FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS?

[BlackFalkin]

IF YOU KNOW OF ANY FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS IN THE WORKS OR PLANNED, POST THEM...

Eastern is FINALLY adding a replay screen in Reese Court [could possibly be an led ribbon but i think they voted for the screen which is better], they are also changing all the wood stands to aluminum. i like the wood but hey... bball guys tell me its a good switch. they have already resufaced the court with a great new design, & theyre also making new pressboxes.

As far as Woodward Field, theyre gonna put up alot more signage, champions[years] all that stuff, replace the natural grass w/pro turf aka field turf, and "replace the scoreboard" i dont know exactly what that means but i know what they need to do is put a replay screen in that bitch if they wanna attract more fans. I really hope they dont just put a new regular scoreboard up.

some of these changes have already happend. these upgrades are apart of the Eastern Washington University strategic plan scheduled "2008-2010" goeags.com
http://goeags.cstv.com/administration/ewas-mission.html

[slycat]

Texas State is building luxury boxes/press box. Phase 1A will be done by 2009 season then Phase 1B by 2010. Phase 2 is expected to be done by 2011 which includes adding more seats.

http://www.athletics.txstate.edu/thedri ... ojects.htm

[wideright82]

Villanova has started funding for a new football facility where the concession stand is now. Not sure of all the details but it costs a pretttttttty pennnyy.

[JMU DJ]

Already threw this out there, but no harm in posting it again

Phase I: Demo the west stands and build new two tiered section. Install permanent bleachers in the north end zone. Begins December 2009... from my understanding, this phase will be complete by 2011

After the 2009 season, the grandstand beside the parking deck would be demolished and rebuilt, and the first deck of what would be a two-deck grandstand would be built in its place, starting 40 feet closer to the field than the existing seats. A club lounge would be constructed atop the grandstand, serving alcohol and food to 1,000 fans who buy seats around the lounge.

http://www.dnronline.com/news_details.p ... 368&CHID=1



New private suites will be included in the west bleachers as well as the relocation of the press box to the west end also. New lighting will also be installed. This will bring the stadium capacity to almost 25,000... but will leave it looking lopsided


Phase II: Demo the east stands and build new two tiered section.
Phase III: Finish north end zone stands by making them two tiered also.

The final two phases would bring capacity up to around 40,000. I haven't seen a time line for the other two phases but hopefully they will get them done in a reasonable amount of time... at least the Godwin/east side bleachers so the stadium doesn't look as disproportionate as Rafael Nadals arms.
[youtube][/youtube]

Phase I and Phase III view

We've already got new turf in place

Grainy... Completed stadium view


Renovations are also going to be completed on other facilities including building new baseball facilities, upgrading the convocation center/bball arena, and upgrading practice/intramural fields for numerous sports.

[slycat]

Heres what it will look like in the end. It will seat around 35,000.

[slycat]

I hadn't seen JMUs renderings before. Very cool. Are y'all looking at going to FBS?

[JMU DJ]

I hadn't seen JMUs renderings before. Very cool. Are y'all looking at going to FBS?

No clue... there's a lot of talk on message boards about JMU possibly trying to make a jump up to C-USA. The university has been expanding dramatically, from the time I enrolled to the time I graduated, I believe enrollment was up by 2,000 and I know they are planning on expanding more with both new academic and athletic facilities. There's plenty of room in the area around the campus for these expansions. The school bought property from a high school while I was there and they are going to use that to build new Baseball and Softball stadiums. So I'm thinking that if enrollment continues to rise (which is on par with UVA right now) and the interest in the football program from the students and alumni continues to be steady, I can't see a reason why we would build a stadium that big and not try to make the jump.

[TwinTownBisonFan]

welcome to FBS JMU...

that stadium is why I LOVE college football... stadiums that are built a little at time... phased expansions... when grandpa can tell grandson "when i was here we added the west stands" dad adds "when i was here they put in the north endzone" and now that son is there they are double decking the east stands... awesome looking.

It's why Wash-Griz is so great, it's why Beaver Stadium in PA is so awesome. Stadiums with character.

[BlackFalkin]

It's why Wash-Griz is so great, it's why Beaver Stadium in PA is so awesome. Stadiums with character.

AGREED 100%

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

Great thread BF. Those stadium expansions will be epic at JMU and TXST. Those are some great renderings and I hope they come to fruition for you guys.

[BlackFalkin]

Woodward Field Is in the middle of a 4 Phase Renovation Plan lasting from 1999-2012.

Old woodward stadium


Phase 1.
+Replaced old track
+New stadium restrooms
+New locker rooms
+New football office complex was completed
+New main entrance for the stadium was built.
+New East side seating erected

Locker room

New entrance & ticket booth


Phase 2.
+New 2 story press box w/ donor suites
+New North end zone seating erected
+Locker room renovation w/flat screens/ps3 & xbox
+Football office complex renovation.
+New football camera equip.
+New tunnel for player entrance

New tunnel for player entrance shown in background at Reese court.


New North endzone seating w/ new pressbox



Phase 3.
+New signage around entire field
+New Big Sky Conf title banners & signage
+New field turf playing surface
+New scoreboard


Phase 4.
+Additional seating above west grandstand, next to pressbox
+Eliminating east/visitor temp. seating-to concrete perm seating
+Extending east/visitor seating full 100 yards.
+Additional seating on east/visitor side. roughly triple the current size
+Additional landscaping & esthetics around stadium to modernize stadium

Final 'projected' look of the stadium
+North endzone seating is already built & much bigger
+East/visitor seating will be much bigger
+Note the additional seating next to the pressbox



As you can see Woodward Field has come a *LONG* way. These upgrades have & will do alot for the Eagles, however, the stadium needs a little more tweaking before I'll be satisfied. *BUT* Im proud that the decision makers are starting to understand that co-championships dont come cheap, and great teams need great facilities. My guess is they will make upgrades every two or three years which will make this good stadium great!


http://goeags.cstv.com/administration/ewas-mission.html
http://www.ewu.edu/easternmagazine/arch ... tadium.pdf
http://www.ewu.edu/x8835.xml
http://www.allbusiness.com/management-c ... 920-1.html

[TwinTownBisonFan]

I thought you guys played at Joe Albi Stadium...

are they same place with different titles?

[Grizalltheway]

I thought you guys played at Joe Albi Stadium...

are they same place with different titles?

Joe Albi is where they used to play in Spokane, I believe.

[TwinTownBisonFan]

shoulda wiki'd... makes sense now. worldstadiums is hardly an authority... but usually better than this. woodward isn't even listed.

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

Some nice field turf at Woodward will be a nice upgrade. Like any other field in the Nortwest the weather can make that field just terrible during the season with a little rain. EWU is a pretty fun place to go see a game if you get the chance. It's close to spokane but is far enough out of town that you drive through basically farm country and then all of the sudden you're at a college and a football stadium. It's pretty cool suroundings out there.

[Mountaineer]

The Eastern Washington upgrades look great.

Seems like quite a few FCS schools are entering into an arms race in regards to stadium upgrades.

[dbackjon]

The Eastern Washington upgrades look great.

Seems like quite a few FCS schools are entering into an arms race in regards to stadium upgrades.

And at KBS?

[Mountaineer]

And at KBS?

Appalachian State is going to make it to the moon first. We also have the crowds that can support the upgrades.

We've all seen what happened to the Russians when they tried to keep up.

[TwinTownBisonFan]

And at KBS?

Appalachian State is going to make it to the moon first. We also have the crowds that can support the upgrades.

We've all seen what happened to the Russians when they tried to keep up.

They joined the Sun Belt?

[Mountaineer]

Clever.

Personally, I have no problem with the Sun Belt.

Not sure if that is the destination for ASU in the future, but I don't think all the improvements around campus (both athletic and academic) are being done with the goal of staying in I-AA.

[dbackjon]

Clever.

Personally, I have no problem with the Sun Belt.

Not sure if that is the destination for ASU in the future, but I don't think all the improvements around campus (both athletic and academic) are being done with the goal of staying in I-AA.

ASU, JMU and GSU for the SunBelt . There goes half the membership at places.

[slycat]

Maybe Texas State will end up in the same conference as GSU, JMU, or ASU. Then GSU can have their revenge.

[guinzone]

Unless some schools are going to the FBS ranks, I see no reason for the monster expansions.. Cough JMU and TSU!

Don't get me wrong they look awesome, but you got to see if the demand is really there.

[slycat]

Unless some schools are going to the FBS ranks, I see no reason for the monster expansions.. Cough JMU and TSU!

Don't get me wrong they look awesome, but you got to see if the demand is really there.

Texas State plans to move to FBS once the moratorium is lifted. The expansion is being done to improve facilities for a jump.

[JMU DJ]

I just caught this article... the article was written back in 2008 when JMU announced the renovation plans.

http://www.championshipsubdivisionnews. ... ans?blog=2

Officials Say School Is ‘Comfortable’ In FCS

HARRISONBURG - James Madison’s $52 million plan to renovate Bridgeforth Stadium does not mean the school is considering a move to Division I-A football, university officials said Monday.

“Absolutely not,” JMU vice president Charlie King said. “We wanted to have, if not the best, one of the best I-AA football facilities in America.”

Friday, the school’s board of visitors approved the plan to expand the football facility to 24,878 seats and add luxury suites, new lights and a new press box by 2011. JMU must now wait for approval from the state.

Athletic director Jeff Bourne said Monday he was aware that some fans expected the announcement to be part of a larger plan to move up to I-A, but stressed that isn’t the case.

“I think there’s a lot of speculation out there and, there has been for some time, that when the stadium was increased in size, we would immediately try to move to I-A football,” Bourne said. “We’re very comfortable where we are right now. We certainly enjoy competing at this level.”

To move from I-AA to I-A, the NCAA requires programs to have an average paid or actual home attendance of 15,000 at least once in a two-year period. JMU averaged 14,512 in 2007, 15,133 in 2006 and 13,525 in 2005.