I know this board loves talking about tarps. Looks like they have tarps in the far end sections of the sideline upper decks at Acrisure for the Ed Sheeran concert this weekend ... will they use those for Pitt games this year?
Acrisure tarps
- Thread starter Upg bobcat
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I doubt it. I think they’ve been there before for other concerts and Pitt has never used them. Plus, if we did get tarps, I think they’d be Pitt-themed, similar to the ones we had near the sidelines during the Covid season.
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I’d rather have empty seats showing than tarps. Just sends the wrong message, but that’s my opinion.
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I’d rather have empty seats showing than tarps. Just sends the wrong message, but that’s my opinion.
An empty seat is still an empty seat……tarped, or not
With todays high tech capabilities, holograms of “fans” could likely be pretty easily projected into empty seats. In that situation they could even be “mobile” and look even more realistic (Vs static cutouts). Possibly not QUITE there yet as far as being feasible on a scale of tens of thousands, but we have to expect it isn’t far off.
I was actually surprised the guy was playing there and might be able to carry off such a giant venue. He’s not awful or anything, certainly a viable pop act… but def not a giant mainstream act like TS (or a “party act” like Chesney). So the need for tarps makes more sense.
What was amusing this week is that Beyoncé pulled out of her show here. Almost always that is indicative of poor sales. The Stadium people put out the standard BS statement on it that you can almost never take as truth(“ logistics issues” or some such rot). I don’t follow that stuff but I had actually thought she was one of those artists who were capable to pull off (profit wise) a giant venue like that. Anyone hear otherwise?
I believe Beyonce played Heinz in 2018 maybe and I heard the crowd was like 36K. Not bad, but would definitely require some tarping (U2 used tarps their last stadium show here in 2017). I don't think Beyonce is more popular now than 2018. So given the swiftie invasion for 2 shows eating up the entertainment family budget, and past ticket sales, really no surprise that Beyonce was probably not selling well at all.
Pitt needs a 50K stadium. Two options to get that. Build an on-campus stadium or tarp. Cheapest thing is to tarp. I thought it looked okay at ACC championship. And I think UCLA tarps the rose bowl for most home games. Does Miami? I don't think so.
A school of thought to consider is that if you do that to create a 50k stadium, it is always a 50k stadium. You don't remove for WVU or ND, and help to create demand for season tickets.
Of course I would love the on-campus stadium, but since that isn't happening tarps really should be considered.
Without a doubt it was poor ticket sales. There are a few other cities with poor sales, but those concerts are scheduled for September so there's still time. I'm surprised Sheeran can do a stadium show as well, but he also seems to realize he won't be selling the place out as it doesn't appear many of the North American shows are sold out.
True but a blue tarp with a big Pitt script logo looks better than empty yellow seats.
More than anything, they just need to close sections. They shouldn't use all 70K seats unless its PSU, WVU, ND, or a one-off event game like Clemson or maybe FSU
Only at Pitt can you get an on-campus investment into non-revenue generating sports facilities, but for the biggest revenue generating sport, we are forced to accept the reality of a rented stadium where 1/2 the fan base wants tarps to hide the fact that we can’t fill the rented stadium.
It is odd and shake-your-head amusing but it perfectly aligns with the preferences and prejudices of the Pitt admin, both past (always hated football) and present (desperate to cater to Wokeness).
I agree 100%. Set the capacity with the tarps and don't sell additional tickets if it's a big game. That would actually be bban easy thing to do. But Pitt...
Honestly, I think it makes sense. For now, we have record-high ACC revenues coming in, so it’s the right time to get the Olympic sports facilities up to date before things become uncertain and funds potentially dry up.
As for football, like @Slick Manager of Champs said on the other thread, it wouldn’t be wise to invest $500M+ in a new stadium when we don’t even know where we’re going to end up at. Sure, it could be the B1G/SEC, but what if it’s the Big 12 or even a depleted ACC? I also think the difference in value (i.e., receiving an invitation) is negligible between an on-campus stadium and a renovated North Shore stadium. Just my opinion, though.
All the tarp talk aligns with the cautionary tale from the ACC poaching thread. We are a competitive team in a legit P5 conference right now yet struggle to attract enough draw that we have to debate every single year about covering up half the empty seats. And some of you think Pitt would be just fine in a B league with BC and Wake and Iowa State and all other second bananas? This seating issue should be debated for sure but it is part and parcel with the desperation Pitt needs to feel to be part of the two mega conferences when all is said and done.
If Pitt itself doesn’t feel there’s a rats chance of that happening, they (nor us) should not bother with talk of tarps, because there couldn’t be enough poly-latex or whatever material in existence, to cover enough of the empty seats of Acrisure that will result. And especially no need to ponder an on-campus stadium!
All I’m saying is, priorities. Lie, kick, scream, squeal, get naked pictures, whatever it takes BUT GET INTO ONE OF THE MEGA CONFERENCES. Figure out the seating dilemma as either part of that promise (heck, promise the new stadium, futile as it might really be, and take chances they won’t kick us out later).
If Pitt itself doesn’t feel there’s a rats chance of that happening, they (nor us) should not bother with talk of tarps, because there couldn’t be enough poly-latex or whatever material in existence, to cover enough of the empty seats of Acrisure that will result. And especially no need to ponder an on-campus stadium!
All I’m saying is, priorities. Lie, kick, scream, squeal, get naked pictures, whatever it takes BUT GET INTO ONE OF THE MEGA CONFERENCES. Figure out the seating dilemma as either part of that promise (heck, promise the new stadium, futile as it might really be, and take chances they won’t kick us out later).
Do you think poor attendance, many open seats, possible tarps hurts us from getting into one of the major conferences? I can’t say I remember watching at Big10 game and thinking that the stadium is 1/2 empty.
I don’t think it will if we continue to average 55,000 like we did this past season. It’ll be a tall task without WVU and Tennessee on the schedule, but having FSU on the home slate will be nice. I also just don’t think that an on-campus stadium helps much because Heinz is already a good facility and will get even better with the renovations, especially in comparison to other P5 programs. Heck, they might like that we have a stadium that holds 70,000 versus <=50,000.
I think it’ll come down to television ratings and other non-cyclical factors (e.g., tv market, academics). Our inherent characteristics don’t appeal much to the Big Ten, but would the SEC be interested if they were to expand to 24? It’s at least greater than 0%.
A 70K seat pro-stadium would absolutely be more attractive to a conference looking to expand than a 45-50K on-campus bare bones facility.
Playing nowhere near campus didn't hurt UCLA and Pitt is, by comparison, right next door to Heinz.
I really do not believe that the Heinz Field arrangement is or will be any kind of impediment to Pitt’s conference future. Especially if the Steelers are leading a charge on a substantial renovation to the stadium.
Totally. TV markets is said to be the whole enchilada. Even, gasp, PSU struggles to fill most of its garbage OOC and lesser B1G games. Attendance only pointed out in this city because most of the local media are PSU, WVU or Syracuse alum and look for any reason to minimize Pitt.
I laugh when those clowns claim we don’t deliver this market. We draw ratings from not only our fans in the WPA region and alumni and other yinzers around the country. But also get viewers especially among THEIR fans (and WVU fans) that watch our games hoping we lose. We are polarizing, and polarization gets ratings. Eyeballs on the screen are all the same in the ratings game.
Either way, the attendance needs to be looked at, as it likely does by every school, since nearly all of them have uneven attendance. This includes likely all but some such as OSU, Michigan, Alabama and Georgia and ND or maybe a couple others.
But attendance and facilities needs to be prioritized among the bigger worry about staying alive as a major football program.
Here’s a thought I have regarding attendance. Maybe I’m way off on this.
I hope the B1G/SEC would consider our conference schedules when viewing attendance figures. Yes, we have a smaller “core” fanbase than other schools, but we also play a lot of schools that don’t travel particularly well. Anytime we play a big opponent (FSU, Clemson, Tennessee) it either sells out or it draws at least 55K, which is a good number. I’d expect our baseline attendance figures to be around that range if we played schools that travel well every week. Plus, the bigger names would bring out more of our own fans.
There’s no way to measure that, but I think it’s something that needs to be taken into consideration.
All these are the kind things Heather Lyke truly needs to be compiling and communicating (under the scenes of course) fervently and repeatedly with these conferences. Victory Heights and other feel good crap are all well and good, nice to do, but the very heart and soul of the entire university’s athletics program is football, specifically the football program remaining in the Major League of college football. She seems very sharp and can’t possibly NOT realize this, so I hope it goes without question she has that as a top priority, and I’m pleased that Gallagher is gone and will be replaced by a veteran of a Big Time Football School (such as Minnesota is).
We can only wait and see … the football team has to continue to win a bunch of games each year, we fans need to attend and watch faithfully, and beat the drums.
All good points. I think the combination of Lyke and the new Chancellor are as good of a combo as any when you’re playing musical chairs.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
This is a good point. We would definitely sell out Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan home games. I think we’d also draw well for Wisconsin, Michigan State, Maryland. I’ve always thought Pitt was a natural fit in the Big10.
I’m right there with you; we align with them academically and athletically. Unfortunately, I feel like our best chance at landing a “Power 2” invite is with the SEC, and even that is a long shot. Who knows, maybe we’ll just merge with the Pac-12 and bring Notre Dame along… problem solved.
Lets compare Pitt HOME football attendance (2022) to some B1G Ten Schools.
DATA from Phil Steele Football Mag 2023.
University of Pittsburgh : 54,710 fans
BIG TEN:
University of Maryland: 31,934 fans
Rutgers University: 50,756 fans
Indiana University: 46,906 fans
University of Illinois: 43,048 fans
University of Minnesota: 45,019 fans
Northwestern University: 28,697 fans
Purdue University: 57,129 fans
Future Big Ten School UCLA: 41,593 fans and USC: 64,487 fans
Also remember Pitt only has a Total Student Body of about 35,000 compared to much larger student bodies of Big Ten Schools.
Tarp the Stadium down to 55,000 fans and let the Steelers and Pittsburgh Stadium Authority pay for upkeep and upgrades.
Pitt only uses the stadium 7 times for a total of 28 hours per year.
I like my Club Seats and the North Shore Bars and Restaurants.
HAIL TO PITT!!!!!
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^^^This.^^^ There’s too much ego involved when Taylor Swift just conquered Pittsburgh with her record-breaking performance. If Beyoncé can’t sell-out the venue even once, that’s gotta smart.
Beyoncé has unquestioned talent, but right now, Swift’s popularity has become a human tidal wave.
Here’s a thought I had. The one (crazy) scenario in which Pitt could land in the Big Ten:
1. The SEC expands first, inviting Clemson/FSU/Miami/UNC. This takes the biggest ACC brands off the table while also preventing the Big Ten from entering into Florida. With no other net-value programs available in their footprint, they stop at 20.
2. The Big Ten responds by adding Notre Dame/Oregon/Stanford/Washington. However, as a way to both one-up the SEC and get into the south, it also invites Georgia Tech and Virginia. All of these schools, including the last two, have reportedly been vetted by the B1G at some point.
3. Now with 22 members, the Big Ten needs two more schools to get to 24. They invite Cal… and Pitt. Who else would they target that meets their criteria? Duke? I think they’re too small and the basketball program just isn’t enough to make up for football. Both our AD and Chancellor used to work at B1G schools, and they use those connections to land us the final invite.
We aren't even there yet, but how does the CFP look with 24 teams in 2 super conferences? Right now:
*Top 4 conference champs
*Top 6 at-large teams
*Next 2 best conference champs
24 teams would mean at least 2 divisions in each conference, or maybe even four 6-team divisions. How in the world do you decide a conference champion with that many teams and no conference playoff? If it stays at 12 teams, do they start taking 8-4 teams from the SEC or Big 10 over 11-1, or 10-2 teams in the new ACC, Big 12, or Pac 12? At 24 teams each, it seems like they'd almost have to have pro sports format and have separate SEC and Big 10 playoffs with the winners competing for some new two-league title that is completely separate from the rest of college football.
I absolutely think the end-game would be a break off from the rest of the pack and the B1G/SEC do their own championship. The winner would be recognized as *the* national champion and the “power two” wouldn’t have to deal with those pesky underdogs like TCU or Cincinnati.
That'd put Pitt as a legit top-10 perennial power in real college football if they weren't in one of the super conferences.
And that perennial power would get us the same notice and respect as the basketball CBI champ did.
Minor league football just can’t work here.
Be ready for it. I've yet to see a prediction where Pitt is included in the SEC or Big 10.
