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Weber State and SUU Athletic directors looking to move game to Rio Tinto Stadium.


Weber State and Southern Utah could play in the future as Big Sky Conference foes at Rio Tinto Stadium on the Friday before General Conference -- if a lot of details can be worked out.

Weber State athletics director Jerry Bovee and Southern Utah AD Ken Beazer have discussed the potential for a neutral site showdown between the in-state rivals once SUU joins the Big Sky in 2012.

"This is an important game for both of our institutions in the future and we want to build it to where it becomes, at our level, a nice in-state rivalry in conference. We're the only schools (in Utah) playing conference games in-state. Ken and I are going to work together to figure out what that means and where it fits. Right now everything is on the table."



For the sake of the rivalry, this is cool, but Im a bigger fan of the alternating home game.

Wildcat Ryan wrote:http://www.standard.net/topics/college-sports


Weber State and SUU Athletic directors looking to move game to Rio Tinto Stadium.


Weber State and Southern Utah could play in the future as Big Sky Conference foes at Rio Tinto Stadium on the Friday before General Conference -- if a lot of details can be worked out.

Weber State athletics director Jerry Bovee and Southern Utah AD Ken Beazer have discussed the potential for a neutral site showdown between the in-state rivals once SUU joins the Big Sky in 2012.

"This is an important game for both of our institutions in the future and we want to build it to where it becomes, at our level, a nice in-state rivalry in conference. We're the only schools (in Utah) playing conference games in-state. Ken and I are going to work together to figure out what that means and where it fits. Right now everything is on the table."



For the sake of the rivalry, this is cool, but Im a bigger fan of the alternating home game.

I for one am all in favor of this! That would be like a 15 minute drive for me.

Pretty cool looking stadium.

EWURanger wrote:Pretty cool looking stadium.

It does look like a nice stadium. Where is the stadium located and how far is it from each school? What is the capacity of the stadium?

Googled it. It is in Sandy Utah and seats 20,000.

SloStang wrote:

EWURanger wrote:Pretty cool looking stadium.

It does look like a nice stadium. Where is the stadium located and how far is it from each school? What is the capacity of the stadium?

Closer to Weber but still not that bad of a drive for SUU. Their stadium needs some work so this would be a good deal for the game and I would hope that attendance would be better.

-great idea. ive been saying it for 2 yrs but figured it would never happen.
-the night they want the game on i disagree with
-15,000 would make this site a success and worth doing again (20,000 capacity)
-1 hr from WSU
-3 hrs 45 min from SUU

its a great venue for Real Salt Lake games. Best sports venue in the state of Utah by far. Not a huge place but it actually has really good acoustics so 15,000 would provide a great atmostphere.

Sounds like a good idea to me. Sort of like OU-Texas in Dallas or Florida-Georgia in Jacksonville. I would assume most of both school's alums live in and around SLC. It is kind of unfortunate for Weber that the stadium is decked out in SUU's color.

The economics are interesting. Stewart Stadium has a lot of expensive skyboxes that won't be filled on that weekend every-other year. And what kind of economic impact does a Weber or SUU home game have on their respective communities?

Will the schools get a piece of the action or will all the proceeds go to Real Salt Lake (parking, concessions, etc)?

Weber has been playing two FCS games per season lately. Can they replace one of those games with another home date to make up for losing the SUU home game?

Why would this be a good idea? Both schools already struggle with attendance, and this wouldn't help in the slightest. Weber has a hard time getting fans to drive 10 minutes to watch a game in Ogden, and you want to ask them to drive an hour or more. And it would still be a 3 hour drive for SUU fans. And no one in Salt Lake County gives a rats ass about Weber or SUU football. Anyone who thinks this is a good idea seriously overestimates the number of people in Utah who actually care at all about Weber or SUU football.

WeberAlum02 wrote:Why would this be a good idea? Both schools already struggle with attendance, and this wouldn't help in the slightest. Weber has a hard time getting fans to drive 10 minutes to watch a game in Ogden, and you want to ask them to drive an hour or more. And it would still be a 3 hour drive for SUU fans. And no one in Salt Lake County gives a rats ass about Weber or SUU football. Anyone who thinks this is a good idea seriously overestimates the number of people in Utah who actually care at all about Weber or SUU football.

My thoughts exactly when I heard this.

weberwildcat wrote:-great idea. ive been saying it for 2 yrs but figured it would never happen.
-the night they want the game on i disagree with
-15,000 would make this site a success and worth doing again (20,000 capacity)
-1 hr from WSU
-3 hrs 45 min from SUU

You don't get 15,000 COMBINED in your own home stadiums...what makes you think it'd draw 15,000 in a neutral site?

Looks like a kick-ass venue. But is it cold? And loud?

AZGrizFan wrote:

weberwildcat wrote:-great idea. ive been saying it for 2 yrs but figured it would never happen.
-the night they want the game on i disagree with
-15,000 would make this site a success and worth doing again (20,000 capacity)
-1 hr from WSU
-3 hrs 45 min from SUU

You don't get 15,000 COMBINED in your own home stadiums...what makes you think it'd draw 15,000 in a neutral site?

Because we'll bring all our wives and kids from happy valley!

I think it is worth a shot. They have to do something instead of nothing. I can't give you specifics as to why I like it more than the normal home and home. I just know they need something......

GrizFanStuckInUtah wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:
You don't get 15,000 COMBINED in your own home stadiums...what makes you think it'd draw 15,000 in a neutral site?

Because we'll bring all our wives and kids from happy valley!

I think it is worth a shot. They have to do something instead of nothing. I can't give you specifics as to why I like it more than the normal home and home. I just know they need something......

That might work, but who would get the bread baked??

stuckinUtah is right, it cant hurt to try it once.

how does this affect weber schedule.

2 FBS road games
4 big sky home games
4 big sky road games
1 FCS home game (if we can get a big sky team for this game it works)


it can still work. the issue would be every other yr when it should be ahome game. but if it fails on teh first attempt then it wont matter after that.

15,000 isnt even possible in Cedar and 15,000 wont happen in ogden especailly late in the year. a new venue cuold attract mroe than just die hard wsu and suu fans. it is possible some one might give more than a rats ass or 2 poops.

it is still an issue to have the game on friday night during utah st/byu game. utah would have a bye or road game that week each yr too.

if weber can still have 5 home games, try it once, NOTHING to lose. period.

There are a half a million people living within about 15 minutes of Rio Tinto and over a million within about 30 minutes. That doesn't guarantee any of them will show up, but who knows. It could be a novelty that attracts some attention. Problem is, neither schools gets much attention in the Salt Lake valley and doing this game could change that. For one weekend a year, people there might actually start to care. However, both schools recruit in the Salt Lake area. Nothing like having a chance to see your kid play to draw fans. But, here is another problem--the high school kids you want to interest will be playing their own game that night.

It is right off of TRAX. Weber fans wouldn't have to drive. They could take the Front Runner to TRAX. Doesn't mean they will. Fans from all over the Salt Lake valley could easily arrive with no need to worry about parking.

Both Weber and Southern Utah have attendance drop offs when they play on Saturday on conference weekend anyway. At either home, they would probably have 5 or 6000 anyway. I think they could get more than that. The two schools are entering a phase with an instate conference rival. Neither has had that before. They is a real possibility that there were will be fans of both schools who only think about going to that game.

I have long thought that Salt Lake Community College should start football and play in Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto is also the home of the Top of the Mountain Bowl for junior college.

So, while I think it is a good idea to try it out, I admit that from 3000 miles away the liabilities may not be as paramount to me.

WeberAlum02 wrote:Weber has a hard time getting fans to drive 10 minutes to watch a game in Ogden

I know everybody wants the team they support to be better supported. That is even true of Texas and Michigan--they can't get enough fans either, it seems.

But, how does Weber compare with its peers?

So far this year, average attendance at Big Sky schools is as follows:

Montana 25,896
Montana State 17,092
Sac State 11,728
Weber State 9,439
Eastern Washington 8,864
Idaho State 7,941
Northern Arizona 7,461
Portland State 6,495
Northern Colorado 5,004

I almost did not compute the Montana schools, because I knew they would dwarf everybody else. Everybody else in the Big Sky has bigger instate schools that hog up the lime light--this isn't true for Montana and Montana State. Both compare more to WAC schools than to Big Sky schools (in terms of fan support and athletics budgets).

Among the schools that have to compete with bigger instate schools, Weber's averages are pretty good. It is easy to wish there were more in attendance--half full stadiums are not as fun as full stadiums. Sac State is third in average attendance, but that is with only two games in a large metro area that is the capital of the nation's largest state. Weber is closer to its state capital than any other Big Sky school. I think Weber's base is ok compared to its peers.

Individual game attendance:

Weber State
Sac State 8,362
Idaho State 11,297
Southern Utah 8,657


Eastern Washington
Montana State 10,422
Weber State 7,427
Northern Colorado 8,742


Portland State
Southern Oregon 4,953
Northern Arizona 5,479
Montana State 9,054


Northern Arizona
Fort Lewis 7,108
Idaho State 9,304
Eastern Washington 5,012
Montana 8,421


Sac State
Montana 12,751
Eastern Washington 10,705


Northern Colorado
Lindenwood 4,393
Weber State 5,692
Sac State 1,189
Eastern Washington 8,742


Idaho State
Western State 8,002
Northern Colorado 6,350
Portland State 8,288
Montana 9,124

Montana
Cal Poly 25,855
Eastern Washington 26,066
Northern Colorado 25,919
Portland State 25,744


Montana State
UC Davis 18,487
Minot State 13,507
Sac State 18,847
Northern Arizona 17,527

Mike Johnson wrote: Northern Colorado
Lindenwood 4,393
Weber State 5,692
Sac State 1,189
Eastern Washington 8,742

I was thinking this was a pretty decent crowd for UNC until I realized that this game was played in Cheney, last week......that said, I think your average for UNC might be off.

Nice stadium but....WHY??

i cant believe weber is in 4th in attendance right now. and isu ahead of 3 schools. yikes. ewu attendance looks up too.

i think basketball has a shot at averaging over 7,000 this yr but football at around 10,000 is pretty good compared to recent yrs. we still have montana state and nau but need good weather and a win in missoula ( ) to keep it going.

We used to do this for the Causeway Classic, only we used the POS dinosaur Hughes Stadium at Sac City College. Yes, we used a juco field for our rivalry game. Pathetic, I know.

This proposal for WSU-SUU is MUCH better, but the distances from each school might be problematic. In addition, the attendance might look like the Big West Conference Tournament without Utah State: almost empty in relation to the size of the stadium. I hope I'm wrong. In any event, I fully expect Weber to outdraw SUU by a ton, and the distance is the biggest factor.

I am against it IF Rio Tinto gets all the money, if not, then it cant hurt to try it at least once

SuperHornet wrote:We used to do this for the Causeway Classic, only we used the POS dinosaur Hughes Stadium at Sac City College. Yes, we used a juco field for our rivalry game. Pathetic, I know.

This proposal for WSU-SUU is MUCH better, but the distances from each school might be problematic. In addition, the attendance might look like the Big West Conference Tournament without Utah State: almost empty in relation to the size of the stadium. I hope I'm wrong. In any event, I fully expect Weber to outdraw SUU by a ton, and the distance is the biggest factor.

Valid points only issue is most of the population in utah goes from ogden - salt lake - provo. there is nothing south of provo til you get to cedar which is hours inbetween. rio tinto is the only venue that makes sense in utah if its going to be at a neutral site.

weberwildcat wrote:

SuperHornet wrote:We used to do this for the Causeway Classic, only we used the POS dinosaur Hughes Stadium at Sac City College. Yes, we used a juco field for our rivalry game. Pathetic, I know.

This proposal for WSU-SUU is MUCH better, but the distances from each school might be problematic. In addition, the attendance might look like the Big West Conference Tournament without Utah State: almost empty in relation to the size of the stadium. I hope I'm wrong. In any event, I fully expect Weber to outdraw SUU by a ton, and the distance is the biggest factor.

Valid points only issue is most of the population in utah goes from ogden - salt lake - provo. there is nothing south of provo til you get to cedar which is hours inbetween. rio tinto is the only venue that makes sense in utah if its going to be at a neutral site.

Man, you missed the Beaver!!!!! It's in the sweet spot.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&rls=c ... CBoQ8gEwAA

Mike Johnson wrote:
Montana State
UC Davis 18,487
Minot State 13,507
Sac State 18,847
Northern Arizona 17,527

The attendance for the Minot State game was mis-reported. The 3 should have been a 6 according to MSU, so 16,507 rather than 13,507.