It's not, "build it and they will come", link

[NMEhail2pitt]

It's not about filling a 70,000 seat stadium, it's about right sizing. It's not a build it and they will come situation, it's a build it the right size and the atmosphere will be electric and the shrink the excess supply. We are not going to sell out 70k on a regular basis

It has to be "sell out every game". Right size to make it happen

Comparing attendance 40 years ago vs today as an argument that a stadium isn't needed, simply doesn't hold water. Trying to force a college atmosphere at Heinz will not work. You cannot force a colleges traditions in a home that is not under their control.

Baylor has right sized to 45,000. It has worked. Stanford right sized and it has worked.

http://www.wacotrib.com/sports/bayl...501-4a4b-53ec-ab64-e3e7f9da4ac3.html?mode=jqm

 

[cdmg]

It's not about filling a 70,000 seat stadium, it's about right sizing. It's not a build it and they will come situation, it's a build it the right size and the atmosphere will be electric and the shrink the excess supply. We are not going to sell out 70k on a regular basis

It has to be "sell out every game". Right size to make it happen

Comparing attendance 40 years ago vs today as an argument that a stadium isn't needed, simply doesn't hold water. Trying to force a college atmosphere at Heinz will not work. You cannot force a colleges traditions in a home that is not under their control.

Baylor has right sized to 45,000. It has worked. Stanford right 6

It's not about filling a 70,000 seat stadium, it's about right sizing. It's not a build it and they will come situation, it's a build it the right size and the atmosphere will be electric and the shrink the excess supply. We are not going to sell out 70k on a regular basis

It has to be "sell out every game". Right size to make it happen

Comparing attendance 40 years ago vs today as an argument that a stadium isn't needed, simply doesn't hold water. Trying to force a college atmosphere at Heinz will not work. You cannot force a colleges traditions in a home that is not under their control.

Baylor has right sized to 45,000. It has worked. Stanford right sized and it has worked.

http://www.wacotrib.com/sports/bayl...501-4a4b-53ec-ab64-e3e7f9da4ac3.html?mode=jqm

Well said, totally agree

 

[OriginalEther]

So what traditions were done at on campus that can't be done at Heinz?

Atmosphere is fine when the team does well. You guys seem to think that a new stadium would polish the turd that is a 30 point loss during a 6-6 season.
You can right size Heinz Field with tarps. Pitt doesn't need to spend $250-500 million that it doesn't have on a stadium to do this.

 

[DruidTM]

Atmosphere comes from winning... Period.... Largest crowd at Heinz to date was Pitt WVU in 2002.(both teams ranked)...larger than any Stillers game at Heinz.. Pitt VT with game day in 2003 was great Pitt Cinci in 2009 was great...

All 3 games drew larger crowds than Pitt Stadium in the golden era of 75-82...

Obviously winning does count

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Largest crowd at Heinz to date was Pitt WVU in 2002.

Actually the largest crowd at Heinz for any football game was the Pitt - Notre Dame game that was played a couple of weeks ago.

It is a bit of an unfair comparison though, because by policy the NFL announces actual attendance, the real turnstile count, whereas Pitt announces, well, pretty much whatever number we make up that day. Actual people through the turnstile doesn't really have a whole lot to do with it.

 

[NMEhail2pitt]

Those games that you cited were "big games". During those same years we did not have a packed house week in and week out. Going 12-0 in a 70,000 seat stadium won't sell out and fill the stadium each week. Right sizing makes the stadium feel like an event whether it's Youngstown state or Notre Dame

 

[UPitt '89]

Right sizing can be done with a tarp on the north endzone upper deck for 1/10000th of the cost.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Right sizing makes the stadium feel like an event whether it's Youngstown state

Teams like Youngstown State have never made any stadium Pitt was playing in feel like an event.

 

[Piranha]

Right sizing can be done with a tarp on the north endzone upper deck for 1/10000th of the cost.

Agreed, and then push for mass transit, so everyone can benefit from it every day.

 

[Pittbaseball11]

Yep the exceptionally electric and nationally lauded atmosphere at the Pete really makes it a destination for Pitt fans regardless of opponent.

Pittsburgh is a front running AND event driven town. You need both to draw people out. Atmosphere is irrelevant.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Right sizing can be done with a tarp on the north endzone upper deck for 1/10000th of the cost.

And that is fine, so let's do something like that. That is the point. That has been my point. Concentrate ticket sales. Certain games, make sections GA (General Admission) and close off the tarp sections. Concentrate the fans.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Yep the exceptionally electric and nationally lauded atmosphere at the Pete really makes it a destination for Pitt fans regardless of opponent.

Pittsburgh is a front running AND event driven town. You need both to draw people out. Atmosphere is irrelevant.

Bzzt. Wrong. All towns are front running and event driven town. And you nailed the biggest single problem. People of Pittsburgh don't view a Pitt football game as an "event". To most people here, it is no different than the WPIAL CHamp games at Heinz. That is the problem. It is a Steeler town, a pro football town. It is not a college town. So let's stop pretending a 70,000 seat Heinz Field works.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Pitt needs to create a 45,000 seat stadium at Heinz. It can be expanded for PSU and ND. For the lower supply, ticket prices should be greatly increased so people will actually use them or not bother buying them. I have lower level seats on the 40 and the 2 seats nexr to me were only occupied for ND.....and I kniw they were sold because I called the ticket office to try to get them. Why pay that money for 1 game?

I've said it a million times, the Seattle Sounders MLS team has one of the best home crowd atmospheres in the world and they get 40K in the Seahawks stadium. We should copy what they do.

The #1 problem with Heinz is that its too big for us, not that its off campus. I'd rather have a 45K seat stadium off campus than a 70K seat stadium on campus.

Barnes has got to figure a way to make 40K look and sound better.

 

[Pghfan]

I wonder what Z#2 thinks about an on campus stadium. Any websites with ideas of a stadium on campus would be great

 

[Burgh15]

Actually the largest crowd at Heinz for any football game was the Pitt - Notre Dame game that was played a couple of weeks ago.

It is a bit of an unfair comparison though, because by policy the NFL announces actual attendance, the real turnstile count, whereas Pitt announces, well, pretty much whatever number we make up that day. Actual people through the turnstile doesn't really have a whole lot to do with it.

The Steelers probably own the top 10 attendance records because of turnstile count. There is no chance that the Pitt-Notre Dame game was remotely close to any record crowds (or an average Steelers crowd during a winning season for that matter). I would think the AFC Championship game against the Ravens with the added seats from the Winter Classic owns the record.

But I agree with the premise of this post. The right size would make all of the difference when it comes to a full stadium and energetic crowd.

 

[Panther_in_Kentucky]

So what traditions were done at on campus that can't be done at Heinz?

Atmosphere is fine when the team does well. You guys seem to think that a new stadium would polish the turd that is a 30 point loss during a 6-6 season.
You can right size Heinz Field with tarps. Pitt doesn't need to spend $250-500 million that it doesn't have on a stadium to do this.

Actually, Pitt didn't need to tear down its on campus stadium that could have easily been renovated to make room for an undersized basketball arena because their Chancellor and his lapdog AD were both dopes.

Pitt needs to find the resources to fund and build an on campus stadium to right the tremendous wrong that dope Nordenberg did to the university. If Stanford, TCU and Minnesota can do it so can Pitt. If Pitt can't find the alumnus, alumni or grant to do it it is a 2nd or 3rd class university.

Pitt: Run by the dumbest "smart people" to walk the face of the earth.

 

[OriginalEther]

Pitt needs to create a 45,000 seat stadium at Heinz. It can be expanded for PSU and ND. er.

No.
If you're going to reduce the size of the stadium, do so for ALL games.
Expanding for "special" opponents is Bush, and frankly defeats the point.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

No.
If you're going to reduce the size of the stadium, do so for ALL games.
Expanding for "special" opponents is Bush, and frankly defeats the point.

I'd be OK with that but it would make no sense if you could sell an extra 25K tickets. We're talking like 2 games every 3 years.

 

[OriginalEther]

I'd be OK with that but it would make no sense if you could sell an extra 25K tickets. We're talking like 2 games every 3 years.

The problem is who would be buying the tickets.
Not likely to be enthusiastic Pitt fans.

 

[Pghfan]

The problem is who would be buying the tickets.
Not likely to be enthusiastic Pitt fans.

I disagree, well the "enthusiastic" part maybe not but yes, the ND's of the world do bring out more PItt fans.. Lets say average attendance to pitt game is 45k, ND gets 65k, those are not all ND fans. This has been proven time and time again. The fair weather fans come out, plus it's money for pitt regardless of what color hat the extra fans wear. If you tarp, you absolutely open it up if the demand is there. Not exactly hard to do, take a tarp off. Give me a couple script sweatshirts, a bottle of Jameson and i'll have that thing off myself in a few hours..

 

[HailtoPitt]

Rooney's have to allow tarps. They wont..

 

[Pghfan]

Rooney's have to allow tarps. They wont..

You really think that would be an issue? Damn, that would be pretty ridiculous if true. Don't exactly need an engineering firm and consulting companies to put up a freakin tarp. Get the damn thing free, just call up upmc, tell em this whole non profit status is a scam, buy us a tarp, we'll put your dumb logo on a corner and maybe we won't boot you the hell out of Oakland and turn you into the IRS for tax evasion. Simple solution.

 

[UPitt '89]

And that is fine, so let's do something like that. That is the point. That has been my point. Concentrate ticket sales. Certain games, make sections GA (General Admission) and close off the tarp sections. Concentrate the fans.

Agree 100%.

And it is doable at minimal cost.

Hell... you can make the tarp with a giant script Pitt in the middle and surrounded by the retired numbers. Cover the entire endzone upper deck bleachers with it. Pitt Blue with gold script and gold numbers.

That reduces the capacity to 58,000. That makes a crowd of 47,000 = 80% capacity instead of 60% capacity.

Those seats are worthless metal bleachers for most Pitt games. Tarp 'em off.

Cheap and easy and effective.

 

[QuitCallingMeWanny]

Actually, Pitt didn't need to tear down its on campus stadium that could have easily been renovated to make room for an undersized basketball arena because their Chancellor and his lapdog AD were both dopes.

Pitt needs to find the resources to fund and build an on campus stadium to right the tremendous wrong that dope Nordenberg did to the university. If Stanford, TCU and Minnesota can do it so can Pitt. If Pitt can't find the alumnus, alumni or grant to do it it is a 2nd or 3rd class university.

Pitt: Run by the dumbest "smart people" to walk the face of the earth.

You honestly think the Pete is undersized? You are a dope

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

This would probably cost too much but I'd like to see them invest in a tarp that is not applied over the seats but is connected to the roof overhang on the upper sideline and comes down with the push of a button to form a wall-like stucture which walls off most of the upper deck. It can be navy blue with all kinds of Pitt stuff. Miami is getting this in the remodeled stadium. The Falcons are doing it for their MLS team.

I would tarp the upper sideline because its useless and wall off the upper deck on the non-TV side. There's your 45K seat stadium.

 

[OriginalEther]

I disagree, well the "enthusiastic" part maybe not but yes, the ND's of the world do bring out more PItt fans.. Lets say average attendance to pitt game is 45k, ND gets 65k, those are not all ND fans. This has been proven time and time again. The fair weather fans come out, plus it's money for pitt regardless of what color hat the extra fans wear.....

Not exactly convinced.
But even if true, it's still is extremely bush. You're telling everybody that you need the other team to sell tickets.
And, extra money for Pitt or not, I'd rather see yellow seats than these guys:

Since I have now broken out in hives and have to take some Benadryl, I'll leave and ask this: if you stadium guys got your wish and Pitt has this on campus 45k stadium, would you move the PSU and ND games back to Heinz so that you can sell the extra tickets?

 

[dooz3]

Hahahaha... The fraud, the clown who brags about 2 dollar tickets he buys on stubhub now claims he sits on the 40... Yeah right Hahahaha. Now he's on out right liar. Hahahaha

 

[UPitt '89]

A bad photoshop attempt at a 48,000-seat Heinz Field on gameday...... at 1/10,000th the cost of a new Stadium..... and expandable, if needed, to up to 68,000 seats.

Tarps, baby.

 

[HailtoPitt]

A bad photoshop attempt at a 48,000-seat Heinz Field on gameday...... at 1/10,000th the cost of a new Stadium..... and expandable, if needed, to up to 68,000 seats.

Tarps, baby.

This is best so far.

 

[BuffetParrothead]

The mob found multiple uses for tarps so PITT can as well!
This does look really good ex those yellow seats which are like inlaws that you have to deal with until they " go away."

 

[HailtoPitt]

I still think that the Rooney's won't allow it, as I can't believe that Pitt wouldn't have already tried it by now. Or maybe Steve was just that damn stubborn.

 

[UPitt '89]

I still think that the Rooney's won't allow it, as I can't believe that Pitt wouldn't have already tried it by now. Or maybe Steve was just that damn stubborn.

The Rooney's really have no say in how Pitt "decorates" Heinz field for Pitt game days.

Pitt used to tarp over the seats right below the patio at the one end zone with the "9 National Championships" banner. Pitt hangs banners all over the stadium in blue/gold and hangs retired jersey banners from the rotundas.

The end of every row in the stadium has a panther head log carved into it (the other end has a steeler logo carved into it).

The Panther statue outside gate A:

It's built in to the gates at Heinz Field:

People need to get it into their heads that this is a SHARED facility, much like the Southside complex. The Stadium Authority owns it, and on Pitt gamedays... *PITT* operates it.

 

[OriginalEther]

I still think that the Rooney's won't allow it, as I can't believe that Pitt wouldn't have already tried it by now. Or maybe Steve was just that damn stubborn.

No idea, but remember they tried to relocate people from the upper endzone seats a few years ago, those 500 people revolted, and Pitt backed off.

 

[mdpitt]

Not exactly convinced.
But even if true, it's still is extremely bush. You're telling everybody that you need the other team to sell tickets.
And, extra money for Pitt or not, I'd rather see yellow seats than these guys:

Since I have now broken out in hives and have to take some Benadryl, I'll leave and ask this: if you stadium guys got your wish and Pitt has this on campus 45k stadium, would you move the PSU and ND games back to Heinz so that you can sell the extra tickets?

No

 

[UPitt '89]

No idea, but remember they tried to relocate people from the upper endzone seats a few years ago, those 500 people revolted, and Pitt backed off.

A. That was a different regime.

B. There's not even 500 season ticket holders in that section now.

Give them seats in the untarped sections at the same cost and call it a day.

 

[HailtoPitt]

If I can do this in a free image program, then a professional can make it look tremendous on gameday.

 

[HailtoPitt]

No idea, but remember they tried to relocate people from the upper endzone seats a few years ago, those 500 people revolted, and Pitt backed off.

No, Pitt told those ticket holders that they were moving them to "better seats" in the corners of the upper decks while their old seats would be reserved for visiting fans or some nonsense. The proposed seats were certainly not better, and they certainly were not scheduled to tarp the upper endzone.

 

[pittdan77]

If tarps were ever placed in Heinz, I guarantee they'll be as yellow as yellow can be because that's the kind of decisions that happen.

 

[Swervin27]

If tarps were ever placed in Heinz, I guarantee they'll be as yellow as yellow can be because that's the kind of decisions that happen.

bright yellow tarps would be such a Pitt move.

 

[HailtoPitt]

No tarps can only mean one thing...

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On Campus Stadium!