Accusing people of lying is harsh and out of line. You don't know wtf you're talking about as you have not been directly part of the conversations and you have not been present to hear what Fitz is telling the recruits.
OT: Illini Woes
- Thread starter Purple Pile Driver
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Accusing people of lying is harsh and out of line. You don't know wtf you're talking about as you have not been directly part of the conversations and you have not been present to hear what Fitz is telling the recruits.
Because I feel led on about this facility and I have no skin in the game.
If Fitz thinks this thing can be built in the next 20 months, he is naive in my opinion. So maybe he really believes it, that is scary too.
So he's naive and your uninformed... Or maybe he knows something you don't because you know he actually talks to people who have information.
Well, I hope so. We will see. I am on campus now and will check back in in November 2016 to see the building.
I am not completely understanding why that is scary. I have built larger and more complicated buildings than this one in far more remote locations than Chicago, IL in less than 20 months. So, it is not overly naïve to assume this can be done since it can. It is certainly not scary or overly naïve for a football coach to believe a schedule published by an architect or other construction professional.
I, of course, do not know all of the ancillary factors such as permitting and the details of the architectural design (i.e. are they going to design something that is not COTS: commercial-off-the-shelf?). I also do not know if the structural steel and other long lead items are already specified and on order. How bad will the weather be in the first four months of construction? What will the availability of trade labor be in the last six months of construction?
I have been in construction for well over 30 years and I am not nearly as confident in my guesses concerning the construction schedule as several others here seem to be.
Hey if they hire Chinese crews, they can finish it in 20 days. It may not stand up in an Earthquake, but the teutonic plates in the Chicagoland area are generally pretty stable.
Very true. The dinner plates at the Hofbrauhaus in Chicago are practically unbreakable.
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I attended Cincinnati Moeller High School, a powerhouse in high school football, many many years ago. Back then the football team would do ballet during the off-season workouts to develop balance and flexibility.
Why does everything have to morph into either a facilities or coaching thread?
BEST THREAD EVER!!!! I mean it's one thing to talk about things we know nothing about and make up lies about the coaching staff's integrity and the chances we'll see the facilities soon with the off chance that a recruit or a recruit's parent may see it... but it's quite another thing to directly say it a recruit's dad. I thought cat fans were supposed to be smart. I guess that's just the real cat fans. Freakin' idiots all of you.
Your expertise on this project are certainly appreciated but this project just doesn't seem to be on a fast track. Regarding building and the Chicago area weather, just ask the Cubs, however the nice warm summer season is here and yet no shovels in the dirt.
This just in: THEY BROKE GROUND 2 1/2 MONTHS AGO. I WAS THERE.
http://www.insidenu.com/2015/4/25/8496811/northwestern-lakefront-facility-breaks-ground
Did they break ground on the indoor facility? They don't even have permits yet!
They broke ground on the entire project include the outdoor and indoor facilities. They started on the outdoor project for a number of reasons that we'll never know. A general construction schedule may be one. Permits could be another. Who knows? Not me or you. Fitz has a better idea, which was conveyed to him by people involved with the construction, and conveyed that to the Glackins that he expects the project to be done at a certain time. Construction setbacks happen all the time and may or may not happen in this case. Is Fitz giving a the optimistic timeline instead of the Willycat worst possible scenario timeline? I know I would. That doesn't make Fitz a liar as some people are portraying in this thread.
Sorry but we will have to disagree. They have not broken ground for the indoor facility. next time you are there send us a picture. Thanks.
I think the confusion stems from the fact that there are actually 2 projects. The first is the Lakeside Field Improvements Project:
http://www.northwestern.edu/fm/projects/current/lakeside-field-improvements.html
This is the project which broke ground this spring.
The second is the Lakefront Athletics and Recreation Complex Project:
http://www.northwestern.edu/fm/projects/current/lakefront-athletics-complex.html
As you can clearly see from the University's own Project Management website, these are separate and distinct projects. The Lakeside Field Improvements (including a brand new football practice field) will be ready before Ryan Fieldhouse, the Norris Aquatics Center renovations, or the Walter Athletics Center are completed, given that the later three are all in the permitting process and have not broken ground yet.
http://www.supportthecats.com/lakefront-athletics-complex/project-information.html
Now I get it. They separated the one project into 2 so that Fitz can that the a little teenie tiny unimportant project well be completed and while technically not lying to recruits because technically it will be completed. It's one project, it's two projects, who gives a damn. If Fitz says expects it to be done by a date, then he expects it to be done by then. I suggest instead of hiding behind the name Willycat or NJCat, you head to Evanston and call him a liar to his face.
I know Moeller quite well, Jango almost went there after going to Jr High at St Susanna. Most his friends either went to X or Moe. Moe was ahead of its time in many things.
Dude, I never said he was a liar! You got me confused with some who gives a damn what you think......
Guys I will see Fitz this week or next, trying to figure the best date to visit. I will find out his best guess for the project and post it.
That's great.
NJcat, Willy, and Deering and just going to insult Fitz and not believe you anyway, but they're not realcatfans like me and you.
As you say, constructions schedules ore somewhat fluid. I remember working on the Nuclear plant at Seneca, Il back in 1976 and early 1977 when I left. CECO schedules still stated that the plant was supposed to be operational (first unit)in about spring of 1978 (about one year)but anyone who was at the site could tell you that no way that was possible. Complicating things was 3 mile island in 1979. Unit one finally went live in Spring of 1984 and unit 2 in the fall of 1984.
I don't expect slippage like that but I would guess that construction time is probably 18 months after permitting is completed and somewhat dependent on what time of the year that is. Parts of the structure will likely be usable earlier (say one year after construction begins. It does not sound like we are dependent on funding at this point.
I would guess
OK, "REAL" caftan, maybe Fitz is just is hedging his bets on when "The Facility" will be completed. Doesn't it bother you even a tinny, winnie bit that recruits have been told that they will be using the facility for at least the last two or three recruiting cycles? Guess not.
If you do not have experience with large construction projects, you only have what you are being told. It will still take a bit but we are closer to it than we have been. The university has made major commitments of land and assets. The process has a bunch of steps and they are going through them. It will be build. Just keep in mind that everything takes longer than it takes and costs more than it costs. Then take a chill pill.
If a recruit is making his decision based on the new facilities , he isn't smart enough to graduate from NU. The facilities are extremely nice , but you don't base your football and academic career on them. Jango and I both hope he gets two years in the new facilities , but it has never been a deal breaker. The two things that concerned me are that the University doesn't support the football as much as it could, or in my opinion should. The other is that Evanston seems to be anti NU. Don't understand them not letting pro teams use facilities , especially if they are willing to update them. The pluses way out number the minuses .
CatsDad, Northwestern was founded in part by John Evans in 1851. The city of Evanston was nothing at this team... it was incorporated as town in 1863. According to the town charter, Northwestern will never have to pay property tax. That costs the city of Evanston a ton in lost tax revenue. Additionally, the city provides services like firefighters, paramedics, and although NU has it's own police service, Evanston police work harder because NU is there. Some have argued that NU is bad for Evanston... of course, they can't do anything about it besides complain.
The last mayor that I knew was Lorraine Morton, an NU alumna. I just read she was out of office in 2009 after being mayor for 16 year. She was at the NU athletics auction every year and purchased "sing the national anthem at a game" every year. Her stance was that having an elite research university was a net positive for the community. She was elected for many years, when everyone knew her NU stance. I've heard the Mayor that replaced her as being more pro Northwestern. I think most of Evanston likes NU. There are million dollar homes owned by people that want to have a family on the Northshore of Chicago close to Lake Michigan and an easy commute downtown that don't want to deal with college kids, but as a whole, everyone moved to Evanston knowing Northwestern was there. Some might go into a rant, but Evanston is not anti-NU in my opinion.
As for pro teams not being allowed to use Evanston's facilities, there are lots of myths and rumors about what is and is not allowed in Evanston. Most stem from the fact that a huge part of the temperance movement and prohibition was tied to several founders of NU. I heard rumors that Northwestern sororities aren't allowed because sororities are legally brothels in evanston.... Northwestern has sororities so that's not true although widely distributed. There are rumors bowling is illegal in Evanston. It's all rumors and garbage that spread.
The speculation that pro sports is not allowed in Evanston may be true, but most likely isn't. I believe the bears played in Champagne during the renovation of soldier field because NU's parking by the stadium is an absolute nightmare. Additionally, Soldier Field and Memorial Stadium are comparable in size while Ryan field cuts 14,000 seats. There are also ties between the Bears and Illini going back to Red Grange as well as the Illini colors being copied by the Bears. Several NFL teams have used NU's facilities to practice at over the years. NU also hosted an olympic style wrestling event when Chicago was in talks to get in the Olympics. There was talks about Evanston holding some Olympic events, but Brazil got them. NU and Evanston don't need the revenue as some other towns and will not hand out the sweetheart deals to pro-sports teams that Rosemont and Bridgeport have in the past.
Bottom line, don't believe 80% of what you read on the board. Most of it is bullshit.
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I really appreciate you taking the time to write this. I am glad that most of what I heard isn't true. I know NU football will bring in over 45 million in television revenue alone. Evanston is a awesome little town. Jango loved it there. I think things are moving in a positive direction for NU football. We are getting some beautiful new facilities. We have recruited well the last few years. We have improved upon player development. Fitz is as driven to be successful as he was to be successful when he played. We all can find things we don't like about anything, but NU definitely has much more to like and take pride in, than not.
One fact is that the Bears wanted to play at Dyche while Soldier Field was being readied but Evanston city fathers and their constituants shouted it down. The bears were promising needed improvement to Dyche and tax dollars to the city. These same folks also attemped to stop a pro tennis event in McGaw and all of those rowdy fans terrorizing Evanston.
The same issues are there for Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Duke, and Vandy. All have strained town/gown relationships due to the tax issue. Morty has made great strides in the recent couple of years in building better interaction with the city, and it's probably at an all time high.
That's totally on Fitz. If he learned to make adjustments and fired the dead weight assistants, there would be pro tennis on every corner.
That Cincy Catholic league is full of great football players. Great to see Moeller back to winning State Championships again! Jango would have had one under his belt had he gone. But good to be able to root for him now as a Cat!
Well OF COURSE they did! Bears games are a cesspool of scum mired in even more scum. Nobody in their right mind would host a Bears game. I don't blame Evanston one bit for saying no. I probably would disagree with everything else Evanston's Board does, but I agree with them on this one. Too much drunken crap comes along with Bears games. Who needs 'em!
