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The new W-R facility is beautiful, amazing!

Gotta believe you're guessing right. T-minus 19 days and counting . . .
 
That is what I believe will be the case. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm guessing it's true.

And for the record, I'm of the opinion that the basis of your belief that your guess is true, is accurate.

Faith is, purportedly, belief without evidence. Although we've got a few good hints.
 
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Evidence? I've somewhat seen it.

Our friend, the famous strong, inside source, was nice enough to share a bunch of images of the new Welsh taken last week.

One thing that really hasn't entered my mind is the lobbies. I expected them to be larger, but the change could be far more drastic than I imagined. I saw one image of the area behind the upper level, facing Ryan Field. It's a totally different beast!! It's not just concessions. There's a large picturesque window looking out on the stadium. I want to say I saw lounge chairs up there also to give it a cafe feel, but don't quote me on that (we were going through the pics quickly). Anyhow, it was really nice for ANY public area in a stadium, much less the Welsh. I'm interested to see the rest of the lobbies.

There was one thing I found mildly disappointing, but maybe I should just let it be for now. I don't want to be my overly-critical self, and ruin anybody's excitement. And admittedly, my perception may be skewed by the images.

The arena is generally what we've seen. There's been a minor tweak here and there. Any questions about specifics? That may help me offer more.
 
Fan experience is one thing....and you can only go up from the previous facility. My biggest gripe was seats and that's been fixed. The common areas didn't bother me that much, though I know other people found them to be disappointing. The will be able to do some things with the common areas that draw in the non NU fans a la Chicago Stadium....is my guess.

Improved site lines can really make it an exciting venue.

A big deal for the players is the locker rooms and player facilities. If that gets the same buzz as the Taj Fitz and Nebby's locker room it can actually make a difference in recruiting.

It's impressive that this got done.
 
Fan experience is one thing....and you can only go up from the previous facility. My biggest gripe was seats and that's been fixed. The common areas didn't bother me that much, though I know other people found them to be disappointing. The will be able to do some things with the common areas that draw in the non NU fans a la Chicago Stadium....is my guess.

Improved site lines can really make it an exciting venue.

A big deal for the players is the locker rooms and player facilities. If that gets the same buzz as the Taj Fitz and Nebby's locker room it can actually make a difference in recruiting.

It's impressive that this got done.
I think the combination of the new WRA locker rooms and the adjacent practice facility will be well received by the players, if as you say the Walter Athletic Center is any indication.
 
... It's impressive that this got done.

Boy, isn't it?!?! After the money spent on the Lakefront complex, I thought it was going to be a minimum of 5+ years before any money was spent on athletics. And that was with Ryan Field needing a lot of work.
 
And that was with Ryan Field needing a lot of work.
Coming up with a business case to spend significant money on Ryan Field will be tough. Yesterdays showing was pathetic: NU fans in a decided minority, many season ticket holders selling their seats to UN-L fans, Cats using the silent count because of crowd noise at their home field! Why spend money on the stadium to benefit Nebraska or Michigan fans? I doubt better seats or more concession options or new bathrooms will increase the NU fan attendance.

Spending huge amounts of dough on a place that is only used 6 or 7 times a year? Don't see it.
 
Coming up with a business case to spend significant money on Ryan Field will be tough. Yesterdays showing was pathetic: NU fans in a decided minority, many season ticket holders selling their seats to UN-L fans, Cats using the silent count because of crowd noise at their home field! Why spend money on the stadium to benefit Nebraska or Michigan fans? I doubt better seats or more concession options or new bathrooms will increase the NU fan attendance.

Spending huge amounts of dough on a place that is only used 6 or 7 times a year? Don't see it.
So keep playing in a dump? How about you right size it and make it non prehistoric?
 
Because it will cost a fortune and I'd rather have the donors spend the money on academic facilities. NU is a University for Pete's sake.

I really dont want to be the guy to make an argument for more spending on football. But if we're going to go down the road of spending on athletics vs. the academic side of the institution, can I assume you're not a fan of the new badketball arena, Fitzphile?

I think there's a very real third option in this discussion. The last five years have pretty much demonstrated that heavy spending on athletic facilities at NU doesn't necessarily diminish strong expansion in other parts of the university.
 
I really dont want to be the guy to make an argument for more spending on football. But if we're going to go down the road of spending on athletics vs. the academic side of the institution, can I assume you're not a fan of the new badketball arena, Fitzphile?
The new WRA makes more sense. The two basketball teams use it 35 or so times a year, and volleyball and wrestling also use it. Plus it can be used for other events including high school tournaments. So you add it up and it comes to about 10 times more useful than a new football stadium. And probably costs significantly less than a major renovation to Dyche Stadium.
 
... NU fans in a decided minority ... many season ticket holders selling their seats to UN-L fans ... Why spend money on the stadium to benefit Nebraska or Michigan fans? I doubt better seats or more concession options or new bathrooms will increase the NU fan attendance.


Ahhh. I see where youre coming from. I don't agree with you, but you make a reasonable point about the 50+ events annually.

However, the low attendance/scalping/visiting fans argument you make above sure doesn't sound much different than a case for the Welsh two years ago.

Also, I don't think I've ever seen a "business plan" that doesn't consider the revenue generated by the product.
 
I don't mind Ryan as is. My seats have great sightlines and they are very affordable. If you increase the cost of attendance, season ticket sales will decrease and NU fans will still sell their unwanted tickets to opposing fans, who will then enjoy the benefits of the upgrades, essentially at NU's expense
 
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Also, I don't think I've ever seen a "business plan" that doesn't consider the revenue generated by the product.
I agree. The business case for a new Dyche would have to consider the incremental revenue between the "do nothing" case of the current stadium and the additional revenue for the new stadium. My belief is that there would be very little additional revenue (either because more people attend at current prices, or higher ticket and donations more than offset lower attendance) and therefore the business case would be really weak.

Note that the business case for new WRA is actually pretty good since they have successfully raised prices and are pretty much sold out, so both ticket sales and $/ticket are higher than in the old WRA.......
 
Fan experience is one thing....and you can only go up from the previous facility. My biggest gripe was seats and that's been fixed. The common areas didn't bother me that much, though I know other people found them to be disappointing. The will be able to do some things with the common areas that draw in the non NU fans a la Chicago Stadium....is my guess.

Improved site lines can really make it an exciting venue.

A big deal for the players is the locker rooms and player facilities. If that gets the same buzz as the Taj Fitz and Nebby's locker room it can actually make a difference in recruiting.

It's impressive that this got done.
Like get in and out of the bathrooms?
 
Doubt we'll see an extensive overhaul of Ryan/Dyche any time soon, but don't know why something more manageable (biggest bang for the buck) can't be done - like improve concessions and restrooms.
 
Ahhh. I see where youre coming from. I don't agree with you, but you make a reasonable point about the 50+ events annually.

However, the low attendance/scalping/visiting fans argument you make above sure doesn't sound much different than a case for the Welsh two years ago.

Also, I don't think I've ever seen a "business plan" that doesn't consider the revenue generated by the product.
WR was always supposedly a detriment to the teams that played there. Don't see the same thing with FB and practice facilities are much more important. Also plenty of practices in WR as well. Whereas FB not so much as it would tear up the field. So far the athletic monies have been put in the right places.

Doing something significant to RF would be very expensive and unlikely to really change anything other than cutting down visitor complaints. This is not saying nothing should be done. Just that anything significant, for the most part, would be of questionable value. Ever been to WIS? Lot's of money spent and for that you get more Rest Rooms and a bit better concessions but not a whole lot more of value. And talk about being squeezed in with 16 inch seats (if that.) Now if you get to tearing down and replacing MN shows a nice option but I don;t see that happening.
 
Football Stadium large renovation is hard to justify. Some improvements to bathrooms and premium seating might be good and not mega dollars.

Campus priority should be a new Norris Center. Thats like $200+ million. It is key to student life, to prospective students visiting. It’s on campus and the center of the student experience
 
Coming up with a business case to spend significant money on Ryan Field will be tough. Yesterdays showing was pathetic: NU fans in a decided minority, many season ticket holders selling their seats to UN-L fans, Cats using the silent count because of crowd noise at their home field! Why spend money on the stadium to benefit Nebraska or Michigan fans? I doubt better seats or more concession options or new bathrooms will increase the NU fan attendance.

Spending huge amounts of dough on a place that is only used 6 or 7 times a year? Don't see it.

I didn't notice us using the silent count against NE. But, yeah, our fan turnout was nothing to be proud of.

For years I've thought NU should build smaller and nicer facilities. After almost 30 years of going to games I'm resigned to the belief we're not going to find enough fans to have an overwhelming majority at old WRA or RF. So make the venues smaller to cut out some of the opposing fan percentage and make them nicer so NU fans don't have an excuse not to go. The new WRA will put this theory to the test. If it improves our home court advantage I bet they do the same thing with RF.
 
This is a dumb question that is only slightly related, but where is the home locker room at Dyche these days? I haven't been back for a game since they built that Walker Terrace building. I just assumed that was a passthrough to the football building. That's not the locker room, is it? Do they still have a gameday locker room in the old football building once the basketball renovations are done?
 
WR was always supposedly a detriment to the teams that played there. Don't see the same thing with FB and practice facilities are much more important. Also plenty of practices in WR as well. Whereas FB not so much as it would tear up the field. So far the athletic monies have been put in the right places.

Doing something significant to RF would be very expensive and unlikely to really change anything other than cutting down visitor complaints. This is not saying nothing should be done. Just that anything significant, for the most part, would be of questionable value. Ever been to WIS? Lot's of money spent and for that you get more Rest Rooms and a bit better concessions but not a whole lot more of value. And talk about being squeezed in with 16 inch seats (if that.) Now if you get to tearing down and replacing MN shows a nice option but I don;t see that happening.

If I'm not mistaken, the B1G conference has a mandate that all stadiums are to have permanent lighting for night games (within a certain time limit?).

Edit: Did a little research - didn't find a definitive source but piecing together several sources came up with this. The new TV contract gave broadcasters the right to dictate the times of games. In addition, if the stadium did not have HD compatible permanent lights, the university was now on the hook for the lighting rental whether it was for a night game or an afternoon start in Oct/Nov. At the time there were four stadiums without permanent lights; I believe now RF is the only one without permanent lighting. Under the prior TV contract, the broadcaster paid for the lighting rental.
 
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Campus priority should be a new Norris Center. Thats like $200+ million. It is key to student life, to prospective students visiting. It’s on campus and the center of the student experience

FWIW: My daughter just took an official tour of campus last week as a prospective student. She and my wife were shocked that Norris wasn’t even a stop along the way.
 
This is a dumb question that is only slightly related, but where is the home locker room at Dyche these days? I haven't been back for a game since they built that Walker Terrace building. I just assumed that was a passthrough to the football building. That's not the locker room, is it? Do they still have a gameday locker room in the old football building once the basketball renovations are done?

Nope. Walker Terrace houses the locker room. The set up is the opposite of what you imagined. No locker room in the old football building.
 
I didn't notice us using the silent count against NE. But, yeah, our fan turnout was nothing to be proud of.

For years I've thought NU should build smaller and nicer facilities. After almost 30 years of going to games I'm resigned to the belief we're not going to find enough fans to have an overwhelming majority at old WRA or RF. So make the venues smaller to cut out some of the opposing fan percentage and make them nicer so NU fans don't have an excuse not to go. The new WRA will put this theory to the test. If it improves our home court advantage I bet they do the same thing with RF.
I agree with this. If you expect the casual non-alum fan to turn into the rabid diehard fan you can’t surround him with Cousin Eddie taking his one trip to the big city every year.
 
Nope. Walker Terrace houses the locker room. The set up is the opposite of what you imagined. No locker room in the old football building.
Ok, thanks! It doesn't seem big enough, but I guess it must be.
 
I agree with this. If you expect the casual non-alum fan to turn into the rabid diehard fan you can’t surround him with Cousin Eddie taking his one trip to the big city every year.

I think what is possible from the new WR that wasn't possible from the old is a completely different level of experience. And that is due to the vastly expanded public spaces. Just like the United Center has so much going on in the hallways that kids and uninterested adults enjoy going and hanging out.

It's not my scene, but the audience is there on the North Shore to pull thousands and thousands of families in for three or four games.

Personally, I hate how '85 changed the Cubs. Used to be you could show up at the game, get in, and work your way down....sitting amongst Cub fans who knew that Pete Lacock was the son of a famous game show host. Those days are gone because Wrigley has become a thing for all the transplants who live in Lincoln Park, Lake View and Uptown. Costs a fortune and you're sitting amongst yuppies that aren't die hard.

Never the less, if the new WR can pull them in it will be phenomenal. Crappy for me because I like to park on the street and walk over, but I guess good for recruiting and television.
 
FWIW: My daughter just took an official tour of campus last week as a prospective student. She and my wife were shocked that Norris wasn’t even a stop along the way.
NU did rearrange the interior of the ground floor of Norris this summer quite significantly
 
As a (relatively) recent grad, I can give a whole host of thoughts of what I think NU should be spending on (they are doing a good job on some things like new dorms and life sciences research and should spend more on other things like new Norris and better computer science)...but this is a sports board.

I'm beyond excited for the new Welsh-Ryan, because I'm pumped to go to the game but also that it shows a commitment towards developing NU as a basketball school. I've long thought that given the pros of going to Northwestern and the cons of the reality of Northwestern sports that we are more naturally inclined to be a basketball school (need fewer players, easier to fill up stadium, harder to make the pros).

I agree that for now any major football stadium renovations should probably be on hold. I think the new lakefront facility is an example of something that will pay immediate dividends and was holding us back in multiple ways (recruiting, making it easy for student-athletes to get to) whereas I don't see how upgrading the not-often used Ryan Field would pay off that way. Maybe the new Welsh Ryan shows something different, but for now invest elsewhere.
 
I think what is possible from the new WR that wasn't possible from the old is a completely different level of experience. And that is due to the vastly expanded public spaces. Just like the United Center has so much going on in the hallways that kids and uninterested adults enjoy going and hanging out.

It's not my scene, but the audience is there on the North Shore to pull thousands and thousands of families in for three or four games.

Personally, I hate how '85 changed the Cubs. Used to be you could show up at the game, get in, and work your way down....sitting amongst Cub fans who knew that Pete Lacock was the son of a famous game show host. Those days are gone because Wrigley has become a thing for all the transplants who live in Lincoln Park, Lake View and Uptown. Costs a fortune and you're sitting amongst yuppies that aren't die hard.

Never the less, if the new WR can pull them in it will be phenomenal. Crappy for me because I like to park on the street and walk over, but I guess good for recruiting and television.
After all these thousands of North Shore families enjoy the public spaces, where will they all sit? Ah, the Cubs won the World Series!
 
I think there's a very real third option in this discussion. The last five years have pretty much demonstrated that heavy spending on athletic facilities at NU doesn't necessarily diminish strong expansion in other parts of the university.
Exactly. New music building, new Kellogg building, new visitor center. All three with magnificent views overlooking the lake. New dorms and upgrades to old ones. Big upgrades to the Tech building. I was on campus recently, and it's changed significantly since I was a student 20 years ago.

They need to raze and rebuild Norris and the library. Maybe it'll happen and maybe it won't, but doesn't mean they can't renovate Ryan Field too.
 
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After all these thousands of North Shore families enjoy the public spaces, where will they all sit? Ah, the Cubs won the World Series!

Willy, home with the flu today so I've been scrolling through the new media kit that NU basketball put out. I see that when NU hosted the championship game in the 50's -- San Fran versus Iowa -- more than 10,000 saw the game. It was and is the record for attendance. How unpleasant that must have been.
 
Willy, home with the flu today so I've been scrolling through the new media kit that NU basketball put out. I see that when NU hosted the championship game in the 50's -- San Fran versus Iowa -- more than 10,000 saw the game. It was and is the record for attendance. How unpleasant that must have been.
Also 10,000 plus for Kansas and some guy named Chamberlain on 12/7/1957!
 
McGaw Hall was one of the biggest on-campus basketball arenas in the country in the '50s and thus hosted many regionals and the 1956 Championship. They used to have a rule that tournament had to be played in college arenas. Last NCAA regional played at McGaw was in 1966. NU came close to winning the Big Ten that season and would have had a home court advantage! Of course, all NCAA tourney games are now played in big off-campus arenas.
 
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I didn't notice us using the silent count against NE. But, yeah, our fan turnout was nothing to be proud of.

For years I've thought NU should build smaller and nicer facilities. After almost 30 years of going to games I'm resigned to the belief we're not going to find enough fans to have an overwhelming majority at old WRA or RF. So make the venues smaller to cut out some of the opposing fan percentage and make them nicer so NU fans don't have an excuse not to go. The new WRA will put this theory to the test. If it improves our home court advantage I bet they do the same thing with RF.

I've always though they should just cut back the seating capacity somewhat and add more comfortable seats. That shouldn't take a lot of structural work. We're about a quarter the size of the average B1G land grant college and simply aren't going to attract the same number of fans unless we somehow morph into Ohio State-style performance on the field. Also, being a private school means we don't get the casual fan who identifies with ol' state U. Probably half the fans at a Penn State game never set foot on the campus as a student. Pitt never had the same drawing power, even when it had great teams under Majors in the '70s. The down side at Penn State is you're crammed in like sardines. I'd like to see a Ryan with 35,000-40,000 seats along with better concessions and restroom facilities as some have mentioned. I may be in a very small minority, but I kind of like the old towers and other classic elements of the stadium's external design.
 
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Willy, home with the flu today so I've been scrolling through the new media kit that NU basketball put out. I see that when NU hosted the championship game in the 50's -- San Fran versus Iowa -- more than 10,000 saw the game. It was and is the record for attendance. How unpleasant that must have been.

Back in the '50s and early '60s, the operative term was Field House. Sort of a cross between a field and a house, I guess. And a dirt floor to reinforce the ambience. McGaw was simply a typical example. Having sat through some sold-out games there, I'm glad the I'll never have to endure that discomfort again.
 
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