Mike Wright to NU
- Thread starter Medill '03
- Start date
You don’t like the new stadium because you don’t like spending money even though it’s Pat Ryan’s money being spent but you also spend apparently plenty of money on football games that you like you only have to watch 3/4 of?
This is a giant pile of nonsense.
Pat Ryan’s money is being spent to create an extravagant entertainment pavilion which legitimizes high ticket prices and fripperies which cater to an economically elite class.
The same amount of money Pat Ryan is spending on the Ryan Entertainment Pavilion could have been spent to spectacularly renovate Ryan Field (like what the Ricketts Family money did for Wrigley) where the number of available tickets would enable fans in all economic classes to watch the ‘Cats.
One day, when you have kids, you will understand the point about leaving games on some occasions before they have ended.
You must be fun at tailgates.
"You must be fun at tailgates" although without a hint of frippery.
Had to look it up.
Had to look it up.
Actually I am easily identified at NU games by my particular purple sartorial fripperies. But enough about me…
"Fripperies"? I have never seen or heard that word before. GCG knows everything, so he knows the word and the exact definition, but c'mon, be honest.... who else has never seen this word before?
Lol, how idiotic to turn in this into some kind of failed economic class warfare argument. The capacity is going down, but it’s not going to 15,000, it’s going to like 35,000, which is far more than most of our games draw anyway and more thay ever show up as Cats fans. We’re a small fan base and we can fully fit in the new stadium.
Not to mention NU is an elite private school with an absolutely monstrously large 12 figure endowment that has students who incredibly disproportionately come from economically elite families and go on to be economically elite.
If you want to be a Bolshevik, I suggest Berkeley.
Your caterwauling doesn’t even make internal sense.
And about the same thing over and over and over again and again.
Chiming in her to say I’m happy to have missed a week’s worth of @CMcCat “sky is falling” drivel.
I assumed there was some really incisive Mike Wright debate here, and I’m happy to wait until August for that.
It’s worth considering whether C Mc is violating board rules with his repetitive, off topic posting.
I assumed there was some really incisive Mike Wright debate here, and I’m happy to wait until August for that.
It’s worth considering whether C Mc is violating board rules with his repetitive, off topic posting.
For the record, Cal spent $500 Million to renovate Memorial Stadium 12 years ago (about $690 mill in 2024 dollars), instituted seat licenses, jacked up ticket prices and lost about half of their STH’s. While the rest of the University may be Bolshevik, the athletic department is definitely capitalist roaders.
That’s interesting. The Stanford stadium was $90 million in 2006 and that was a tear down new construction. I wonder what the major difference was to cost 5x as much for a renovation just 6 years later, in the same metro area.
NU should have totally rebuilt Dyche/Ryan in the late 90s instead of the minor refurbishment. It could have been done for a small fraction of the cost now.
As always, I'm going to side with free speech as long as it isn't personal attacks (real ones, not imagined ones) or attacks on races, religions, sexuality, etc.
Please don't encourage censorship just because you disagree with what someone is writing.
We have enough of that.
When you censor one person for going off topic, you censor everybody who took the time to thoughtfully respond, including you.
EasyBay, you might check the delta on inflation. Also attached is a Wiki that says the scope was a major performance center plus one half of the stadium was more or less brand new and the other half modified some but left mostly as is. Major provisions for earthquakes since a fault line cuts directly across the stadium. $321 mil in 2011 which translates to a boatload in 2024.
California Memorial Stadium - Wikipedia
Stanford's short construction duration and low cost (2006 pricing) really were a marvel. I have not seen it but as best I can guess the lower bowl was built on grade (on an existing excavated embankment) and I suspect the upper bowl was built with a precast concrete structure. They likely were building seating risers on the lower bowl at the same time they were erecting the structure for the upper bowl. There are no free lunches in construction so there are logical reasons why cost and speed were what they were.
Cal was approx 4 times the cost of Stanford ($321 mil plus inflation vs $90 mil). Very tough site at Cal. Historic renovation in part. Sits on a seismic fault. Includes performance center but half wasn't completely redone. Still a big difference.
PS Here is an old industry article I found on the Stanford Stadium. Takeaways - took advantage of existing construction where possible, existing embankment, 2 weeks to demolish, 16 hour days, upper deck aluminum construction (not clear) vs lower concrete bowl. All I can say is 16 hours a day or not the old stadium must have been a falling down piece of crap. Don't make too much of the fast track/design-build approach. It's true but for a lot of reasons NU couldn't follow that model. Also the article mentions the construction contract was $120 mil on so. Add in owner costs and the total was north of $150 mil.
Stanford Stadium Axed; New Arena Construction Under Way : CEG
How do you cut the time to construct a stadium in half?For some general contractors, they fast-track a project, issuing bid packages before a project’s designs are completed. For others, design-build is used as a means of cutting costs and expediting a project.
www.constructionequipmentguide.com
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I haven't heard capitalist roader since R. Barry Farrel's classes
You are correct. I was thinking of the letter I got as a STH explaining why they needed seat licenses the cited a near $500 mil number, but that included the stadium rebuild, training facility (about $125 mill) and some ancillary parking and service area developments. It did tick off a lot of long time STHs.EasyBay, you might check the delta on inflation. Also attached is a Wiki that says the scope was a major performance center plus one half of the stadium was more or less brand new and the other half modified some but left mostly as is. Major provisions for earthquakes since a fault line cuts directly across the stadium. $321 mil in 2011 which translates to a boatload in 2024.
California Memorial Stadium - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
It would have been really really outdated by now. So much has changed about sports viewership since 2006 let alone 1997 or whatever it was w Dyche. Soldier Field seemed so new in 2003 and it’s a dinosaur now.
Except, ya know… the whole effort was a massive failure that set the Athletic Department really far back.
It is remarkable that the most valuable futbol teams in the world can carry billion-dollar valuations while playing in century-old homes.
Ridiculous that municipalities continue to fund these palaces. Chicago still owes ~$600 million on the *last* renovation.
I don't believe those futbol teams are spending what Chicago did but they have spent plenty. Chicago was locked in to a very architecturally correct approach to development (Not trying to be political here because I think the renovation of SF was unique and daring.) and it paid the price.
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Don’t worry, consistent applications has never been a thing here. Odd for a school with a pretty good law school and a bunch of lawyer posters.
I believe that's correct. On family visit in the Palo Alto area I was taken to see the stadium in its late stages of construction. It was explained at the time that everything was expedited because the large contributor (a la Ryan) was also personally involved in the whole construction project. It sounded like a general contractor getting his own home ready for soon-to-come residency. Highest priority on speed of completion as well as quality. Worked for Stanford but probably not repeatable anywhere else.
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We need @techtim72 to take charge of our project.
Thank you, DaCat, but I think NU has hired an A team and planned a terrific facility.
You wish. NU's endowment is "only" $14 billion, which is "just" an 11 figure number.......$12,000,000,000
The first school with a 12-figure endowment will be Musk University.
John Arrillaga was Stanford’s version of Pat Ryan. Silicon Valley developer tycoon.
John Arrillaga, longtime Stanford philanthropist and Silicon Valley real estate developer, dies at 84
Alumnus John Arrillaga reshaped the Stanford campus with extraordinary generosity, professional expertise and volunteer service.
news.stanford.edu
