“Corky” PITT stadium
- Thread starter jivecat
- Start date
Whoopie cushions, yes. Seat cushions, no. Unless they are transparent.
I remember going to a VT game in the rain, I thought it was a Thursday night but maybe not.
Just look at evertons new stadium design in Liverpool (not the outside), the inside structure is built the way you’re talking about. Steep seats and close to the field. Can be 40-50k seats or less. Who cares, as long as the atmosphere is good, which at a reduced size, will be.
Pitt had athletic facility planning done in the early 2000s, immediately after Pitt Stadium was torn down, that showed the OC lot as a potential new stadium site. I posted images of it several times over the years but don't know if they are available anymore...they weren't MS paint, but a general site architectural study by one firm for athletic facility development on the hill...much of which was never done. As then, as always, the surrounding infrastructure and partnership with the city would be the biggest hurdles, not to mention the cost. The cost/benefit of such a project, in reality, may still not be there.
My understanding is that the OC lot is also a very difficult (therefore expensive) site to build on. There are old mines on that hill, one of which at least used to be on fire.
There is a lot of land in the Hill District behind Pitt that is owned by the urban redevelopment authority...along Centre and up Herron Ave. See the blocks bounded by Centre, Herron, Wylie, and Morgan. Stadium site? That area may make more sense than the OC from an ease of construction perspective, but that probably isn't a preferred site for a stadium. How excited is the city to sell that land to a tax-exempt non-profit to turn them into a stadium or tailgating parking lots? Probably not very excited at all, but nonetheless, there is land sitting there doing nothing and might be well suited for such a purpose from Pitt's perspective.
Likely though you'd need to redo Center and and Herron streets to provide better egress/ingress to a stadium by redesigning and widening. Add those costs to any project because the city is unlikely to take on that expense for Pitt, if the city would even be willing for such a project to be undertaken.
Anyone familiar with the political machinations involved for Pitt to obtain the current chunk of land the Petersen Sports Complex now sits on (the old Oak Hill public housing site) knows how politically difficult, and politically expensive, it will be for Pitt to acquire any land in the hill. There will be protests and political grandstanding for sure, and in this era of student debt discussions, this won't be a lot of appetite of the headaches to be dealt with.
An adequate power conference type of stadium (and I'm not sure 45K isn't an adequate "power conference" type of stadium) is going to be very difficult and expensive to pull off, both financially and politically. But if Pitt ends up in a second rate conference like the remnant B12, than maybe it doesn't matter and.bare bones is enough.
If Cost left money for a stadium project, then it is certainly worth Pitt exploring the situation seriously, but I still won't hold my breath with the number of hurdles and the uncertainty of the future. With the current status quo, I personally still don't see a reasonable cost/benefit here over Pitt's arrangement at Acrisure considering all the other resources needed for running a football program in the era of NIL. However, if an on-campus stadium would be something that would be able to keep Pitt in a power conference type of situation, some sort of unsaid stipulated requirement for something, then they'd have to do it. I can't see how it would realistically make a difference though.
My understanding is that the OC lot is also a very difficult (therefore expensive) site to build on. There are old mines on that hill, one of which at least used to be on fire.
There is a lot of land in the Hill District behind Pitt that is owned by the urban redevelopment authority...along Centre and up Herron Ave. See the blocks bounded by Centre, Herron, Wylie, and Morgan. Stadium site? That area may make more sense than the OC from an ease of construction perspective, but that probably isn't a preferred site for a stadium. How excited is the city to sell that land to a tax-exempt non-profit to turn them into a stadium or tailgating parking lots? Probably not very excited at all, but nonetheless, there is land sitting there doing nothing and might be well suited for such a purpose from Pitt's perspective.
Likely though you'd need to redo Center and and Herron streets to provide better egress/ingress to a stadium by redesigning and widening. Add those costs to any project because the city is unlikely to take on that expense for Pitt, if the city would even be willing for such a project to be undertaken.
Anyone familiar with the political machinations involved for Pitt to obtain the current chunk of land the Petersen Sports Complex now sits on (the old Oak Hill public housing site) knows how politically difficult, and politically expensive, it will be for Pitt to acquire any land in the hill. There will be protests and political grandstanding for sure, and in this era of student debt discussions, this won't be a lot of appetite of the headaches to be dealt with.
An adequate power conference type of stadium (and I'm not sure 45K isn't an adequate "power conference" type of stadium) is going to be very difficult and expensive to pull off, both financially and politically. But if Pitt ends up in a second rate conference like the remnant B12, than maybe it doesn't matter and.bare bones is enough.
If Cost left money for a stadium project, then it is certainly worth Pitt exploring the situation seriously, but I still won't hold my breath with the number of hurdles and the uncertainty of the future. With the current status quo, I personally still don't see a reasonable cost/benefit here over Pitt's arrangement at Acrisure considering all the other resources needed for running a football program in the era of NIL. However, if an on-campus stadium would be something that would be able to keep Pitt in a power conference type of situation, some sort of unsaid stipulated requirement for something, then they'd have to do it. I can't see how it would realistically make a difference though.
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First posts in your face obstructed views since the Polo Grounds was built...Nice!Just gotta squeeeeeeeze it in there…
Cannot believe my floating Mon river stadium design has not been taken up as an option.
This is how I really know something’s up behind the scenes. A few years ago, you would completely dismiss any on-campus stadium talk. Now, you’re at least contemplating the idea.
This is how I really know something’s up behind the scenes. A few years ago, you would completely dismiss any on-campus stadium talk. Now, you’re at least contemplating the idea.
Not calling people idiots for wanting it this time!
Actually, as a men's baskerball season ticket holder who has a parking pass for the OC lot for the men's games too, it might not be quite that bad, but it's close. There have been times when the arena has been less than half full that I have had similar issues. Typically when I expect a decent crowd I go through Oakland and come in from the VA Hospital side for exactly that reason. Any semi-large crowd at the Pete turns that whole area up the hill into complete gridlock.
If we build a “fauxback” stadium like that, we better go all-out and include troughs in them as well.
What a fanbase…can have a thread proposing an extravagant on-campus football stadium, amidst another thread on the conference disintegration that basically underscores the futility of Pitt continuing in big time college football possibly within a couple of years.
Why would a school EVER contemplate the former without an ironclad assurance that the latter is NOT only highly possible but not dang near inevitable?
Acrisure is not perfect … but it’s biggest advantage is that Pitt can leave it and forget about it the moment that the conference shoe drops.
Why would a school EVER contemplate the former without an ironclad assurance that the latter is NOT only highly possible but not dang near inevitable?
Acrisure is not perfect … but it’s biggest advantage is that Pitt can leave it and forget about it the moment that the conference shoe drops.
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Seems like tailgating in Oakland to be HonestHere's a future tailgate pic at Acrisure!
I have plenty of nitter friends that have Pitt masters degrees. Doesn't mean they all of a sudden are Pitt fans.
One of the biggest Pitt fans I know went to Penn State for undergrad, and Pitt for law school. Has had Pitt season tickets for football and basketball since we graduated. So it definitely goes both ways.
