managed to draw up a $270M facilities plan without one cent benefiting the men's basketball program, though I'll agree that if they *had* to pick that prioritizing football was the correct decision.
I mean, I as at the groundbreaking ceremony so... apparently ground has been broken. Have you seen the plans to build the facility and the schedule? Ever consider you do all the outdoor stuff then you do the indoor part due to about 10,000 reasons that are lost on people that aren't involved in the construction.
And how exactly are we struggling to raise funds? We're building a 270 million dollar facility on the back of building a new baseball stadium. Apparently, raising 270 million dollars is hard. There I go, lying again... the truth is turning out 270 million in donations is really really really easy.
Insofar as the basketball players can use the facilities that benefit all athletes, sure, but as far as I know the hoops teams are still going to be spending the vast majority of their time at Central St -- games, practice, locker rooms, training facilities, etc.
If I'm wrong about that I'm happy to be corrected.
Please stop. You are embarrassing yourself. The groundbreaking was for the athletic fields. The groundbreaking for the 2 indoor facilities will happen once the permits are complete. This is clear from the NU press releases and the newspaper accounts.
No one has seen the schedule for the indoor facilities because, until they receive the permits, there can't be a schedule. The permit process is outside the control of NU Project Management. This is how the real world works, and real Cat fans understand this.
I gather this is the first of your attempts to figure out the quote function, Willy. Gotta get it down pat, dude! It's hard to bitch constantly and effectively if you don't know how to post here.
I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO embarrassed right now. Clearly I understand that whoever is in charge of getting the permits can't tell the project manager that he expects to receive the permits by a given date which would keep the project manager from scheduling the project based on that date. That's impossible in the real world... not.
I don't disagree that from a business standpoint, football is going to win every time ... if there's a "Sophie's Choice." There shouldn't have been an either-or choice considering Ryan Field probably needs work also.
In reality, when these decisions were made, Fitz was snuggling up to Phillips (or vice versa), while I'd bet the basketball argument wasn't represented as well in the room or with donors.
In the end, this better pay off BIG for football because the other revenue sport is going to pay for it for a long time.
This thread is going in circles. Let's focus on things that might happen. Collins is recruiting as well or better than any NU coach in the past 25 years. Collins in the past week offered five talented athletic players. Hopefully, a center and a talented guard commit and we will have 10 talented NU players who Collins has recruited to upgrade the roster.
As I understand it, there will be basketball courts in the facility. I've heard that they have been asked about what their needs would be for it.
Yes, I think that they have noted that there will be two BB courts in the yet to be started facility. Can't imagine why the BB team can't use it for practice rather than taking the trek to W-R..
From the March 2015 university press release:
"Three basketball courts that will be used for intramural sports and recreational activities."
No mention of either Men's or Women's varsity BB practices.....
http://www.northwestern.edu/newscen...akefront-athletics-and-recreation-center.html
From the "Frequently Asked Questions" portion of the NU Press Release:
"When will construction be completed?
The renovation of the playing fields and construction of the outdoor practice field is expected to be completed in spring 2016, with some portions done sooner. The construction timeline for Ryan Fieldhouse will be determined after permits have been approved." [emphasis added]
So, no, NU has NOT released a time line due to uncertainty involved in the completion of the permit process.....
Times have changed
Back then, everything was worse
We had no good players
And always terrible recruits
Should we blame Jim Phillips?
A lack of interest?
Or should we blame those damn facilities?
No, blame Carmody, blame Carmody
With all his beady little eyes
And flappin' hands so full of lies
Is it possible that the plan is to gut/redo the all-purpose and/or practice spaces on Central with football being out of the picture?
I believe that's been described by people in the know as the long-term plan, yes.
I'm thinking that happens as soon as basketball makes a "measurable step". Currently, I think we finally have the staff and the administration on the exact same page of how things are going to be/should be run. I think we got the WR upgrades basically on faith/buzz, and when we get back to the NIT (or the NCAA if we improve more than expected) over the next couple of years, we'll hear buzz about a complete redo of the Central practice facilities.
I'm one of those people who genuinely likes going to Welsh-Ryan though, so I don't really care that we don't build a new arena. With the video upgrades and, hopefully, the team upgrades, I think WR is going to be an electric place to watch games.
We are lacking the space that most every other school has. Even ND has almost 10 times the space we do. That requires things be done in a particular order. Once FB is on the lakefront, the space that is the current indoor facility can be used for new practice facilities. And for the players purposes, I would have to imagine that practice and everyday facilities are far more important, especially now that the video boards have been added. It is hard to upgrade WR because much of the internals are concrete. That means that likely the only way to upgrade is likely to tear down and rebuild. That will not be cheap and frankly probably falls way down on the list of priorities. So unless Sec 112 and others are ready to write 10 figure checks, those changes will have to wait for a while. In the mean time, if the football move allows for new everyday facilities, that would be a big boost for the program.
Who cares if NU releases a timeline? It's not important that NU tells you what's going on. Just trust and have faith that is going on. THe facility is getting built and they have formalities to go over. No big deal.
This is a classic example of sticking one's head in the sand. Those little formalities could torpedo the entire project. I expect they won't, but we don't know that for sure.
So let's be super negative on a message board when we don't know that the formalities will torpedo the entire project!!!!!!!!!!!!
We missed a big opportunity with the Ryan Fieldhouse planned as part of the new lakefront facility, assuming that gets built according to any of the plans NU has put out there. The right move, imo, was to build Ryan Fieldhouse at 6,000-7,000 seats and tear down the Welsh -- though I know the parking and traffic concerns on a weeknight probably make that idea a non-starter. With the Fieldhouse serving the needs of Dance Marathon, convocation and other events that a new basketball arena might fulfill, we're going to be stuck with the Welsh for a long time. That said, has anyone ever had a truly bad time watching a big game at W-R? The bathroom lines and concessions are ... sub-optimal. The benches need to be torn out, at least on the lower level. But I've never not enjoyed the crowd noise and sight lines during a big game. Would have paid for my sight lines to have been worse for a few of them.
But in any event, there is nothing we can do if those details do stop things. From where we are, all we can do is keep track of the progress.
There was no room. Have you looked at the lakefront recently? It is packed. As it is, the new facilities are being shoehorned in
I'd like to applaud you, JounCat, for being the first of 75 posts (and possibly many more over the years) to offer an idea that actually benefits the basketball program. You also get the NU originality award for simply considering something that doesn't follow the conventional wisdom that the football practice facility needed to be moved to the lakefront before the basketball program could be addressed.
Although this idea has been mentioned before by some on this board the administration has not ever mentioned what they plan on doing with the indoor facility and weight room, once they are no longer needed. Maybe that area could become an extension of a re-done W-R but it could also become a parking lot or an additional tailgate area, who knows. How about a hotel.
Yes, I was going to ask this so I wonder if anyone can speak to Lunker's question.
The facility, while having a football emphasis, is supposed to benefit the entire student body and serve many sports. There have been no detailed blue prints that I have seen only a couple of artistic renderings that don't even match. Is it not possible that the BB team will get some space? I have to admit I don't know their needs or where they practice now.
in the new building there will be new basketball courts which supposedly both bball programs will have access too when issues arise (such as midlands or graduation) - but what is yet to be seen if they will be seperate or if they are open like they currently are and the team has to practice with senior citizens jogging on the track and spin classes blasting music on the next court. there will also be a team lounge for the team to use to pop into between class breaks to relax and hang out. i would imagine they could use one of the new weight rooms too but home base and day to day facilities (coaches and locker room) will still be at W/R
i still don't understand how people think the new football building and indoor facility has started construction.all that has begun has been moving and digging for new fields. i bet the actual building doesn't start until 2016 and takes 3 years to complete.
You're probably right. Imagine that it takes 6 months to get the permits. That would put us into November, probably too late in the year to start construction. So in all likelihood, we're looking at spring 2016.
