FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS?

[slycat]

[Bostonspider]

Universtiy of Richmond is currently expanding the on-campus First Market Stadium, which houses the soccer and track teams, to allow UR Football to come home to campus for the first time since 1929. The newly expanded and renovated Stadium will feature approximately 9,000 seats, and will architecturally blend with UR's campus. The Spiders will play one final season at UR Stadium (formerly City Stadium), their 81st season in Carytown. While many fans seem a little apprehensive about the great reduction in seats,(from 21K to 9K), and the necessary incorporation of the existing track, everyone is excited to have the team play on-campus.

Current UR Stadium



Current First Market Stadium



New Stadium renderings and plan







Construction Images from last week

http://www.richmondspiders.com/view.gal?id=50075

Construction Web Cam

http://construction.richmond.edu/stadium/webcam.htm

[bobbythekidd]

Welcome BS!

[Mountaineer]

Renderings looks great.

However:

While many fans seem a little apprehensive about the great reduction in seats,(from 21K to 9K), and the necessary incorporation of the existing track, everyone is excited to have the team play on-campus.

Based on recent average attendance information, ya'll don't have anything to worry about.

2008: 7,337
2007: 6,288
2006: 7,263
2005: 6,066
2004: 5,968
2003: 6,812
2002: 6,209

If Richmond fans don't average at least 10-12K this year, it'll be a shame and a disservice to the young men who brought home that trophy.

[dbackjon]

Welcome Boston Spider!

Post often!


I would think the advantages of being on campus would outweigh the reduced capacity.


could it be expanded if needed?

[Bostonspider]

As much as I hope and expect UR's attendance to rise, there are a few things at work here. FIrstly, UR has only 2,800 Students, so expecting large attendance numbers from our students and alums is not always easy. Also most of UR's students are not from the Richmond area, or even VA, so a great majority do not remain in Richmond or the surrounding areas, therefore our alumni base that might make it to the games is much smaller than most schools. Richmond as a city seems much more interested in supporting UVA or VaTech than any of the FCS schools. Finally, something that has been rumored, but never really shown is that UR's Athletic Administration has been downplaying attendance numbers the last few years to lessen fears of UR's neighbors that the crowds will be large and unruly at the new stadium. The neighbors are the main reason the stadium is the size it is, which is the same as the Robin Center basketball arena. Conceivably, if ticket demand is shown, and the neighbors can be mollified, the track could be moved and the field lowered, allowing the stands to expand down and around.. I did a quick sketch of what I would like to see eventually built.

[dbackjon]

Very cool - understandable given the neighborhood concern.

[CSUBUCDAD]

Chuck south has a new field house that will be going up starting next off season followed by lights and then additional stands once the games start to get full on a consistent basis

[slycat]

Chuck south has a new field house that will be going up starting next off season followed by lights and then additional stands once the games start to get full on a consistent basis

Very cool. Any renderings yet?

[DukeJack]

Richmond stadium construction update:

http://www.richmondspiders.com/view.gal?id=50429

Looking good, but I like the track less every time I see those pictures

[BlackFalkin]

Richmond needs a new stadium. That half-circle, quarter-square stadium is weak. (even if it is 20k) Building this new stadium ON campus is best.

[BlackFalkin]

Cal Poly's Master Plan

[slycat]

Cal Poly's Master Plan

Cool. Now if the record attendance at the stadium can be football instead of soccer.

[BlackFalkin]

Richmond stadium construction update:

http://www.richmondspiders.com/view.gal?id=50429

Looking good, but I like the track less every time I see those pictures

FCS championship=new stadium huh? pretty good deal.

[Willie]

Cal Poly's Master Plan

That rendering has quite a few similarities with Wa-Griz

[guinzone]

YSU Improvements

Addition of 2nd Scoreboard to South Side of Stadium


New Flag Poles.... lol yes:
Photo on YSUSports.com, which is not working for me.

New Chairback Seats.... very much needed

[SuperJon]

The structure for our new scoreboard is up:

Here are pictures.

It's going to stretch out off the sides and top of the frame. The video board in the middle is 36 x 20. The scoreboard is supposed to arrive on Wednesday and will take two days to install. Should be complete by next week.

[Bostonspider]

A few pics of UR's construction from last week. The steel is starting to go up...

[ChetSteadman]

Will the seating deck be made of concrete or aluminum/steel? Those columns look like what App did for it's recent expansion, which is metal.

[JMUpurplehazed]

James Madison...just my opinion.

Pleckler Athletic Facility complete at $12Mish (locker rooms/weight rooms/study rooms/offices).
Phase 1 & 2 of well planned new stadium approved $62Mish (capacity to 25,000, a good size currently).
Phase 3 not approved but in current build design plans takes capacity to 40,000.

I love FCS so I'm not bashing FCS...Does an FCS program spend $75M on a stadium without having plans?---slumbelt conference, you're kidd (brewer)ing right...does the Big East Conference have a school in Virginia?

[JMU DJ]

James Madison...just my opinion.

Pleckler Athletic Facility complete at $12Mish (locker rooms/weight rooms/study rooms/offices).
Phase 1 & 2 of well planned new stadium approved $62Mish (capacity to 25,000, a good size currently).
Phase 3 not approved but in current build design plans takes capacity to 40,000.

I love FCS so I'm not bashing FCS...Does an FCS program spend $75M on a stadium without having plans?---slumbelt conference, you're kidd (brewer)ing right...does the Big East Conference have a school in Virginia?

Not since tech left (I'm sure you know the answer to your rhetorical question though).... I know there are quotes out there from the JMU higher ups where they say "JMU has no plans to move up to the FBS"... but if phase 3 goes through, that's one heck of an FCS stadium... UVA just went up to 60,000 capacity in 2000 after adding 20000 seats. 40K would put JMU in the bottom 1/4 for FBS stadium size.

[JMUpurplehazed]

I know JMU's athletic dept says "we are comfortable with FCS" and I believe that JMU is comfortable with FCS but I choose to see between the lines; $75M on a FCS stadium is analogous to a young married couple selling a one bedroom condo and buying a four bedroom house all the while claiming they liked the condo---they have plans...

The JMU master plan is aggressive, the growth of the student body is aggressive > 25,000 in the near future. I think athletic conference affiliation will become an increasingly important subject...I don't think FBS > FCS but I do think athletics must mirror the overall agenda of the school and I do think JMU plans on taking a seat a bigger table.

1A may be 15 years from now but I appreciate being ready---I remember when VT was independent and played VMI every year...I remember when VT wanted to join the ACC and the ACC laughed...VT now owns the ACC...let us not overlook that VT is in a small town and there are no large cities near VT...JMU is two hours from DC and Richmond, both loaded with alum. Play named competition and JMU fills a 40,000 seat stadium six times a year.

[JMU DJ]

The JMU master plan is aggressive, the growth of the student body is aggressive > 25,000 in the near future.

I know, they put the freshman up in the Hojo my junior year


(personally, I would have been pissed if I was put in a hotel for my freshman year of college... let alone one that was recently hit by a Mac truck)

[BlackFalkin]

I know JMU's athletic dept says "we are comfortable with FCS" and I believe that JMU is comfortable with FCS but I choose to see between the lines; $75M on a FCS stadium is analogous to a young married couple selling a one bedroom condo and buying a four bedroom house all the while claiming they liked the condo---they have plans...

The JMU master plan is aggressive, the growth of the student body is aggressive > 25,000 in the near future. I think athletic conference affiliation will become an increasingly important subject...I don't think FBS > FCS but I do think athletics must mirror the overall agenda of the school and I do think JMU plans on taking a seat a bigger table.

1A may be 15 years from now but I appreciate being ready---I remember when VT was independent and played VMI every year...I remember when VT wanted to join the ACC and the ACC laughed...VT now owns the ACC...let us not overlook that VT is in a small town and there are no large cities near VT...JMU is two hours from DC and Richmond, both loaded with alum. Play named competition and JMU fills a 40,000 seat stadium six times a year.

You are correct! James Madison is telling the truth; they ARE comfortable @fcs , but what they are REALLY saying is.... they are comfortable in the fcs RIGHT NOW.

like you said, a young couple doesn't buy a 4 or 5 bedroom house if they are'nt about to have kids right?

James Madison knows there is a hold by the ncaa on fcs teams jumping to fbs right now, so why would they announce it when they dont have to, and their actions have told us sooner or later they will anyway. No team expands & goes in debt for a 40k stadium for nothing.

[BlackFalkin]