GT only using 42,500 seats at Mercedes Benz Stadium

[Sean Miller Fan]

They played UNC last night at Mercedes Benz Stadium and, incredibly, they decided it was stupid to open the upper deck and try to sell 70K tickets. Instead, they configured it for 42,500. The result was that it seemed most of the lower bowl was full.

We can continue to discuss tarps forever but you dont need them. All you need to do is close upper deck sections. And I don't want to hear "people will complain because they love those seats." Oh well, we dont need to make 70K seats available when we're drawing 15K

 

[Joe Magarac]

They played UNC last night at Mercedes Benz Stadium and, incredibly, they decided it was stupid to open the upper deck and try to sell 70K tickets. Instead, they configured it for 42,500. The result was that it seemed most of the lower bowl was full.

We can continue to discuss tarps forever but you dont need them. All you need to do is close upper deck sections. And I don't want to hear "people will complain because they love those seats." Oh well, we dont need to make 70K seats available when we're drawing 15K

I’m complaining. I sit up there and “I LOVE THOSE SEATS”.
So, take that !!!!!!!

 

[HailtoPitt]

Why did they play a conference game that doesn't have high demand in that stadium?

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Why did they play a conference game that doesn't have high demand in that stadium?

Apparently, they have a 6 year deal with Mercedes Benz Stadium to play 1 game per year. They are playing ND and Clemson there the next 2 years and will have full capacity then.

 

[HailtoPitt]

Apparently, they have a 6 year deal with Mercedes Benz Stadium to play 1 game per year. They are playing ND and Clemson there the next 2 years and will have full capacity then.

I could see Pitt having such an arrangement at HF if they played on campus.

 

[TD_6082]

Collins thinks that playing a game there every year can be boost to recruiting. He's really marketing the whole Atlanta's team ATL thing.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I could see Pitt having such an arrangement at HF if they played on campus.

I would say that if Heinz were some luxurious state of the art palace but its as spartan as you can get in terms of NFL stadiums.

Also, I think its pretty stupid for GT to be playing ND and Clemson there. Yea, the money is good but is that worth making those neutral site games as ND and Clem will have more fans than GT

 

[HailToPitt725]

Collins thinks that playing a game there every year can be boost to recruiting. He's really marketing the whole Atlanta's team ATL thing.

That’s honestly a pretty good idea. There’s no reason why Georgia Tech can’t be much better than what it currently is.

 

[TD_6082]

I would say that if Heinz were some luxurious state of the art palace but its as spartan as you can get in terms of NFL stadiums.

Also, I think its pretty stupid for GT to be playing ND and Clemson there. Yea, the money is good but is that worth making those neutral site games as ND and Clem will have more fans than GT

Regardless of fan turnout, it's worth it if it boosts recruiting. That's the one ACC program that is sitting in a hotbed of talent that can do significantly better in recruiting than they have in recent years.

I'm sure that ND & Clemson will have as many, if not more fans than Tech at those games, but that isn't the vision that Collins is going to be selling.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

Lower bowl seats for upper section prices. Cool, I’m in. Sucks for you guys who paid premium prices to be in lower section though.

 

[CaptainMurphy]

They played UNC last night at Mercedes Benz Stadium and, incredibly, they decided it was stupid to open the upper deck and try to sell 70K tickets. Instead, they configured it for 42,500. The result was that it seemed most of the lower bowl was full.

We can continue to discuss tarps forever but you dont need them. All you need to do is close upper deck sections. And I don't want to hear "people will complain because they love those seats." Oh well, we dont need to make 70K seats available when we're drawing 15K

That stadium was built for such configurations though.

 

[pittdan77]

So all of the reasons it is good for GaTech to play in a pro stadium don't work for Pitt? Got it.

 

[PittPanther44]

I do think it’s true that a 500 level midfield seat is better than a lower corner end zone seat. Maybe not in terms of feeling some action right in front of you, but it’s hard to see the half the game that goes down the other end

 

[HailtoPitt]

So all of the reasons it is good for GaTech to play in a pro stadium don't work for Pitt? Got it.

What? They downsized the stadium to fit their fanbase. Pitt refuses to do that.

 

[pittdan77]

What? They downsized the stadium to fit their fanbase. Pitt refuses to do that.

That's your takeaway?

 

[Joe Magarac]

I do think it’s true that a 500 level midfield seat is better than a lower corner end zone seat. Maybe not in terms of feeling some action right in front of you, but it’s hard to see the half the game that goes down the other end

I’ve sat in the lower and upper bowls of Heinz. My seats are in the first row on the 40 yard line.
The upper bowl seats are a much better viewing experience.
Unless you want to get your mug on the tube, or you love the great hall the upper deck has superior seats from which to watch the game

 

[Panther Holla]

I could see Pitt having such an arrangement at HF if they played on campus.

Reminds me of MBB paying at the Field House. Except for the "big" games against Georgetown, Syracuse and a few others that were moved to the Igloo, pissing away any home field edge the Panthers might have had.

 

[Panther Holla]

I do think it’s true that a 500 level midfield seat is better than a lower corner end zone seat. Maybe not in terms of feeling some action right in front of you, but it’s hard to see the half the game that goes down the other end

I HATE the lower bowl seats at Heinz. Too shallow. I'd punt my season tix if I had to sit down there.

 

[MarshallGoldberg]

They did this at a stadium they don't normally play at. In other words, it probably didn't piss anyone off like closing the upper bowl at Heinz would.

 

[HailtoPitt]

Reminds me of MBB paying at the Field House. Except for the "big" games against Georgetown, Syracuse and a few others that were moved to the Igloo, pissing away any home field edge the Panthers might have had.

That's true, but in Pitt's case they wouldn't be considered home games at HF. They would be neutral site games, so against someone like PSU or WVU.

 

[Pitt79]

Doesn't the soccer team there average about 60K? Maybe more than the Falcons.

 

[YourPittDanceTeam]

They played UNC last night at Mercedes Benz Stadium and, incredibly, they decided it was stupid to open the upper deck and try to sell 70K tickets. Instead, they configured it for 42,500. The result was that it seemed most of the lower bowl was full.

We can continue to discuss tarps forever but you dont need them. All you need to do is close upper deck sections. And I don't want to hear "people will complain because they love those seats." Oh well, we dont need to make 70K seats available when we're drawing 15K

I've said this before and I'll say it again, Pitt needs to build its own stadium and make that stadium hold around 50,000. The Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium that the Naval Academy plays their home games at is a great example to follow. I believe that stadium holds roughly 35,000 and that's with one open end zone. If Pitt built a stadium like that one and put seats in that open end zone, that would bring the available seats to between 45,000-50,000 and that is the PERFECT size for Pitt football. I could care less about people who like to sit in the upper deck or those who will complain about having no seats available for the Notre Dame game.
The game day atmosphere at a Pitt football game is terrible.

 

[MarshallGoldberg]

I've said this before and I'll say it again, Pitt needs to build its own stadium and make that stadium hold around 50,000. The Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium that the Naval Academy plays their home games at is a great example to follow. I believe that stadium holds roughly 35,000 and that's with one open end zone. If Pitt built a stadium like that one and put seats in that open end zone, that would bring the available seats to between 45,000-50,000 and that is the PERFECT size for Pitt football. I could care less about people who like to sit in the upper deck or those who will complain about having no seats available for the Notre Dame game.
The game day atmosphere at a Pitt football game is terrible.

Sounds good other than "where would you build it", "how could you get approval to make it", "how would we fund it" etc.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

That stadium was built for such configurations though.

Yes and no. It was built for that "curtain" to cover the upper deck for Atlanta United games. They didn't use the curtain since it says "Atlanta United" for the GT game. They just left the upper deck empty.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I HATE the lower bowl seats at Heinz. Too shallow. I'd punt my season tix if I had to sit down there.

Well, as I've said before, they should start with closing the upper deck endzone and non-TV upper deck. That gets us down to around 50K. Tarps are not necessarily needed. There were fewer than 1000 people in the upper deck endzone + WMU sideline upper deck.

Honestly, I think one of the main reasons they open all 70K seats is so its easier to make up attendance numbers. We have only drawn 15K-20K these last 2 games but they have announced 40K. And no, its not "tickets distributed," it's just a made up number. If we only opened 45K-50K seats and the available seats were half empty, they'd have to announce numbers in the 20s or 30s and they don't want to do that

 

[pittguy81]

They played UNC last night at Mercedes Benz Stadium and, incredibly, they decided it was stupid to open the upper deck and try to sell 70K tickets. Instead, they configured it for 42,500. The result was that it seemed most of the lower bowl was full.

We can continue to discuss tarps forever but you dont need them. All you need to do is close upper deck sections. And I don't want to hear "people will complain because they love those seats." Oh well, we dont need to make 70K seats available when we're drawing 15K

You act is so tiresome. Find a new schtick. Pitt gets between 38,000 - 41,000 most every game and a lot more for bigger games.

Trolling your own fan base is low class......

 

[pittdan77]

Honestly, I think one of the main reasons they open all 70K seats is so its easier to make up attendance numbers. We have only drawn 15K-20K these last 2 games but they have announced 40K. And no, its not "tickets distributed," it's just a made up number. If we only opened 45K-50K seats and the available seats were half empty, they'd have to announce numbers in the 20s or 30s and they don't want to do that

Dang, you figured them out. 🙄

 

[SatelliteTailGate]

They played UNC last night at Mercedes Benz Stadium and, incredibly, they decided it was stupid to open the upper deck and try to sell 70K tickets. Instead, they configured it for 42,500. The result was that it seemed most of the lower bowl was full.

We can continue to discuss tarps forever but you dont need them. All you need to do is close upper deck sections. And I don't want to hear "people will complain because they love those seats." Oh well, we dont need to make 70K seats available when we're drawing 15K

I couldn't find an image online for the GT configuration, but assuming that it's the same as for soccer, that's awesome! Developing a stadium designed to limit seating when needed while not making it look "goofy" showed good design foresight. Obviously this design only works for domed stadiums, but that's pretty cool.

 

[Pitt79]

Obviously this design only works for domed stadiums, but that's pretty cool.

Pitt should of built a domed stadium for football and basketball, right where Pitt stadium was, like the Syracuse Carrier Dome. There you have a new basketball arena and a football stadium on campus.

 

[pittdan77]

I couldn't find an image online for the GT configuration, but assuming that it's the same as for soccer, that's awesome! Developing a stadium designed to limit seating when needed while not making it look "goofy" showed good design foresight. Obviously this design only works for domed stadiums, but that's pretty cool.

There were enough mistakes made that led up to that stadium I'd bet they just lucked out.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

You act is so tiresome. Find a new schtick. Pitt gets between 38,000 - 41,000 most every game and a lot more for bigger games.

Trolling your own fan base is low class......

They absolutely do not draw anywhere close to 40K. I told you I counted most of the visiting sideline upper deck. There were approximately 500-600 people. I didn't count the upper deck endzone but there couldn't have been more than 200. That is less than 1000 people in an area with over 20K seats. There is no way the entire rest of the stadium is 80% full.

 

[pittguy81]

They absolutely do not draw anywhere close to 40K. I told you I counted most of the visiting sideline upper deck. There were approximately 500-600 people. I didn't count the upper deck endzone but there couldn't have been more than 200. That is less than 1000 people in an area with over 20K seats. There is no way the entire rest of the stadium is 80% full.

I guess you're simply an imbecile, in that case. That won't come as a surprise to most on here.....

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I guess you're simply an imbecile, in that case. That won't come as a surprise to most on here.....

OK, just so we are clear here, you are of the belief that Heinz Field was 80% full outside of the upper deck endzone and upper deck visiting side for the WMU and NH games. Correct?

 

[cease10]

I couldn't find an image online for the GT configuration, but assuming that it's the same as for soccer, that's awesome! Developing a stadium designed to limit seating when needed while not making it look "goofy" showed good design foresight. Obviously this design only works for domed stadiums, but that's pretty cool.

There isn't any special configuration. They just didn't open the upper decks. GT still had empty seats though.

 

[SatelliteTailGate]

Ok... so GT did not use the Soccer "configuration" (a curtain blocking the upper ring that looks more natural than tarps), rather they just didn't sell the upper deck.
How Mercedes-Benz Stadium was designed for soccer, too

 

[SatelliteTailGate]

Pitt should of built a domed stadium for football and basketball, right where Pitt stadium was, like the Syracuse Carrier Dome. There you have a new basketball arena and a football stadium on campus.

Ah, what could have been!

 

[HailToPitt725]

Pitt should of built a domed stadium for football and basketball, right where Pitt stadium was, like the Syracuse Carrier Dome. There you have a new basketball arena and a football stadium on campus.

I’ve posted this before, but they could’ve taken a page out of Japan’s Saitama Super Arena and truly made it a multi-purpose facility. Rolling stands reconfigures it from a stadium to an arena.

 

[Pitt79]

I’ve posted this before, but they could’ve taken a page out of Japan’s Saitama Super Arena and truly made it a multi-purpose facility. Rolling stands reconfigures it from a stadium to an arena.

Something like that would have been great, but it's Pittsburgh, Yinzers probably said something like "God and da Rooneys, sez it's bein' a jagoff to play football indoors", so they didn't consider it. And you could of done something to open part of the sides or roof to the open air for football when the weather is decent.

 

[Gep Dawg]

Reminds me of MBB paying at the Field House. Except for the "big" games against Georgetown, Syracuse and a few others that were moved to the Igloo, pissing away any home field edge the Panthers might have had.

Nova still plays a couple games downtown...and it doesn't seem to hurt their home court advantage. In fact their 2018 National Championship came the year they were remodeling the Pavilion so they ended up playing all their games off campus at the Wells Fargo Center and still won it all.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Well....
Maryland.
On Campus Stadium? Check.
Nice weather? Check.
4-0 start? Check.
Big Ten money? Check.

The results from this past Saturday.....