New USF stadium is a go

[The Ole Six-Fiver]

As a thought exercise, if the Steelers were to build a Westmoreland or Washington county stadium at the end of their Acrisure lease and the stadium authority sold Arcisure to Pitt and you were in charge of right sizing the stadium for Pitt, what method would you take?

Remove the upperdeck and replace it with a smaller lower capacity upper deck?

Make all the seats however many inches wider needed so there are 3 to 5 fewer seats per row?

Permanently remove the upper decks and replace the lower bowl's seatback chairs(club level excluded) with bleachers with narrower seat widths so you could fit 45,000 to 55,000 in the lower bowl?

Something else?

Instead of trying to demolish the top decks (without compromising the club levels, lights, side message boards etc) which is just infeasible…block them off, but in a more study ( but not entirely permanent) manner than cheap flimsy tarps. Semi rigid panels, perhaps even electrified screens of sorts that could display multiple graphics and animation. If they could also act as solar panels, all the better. Even the most hostile Pitt trustee and faculty that despise Neanderthal male football could get behind a solar powered stadium! Partner with Generac. And… I can’t bother to look up Solar panel makers or distributors right now, but yeah, one of those.

Also, make the field synthetic and able to quickly convert to soccer, lacrosse matches etc…. That will add further appeal to those ‘global’ types.

Adjust seating as needed to reach the most ideal maximum. Look for ways to make the seating flexible (the example, bench seats in some non-season tix sections that have multiple dividers that’s can rise or descend into the seating surface, that can be made as wide or narrow as perceived demand for any given game.

 

[NKSplitter]

Instead of trying to demolish the top decks (without compromising the club levels, lights, side message boards etc) which is just infeasible…block them off, but in a more study ( but not entirely permanent) manner than cheap flimsy tarps. Semi rigid panels, perhaps even electrified screens of sorts that could display multiple graphics and animation. If they could also act as solar panels, all the better. Even the most hostile Pitt trustee and faculty that despise Neanderthal male football could get behind a solar powered stadium! Partner with Generac. And… I can’t bother to look up Solar panel makers or distributors right now, but yeah, one of those.

Also, make the field synthetic and able to quickly convert to soccer, lacrosse matches etc…. That will add further appeal to those ‘global’ types.

Adjust seating as needed to reach the most ideal maximum. Look for ways to make the seating flexible (the example, bench seats in some non-season tix sections that have multiple dividers that’s can rise or descend into the seating surface, that can be made as wide or narrow as perceived demand for any given game.

This is good stuff. So the top of the upper decks could essentially have the Pittsburgh version of the Jerry World video screen hanging from hinges on the front of the roof during game days, during recruiting visits, etc. then when the game is over be rotated up to lay flat on the roof revealing the solar panels on the backside. Preserves the potential for full current capacities for opponents that would fill the stadium and big concerts. Hell, maybe Pitt should fund this even while still sharing the stadium with the Steelers. 5 star post from a 5 star poster.

 

[HailtoPitt]

As a thought exercise, if the Steelers were to build a Westmoreland or Washington county stadium at the end of their Acrisure lease and the stadium authority sold Arcisure to Pitt and you were in charge of right sizing the stadium for Pitt, what method would you take?

Remove the upperdeck and replace it with a smaller lower capacity upper deck?

Make all the seats however many inches wider needed so there are 3 to 5 fewer seats per row?

Permanently remove the upper decks and replace the lower bowl's seatback chairs(club level excluded) with bleachers with narrower seat widths so you could fit 45,000 to 55,000 in the lower bowl?

Something else?

Steelers aren't going to leave the norf side.

But, just let it be torn down and then rebuild a new, smaller stadium that doesn't suck. However, they don't want to do that. Knowing Pitt, they'd just bus Pitt students over to the Westmoreland County stadium and give them pizza and a free drink for their troubles.

 

[Pitt1975]

No, it was not better.
In fact, it was worse or somewhat the same.
Back then, the students b*tched about having to walk up Cardiac Hill to go to the games.
It never ends.

We came up Center from the Fiji house. It was up hill both ways, LOL.
The student section then was like it is now. Hot game packed Bad game sparse crowd. My first rear, 1971 Pitt stadium still had wooden bleachers. A lot were broken when we stood on them and cheered.
We also were allowed to make banners. One year the Phi Gams had a “Castrate State” banner when the Nits came to town.
It was quickly confiscated. But everyone saw it.
Also we got there early to save seats. Most were trashed by the half, or hooked up and had something more important to do.
Lots of wine skins in those ancient days.

 

[TempleBAPittMPA]

What ever happened to Temple’s?

Too busy firing presidents to move forward.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

They tell their own season ticket holders that?

Well I'm not a season ticket holder at any of those places, but the lots closest to the stadium at both Penn State and Navy (the ones that are certainly filled with season ticket holders) are assigned parking. You absolutely park exactly where you are told.

 

[latz66]

Question for those who went to Pitt Stadium while students.

Was the student atmosphere significantly better at Pitt Stadium than Acrisure/Heinz?

not in the late 80s. Unless we played ND or Penn State or WVU

 

[HailtoPitt]

Well I'm not a season ticket holder at any of those places, but the lots closest to the stadium at both Penn State and Navy (the ones that are certainly filled with season ticket holders) are assigned parking. You absolutely park exactly where you are told.

You'd have to ask @Slick Manager of Champs what the exact deal is, but it sounds like Alco parking is assigning people exact spots. So if you're the first one there it won't matter.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Let’s make a comparison…The Pitt campus is 3 miles from Acrisure Stadium. Beaver Stadium is 2 miles from campus. So for one extra mile, you want donors, the city and the University to build a stadium a 350 million dollar stadium for 6 games per year? Is there land available in Oakland to build the stadium if they can raise the money? I don’t see any…

How will this 350 million dollar stadium help the football program? No one can answer that question in a coherent and logical way.

If the stadium Pitt is using was 15 to 25 miles away (Miami, UCLA) then I might support building one closer to campus. But if there’s no land to build the stadium (including parking), then they would have to build it a few miles away…. WAIT! They already have one a few miles away and it didn’t cost them 350 million dollars!

Hail - With all due respect, you are looking at this emotionally and not rationally.

I will answer these questions with a question:

Why are we spending $300 million on a volleyball arena when its a non-revenue sport and the team has an on-campus home where they are having historic success.

 

[HailtoPitt]

I will answer these questions with a question:

Why are we spending $300 million on a volleyball arena when its a non-revenue sport and the team has an on-campus home where they are having historic success.

Nobody can give a legitimate answer other than to keep up with the Joneses.

 

[cbpitt2]

Let’s make a comparison…The Pitt campus is 3 miles from Acrisure Stadium. Beaver Stadium is 2 miles from campus. So for one extra mile, you want donors, the city and the University to build a stadium a 350 million dollar stadium for 6 games per year? Is there land available in Oakland to build the stadium if they can raise the money? I don’t see any…

How will this 350 million dollar stadium help the football program? No one can answer that question in a coherent and logical way.

If the stadium Pitt is using was 15 to 25 miles away (Miami, UCLA) then I might support building one closer to campus. But if there’s no land to build the stadium (including parking), then they would have to build it a few miles away…. WAIT! They already have one a few miles away and it didn’t cost them 350 million dollars!

Hail - With all due respect, you are looking at this emotionally and not rationally.

Beaver Stadium isn't 2 miles from campus. Right across the street is an intramural building and behind that student dorms.

 

[HailtoPitt]

Beaver Stadium isn't 2 miles from campus. Right across the street is an intramural building and behind that student dorms.

It sounded good, though.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

You'd have to ask @Slick Manager of Champs what the exact deal is, but it sounds like Alco parking is assigning people exact spots. So if you're the first one there it won't matter.

FWIW, in the lot that we park in they have not directed anyone to a spot at either of the two games so far. Now they may have started doing that at some certain point closer to game time than when we got there for both games, but they did not direct us to a specific space either time.

However, like I said, at places like Penn State and Notre Dame and Navy and Temple and many others directing people to exact spots is exactly what they do. Hell, my local high school direct people to exact spaces when they pull into the parking lot for a football game.

In short, ALCO is NOT doing anything different than most places do. And in fact they are not doing anything different for Pitt than what they had already been doing for the Stillers.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

1st renderings. Still cant believe they are wasting money on this when they have a perfectly good NFL stadium that is the envy of scores of college programs.

USF releases 1st renderings of its new on-campus stadium

The stadium is scheduled to open in the fall 2027.

baynews9.com

 

[HailToPitt725]

1st renderings. Still cant believe they are wasting money on this when they have a perfectly good NFL stadium that is the envy of scores of college programs.

USF releases 1st renderings of its new on-campus stadium

The stadium is scheduled to open in the fall 2027.

baynews9.com

I think the investment is looking better following Charlie Baker’s proposed ‘pay-to-play’ subdivision. If the decision to compete there would be on an institutional basis, not conferences, and USF is willing to compete on that level, I could see it paying off long-term.

That is, of course, assuming there isn’t an actual split-off from the NCAA at some point.

 

[Panthergrowl13]

It's crazy how building the Pete only became a bad decision well after a decade of being one of the most successful basketball programs in the country.

Not saying we couldn't use a right-sized stadium (although I'd at least experiment with tarps at The Stadium Formerly Known as Heinz for now), but I sure as hell don't want it in Oakland. I'd have to leave an hour earlier and plan on getting home two hours later every game.

Additionally, all the entertainment (Bars, Restaurants and Casino) built around Heinz for pre and post party can't be met in crowed Oakland. Just Tarp the field down to 50,000 fans. Stadium is only used 7 times a year.

HAIL TO PITT!!!!