ADVERTISEMENT

So Now that Hoops Over... What the Heck is Happening with 2024 Place to Play

wildcatcoaster

Well-Known Member
Oct 27, 2003
191
263
63
Wrigley? Soldier Field? Seat Geek or whatever the Fire stadium in Bridgeview? NIU? Evanston High School? Temporary Stadium on the Lake for NC games?

Or some combination?

The silence is deafening from Gragg and crew.
 
Beyond brutal. Probably get another email from Gregg soon saying they are working on it.
 
I got a really vague email that said they will be announcing in the coming months and that possible venues may be soldier Wrigley seatgeek
 
While I'm hopeful for otherwise they might be waiting to see what Cubs are doing. If it's July and the Cubs are obviously not going anywhere Wrigley might pop up for October games.
 
While I'm hopeful for otherwise they might be waiting to see what Cubs are doing. If it's July and the Cubs are obviously not going anywhere Wrigley might pop up for October games.
That would be asking STHs to "wait and hope". That seems unrealistic and unreasonable. Also Wrigley sucks
 
Last edited:
That would ve asking STHs to "wait and hope". That seems unrealistic and unreasonable. Also Wrigley sucks
Dr. Gragg is telling our upset season ticket to RELAX!

The worse our home stadium, the better our likely outcomes for now.

I hope we hold the OSU game on the lake fill with 15,000 seats. Imagine how pissed off the Buckeye fans will be 😂
 
I got a really vague email that said they will be announcing in the coming months and that possible venues may be soldier Wrigley seatgeek
My hypothesis.

Soldier field issues have been well documented: don’t know the NFL schedule (no one does), there’s another team that plays home games there, and the park district won’t let a game be played without at least a week between games. I suspect there will be a Sunday game played there.

Wrigley will host November games including homecoming.

SeatGeek will host games that don’t already have scheduling conflicts that have either been scheduled years in advance or with its existing home team tenant.

The others will be played at the temporary lakefront stadium.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Eurocat
My hypothesis.

Soldier field issues have been well documented: don’t know the NFL schedule (no one does), there’s another team that plays home games there, and the park district won’t let a game be played without at least a week between games. I suspect there will be a Sunday game played there.

Wrigley will host November games including homecoming.

SeatGeek will host games that don’t already have scheduling conflicts that have either been scheduled years in advance or with its existing home team tenant.

The others will be played at the temporary lakefront stadium.

You’re a regular Sherlock Holmes.
 
Dr. Gragg is telling our upset season ticket to RELAX!

The worse our home stadium, the better our likely outcomes for now.

I hope we hold the OSU game on the lake fill with 15,000 seats. Imagine how pissed off the Buckeye fans will be 😂
Sounds like a great opportunity to inflate the price of your tickets in the secondary market to the OSU fans.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CatManTrue
Athletic Department staffer: “please please please please can you tell me if you’re home these weekends?”

Bears ticket rep: “I can’t, sorry.”

NU staffer: “okay, I’ll try tomorrow.”

Bears: “we won’t know then either”

NU staffer: “I know.” [adds ‘xxx’ to his spreadsheet to indicate that he tried again today. adds new bullet point to “alternate stadium” weekly update document.]

The idea that the Bears don’t know the schedule is just absurd. It’s my favorite part of this mess.
 
Last edited:
Been over 4 weeks since gaggs email to season ticket holders. When should we expect another one?
 
Been over 4 weeks since gaggs email to season ticket holders. When should we expect another one?
At this point, it would not surprise me if...

Communication comes from NU in early Aug telling people to show up at West Lot with $25 on Aug 31st. People will hand over money as they board shuttle buses -- only then will they find out where the game is.

Either that or back to what I said earlier -- all road games this year; have what was supposed to figured out for this year in 2025 and then all home games in 2026.
 
At this point, it would not surprise me if...

Communication comes from NU in early Aug telling people to show up at West Lot with $25 on Aug 31st. People will hand over money as they board shuttle buses -- only then will they find out where the game is.

Either that or back to what I said earlier -- all road games this year; have what was supposed to figured out for this year in 2025 and then all home games in 2026.
Do you think they will blindfold us when we get on the buses?
 
... back to what I said earlier -- all road games this year; have what was supposed to figured out for this year in 2025 and then all home games in 2026.
Coincidentally, this is exactly the solution suggested by our son earlier this week. (He's a USC grad and I was welcoming him to the BIG.)

Trouble is -- what you propose isn't up for NU to determine unilaterally. There are multiple potential reasons for the conference and opponents to kibosh such a plan, which would have to be approved by all parties. Why should they cooperate? They've already sold season tix and would have minimal incentive to deal with logistical hassles of adding an extra home game at this late date. Plus taking away a 2026 home date would offer no advantage to those opponents (not all the same as Cats would play in '24). And those are just conference complications. How would this work for non-con games?

Everything comes back to the time crunch. Big-time college football plans way in advance. Reminds me of an earlier life when I spent a few years in the opera business. Important production planning took place years ahead, not months.

Various creative ways to deal with the current quandary might've been possible if arranged earlier. Now? Like cgi first said, I just can't see it. Amateur night times ten. 🤒
 
Knowing now how they had no alternate plans, they should have delayed demolition a year to set a 2025-2026 arrangement with Soldier Field or SeatGeek.
It's becoming laughable, but pathetic at the same time. I feel bad for the team and coaches.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NUCat320
Knowing now how they had no alternate plans, they should have delayed demolition a year to set a 2025-2026 arrangement with Soldier Field or SeatGeek.
Delay is expensive and has its own associated risks. Can’t assume that is a viable plan.

I understand you’re frustrated that no plan has been announced. But waiting another year wouldn’t have made the NFL announced their games quicker. It wouldn’t have opened up dates at Seat Geek (and we’re all assuming that they never contacted Seat Geek until a few months ago, which I realize is the cynical take that we’re all into here but it’s in an assumption nonetheless.)

It’s a tough situation. It’s always easy to piss on people when things aren’t going well and you’ve already decided that every move they make is wrong, lucky, or due to someone else’s wisdom. But a little humility never hurt anyone, even on an anonymous message board.
 
Delay is expensive and has its own associated risks. Can’t assume that is a viable plan.

I understand you’re frustrated that no plan has been announced. But waiting another year wouldn’t have made the NFL announced their games quicker. It wouldn’t have opened up dates at Seat Geek (and we’re all assuming that they never contacted Seat Geek until a few months ago, which I realize is the cynical take that we’re all into here but it’s in an assumption nonetheless.)

It’s a tough situation. It’s always easy to piss on people when things aren’t going well and you’ve already decided that every move they make is wrong, lucky, or due to someone else’s wisdom. But a little humility never hurt anyone, even on an anonymous message board.
Again, somehow Kansas knows the exact dates that the Chiefs stadium will be available, and has announced these things (and the Chiefs play on natural grass, like the Bears).

But Soldier Field’s availability is a total mystery to NU. Kevin Warren has no idea and no willingness to share? Just crazy.




It is absurd that the NU athletic department pretends that there’s simply no way to have knowledge of the Bears schedule.


The above was posted in January, weeks before Gragg went with his “derrrr, we don’t know where we’ll play” email, and three weeks before Lambeau was floated.

Just no foresight.
 
Delay is expensive and has its own associated risks. Can’t assume that is a viable plan.

I understand you’re frustrated that no plan has been announced. But waiting another year wouldn’t have made the NFL announced their games quicker. It wouldn’t have opened up dates at Seat Geek (and we’re all assuming that they never contacted Seat Geek until a few months ago, which I realize is the cynical take that we’re all into here but it’s in an assumption nonetheless.)

It’s a tough situation. It’s always easy to piss on people when things aren’t going well and you’ve already decided that every move they make is wrong, lucky, or due to someone else’s wisdom. But a little humility never hurt anyone, even on an anonymous message board.
Sorry, but there is no reasonable excuse for the complete lack of planning. If there was planning and Gragg came across extreme obstacles then the Administration should know enough to be transparent with the process and avoid the appearance of utter incompetence.

I take no glee in frequently blasted our AD. However, I personally can not pinpoint anything that has improved due to his hiring. Opinions of most people about our AD aren’t solely driven by one event (Fitz Debacle). There has been a series of amateurish mis-steps that frankly 90% of the posters on this board would have avoided.
 
Again, somehow Kansas knows the exact dates that the Chiefs stadium will be available, and has announced these things (and the Chiefs play on natural grass, like the Bears).

But Soldier Field’s availability is a total mystery to NU. Kevin Warren has no idea and no willingness to share? Just crazy.




It is absurd that the NU athletic department pretends that there’s simply no way to have knowledge of the Bears schedule.


The above was posted in January, weeks before Gragg went with his “derrrr, we don’t know where we’ll play” email, and three weeks before Lambeau was floated.

Just no foresight.
And how can he know Lambeau is available but not Soldier
 
Sorry, but there is no reasonable excuse for the complete lack of planning. If there was planning and Gragg came across extreme obstacles then the Administration should know enough to be transparent with the process and avoid the appearance of utter incompetence.

I take no glee in frequently blasted our AD. However, I personally can not pinpoint anything that has improved due to his hiring. Opinions of most people about our AD aren’t solely driven by one event (Fitz Debacle). There has been a series of amateurish mis-steps that frankly 90% of the posters on this board would have avoided.
MBB and NUFB coaching.
 
And how can he know Lambeau is available but not Soldier
I don't know, but my guess is that Lambeau (and perhaps Arrowhead) don't have the same restrictions that Soldier Field has in terms of playing games on back-to-back days.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gatabowl
Again, somehow Kansas knows the exact dates that the Chiefs stadium will be available, and has announced these things (and the Chiefs play on natural grass, like the Bears).

But Soldier Field’s availability is a total mystery to NU. Kevin Warren has no idea and no willingness to share? Just crazy.
The Chiefs don’t share their stadium with other teams, and don’t have the park district imposing stupid rules on how long the turf has to recover before another game is played there. The bears should know which games are at home and which aren’t. But even if they do, the one week rule could easily screw things up massively. The bears have to be on the road presumably for two straight weeks AND the Fire have to not have a Saturday game. They have multiple Saturday games in Sept and Oct, which are the months NU needs (Wrigley in Nov).

The majority of the Kansas games are at Sporting KC’s soccer stadium (all but 4). Like SeatGeek, they have the regular tenant’s schedule and they obviously don’t have a years ahead planned music fest during a key weekend.

It’s frustrating but it’s not apples to apples with Kansas.
 
And how can he know Lambeau is available but not Soldier
They know the dates. Other stadiums don’t share their stadiums with other teams and don’t have park districts with stupid rules about the turf. The bears don’t control these rules and don’t own their own stadium.
 
They know the dates. Other stadiums don’t share their stadiums with other teams and don’t have park districts with stupid rules about the turf. The bears don’t control these rules and don’t own their own stadium.
Somehow when Illinois went through the phase of playing their NU @IL games at Soldier Field they managed to secure Soldier Field dates ahead of time...
 
The Chiefs don’t share their stadium with other teams, and don’t have the park district imposing stupid rules on how long the turf has to recover before another game is played there. The bears should know which games are at home and which aren’t. But even if they do, the one week rule could easily screw things up massively. The bears have to be on the road presumably for two straight weeks AND the Fire have to not have a Saturday game. They have multiple Saturday games in Sept and Oct, which are the months NU needs (Wrigley in Nov).

The majority of the Kansas games are at Sporting KC’s soccer stadium (all but 4). Like SeatGeek, they have the regular tenant’s schedule and they obviously don’t have a years ahead planned music fest during a key weekend.

It’s frustrating but it’s not apples to apples with Kansas.
Sure there are differences. But what we can be sure of is that nobody at NU even considered this before bulldozers were on the ground.
 
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT