New USF on-campus stadium

[Sean Miller Fan]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.th...f-reveals-on-campus-stadium-feasibility-study

I am just so sick of schools with 1/10 of the tradition and 1/10 of the fanbase like USF and Temple diligently studying the idea of building a stadium on-campus instead of playing in a mostly empty NFL stadium.

If Pitt is destined to play in a half-empty NFL stadium forever, fine.....but at least do a feasibility study and release it to the public to show me why it is so impossible.

USF and Temple are such small time programs. Pitt is in the freaking ACC. It deserves much better from our leadership.

 

[eastcoasthoops]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.th...f-reveals-on-campus-stadium-feasibility-study

I am just so sick of schools with 1/10 of the tradition and 1/10 of the fanbase like USF and Temple diligently studying the idea of building a stadium on-campus instead of playing in a mostly empty NFL stadium.

If Pitt is destined to play in a half-empty NFL stadium forever, fine.....but at least do a feasibility study and release it to the public to show me why it is so impossible.

USF and Temple are such small time programs. Pitt is in the freaking ACC. It deserves much better from our leadership.

Buck up. And get your friends to buck up.

It's really that simple. If there were a financial will to build an on campus stadium, the university would find a way.

The financial participation of Pitt alumni and boosters is abysmal. And Pitt hasn't showed a remarkable tolerance for athletic captial investments without the influence of private seeding. Until there is a paradigm shift in that kind of engagement, the constant harping on a Stadium in Oakland is just wasted breath.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.th...f-reveals-on-campus-stadium-feasibility-study

I am just so sick of schools with 1/10 of the tradition and 1/10 of the fanbase like USF and Temple diligently studying the idea of building a stadium on-campus instead of playing in a mostly empty NFL stadium.

If Pitt is destined to play in a half-empty NFL stadium forever, fine.....but at least do a feasibility study and release it to the public to show me why it is so impossible.

USF and Temple are such small time programs. Pitt is in the freaking ACC. It deserves much better from our leadership.

Buck up. And get your friends to buck up.

It's really that simple. If there were a financial will to build an on campus stadium, the university would find a way.

The financial participation of Pitt alumni and boosters is abysmal. And Pitt hasn't showed a remarkable tolerance for athletic captial investments without the influence of private seeding. Until there is a paradigm shift in that kind of engagement, the constant harping on a Stadium in Oakland is just wasted breath.

You do a feasibility study and you say it can be done but it will take X amount of dollars. Have a meeting with boosters and tell them this is what they need to do if they want it. Have a, you know, an actual fundraising campaign. For me personally, I will "buck up" considerably for an on-campus stadium. I place a very high value on that. Thing is, they wont even STUDY the idea like small-potatoes programs USF and Temple. Pitt is the only P5 program in the country besides UCLA who doesn't have their own stadium (and I count USC as on-campus since it is across the street from their campus). At this point, they have to at least do a feasibility study.

 

[HailtoPitt]

For their sake, I hope they use a different design. The seats in that image would be way too far fro the field for a modern stadium.

 

[paulbl99]

For their sake, I hope they use a different design. The seats in that image would be way too far fro the field for a modern stadium.

Don't worry it will be a different design....
On campus stadium in Oakland.

You and SMF are funny funny guys.

 

[sibleyfan91]

It's a catch-22. Pitt would never receive the local cooperation, govt support, booster generosity etc without FIRST showing significant success, and that means championship level. Yet in college sports, if you're a loser (and our perception is close to that), rising up to championship level is practically impossible without major increases in the support mentioned above. So it looks like a holding pattern that will remain for a long time.

 

[HailtoPitt]

It's a catch-22. Pitt would never receive the local cooperation, govt support, booster generosity etc without FIRST showing significant success, and that means championship level. Yet in college sports, if you're a loser (and our perception is close to that), rising up to championship level is practically impossible without major increases in the support mentioned above. So it looks like a holding pattern that will remain for a long time.

True, which is why is was a huge mistake to move in the first place. Pitt should have at least tried the dual stadium model first. Instead, we went all in with a flush draw and didn't connect.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

For their sake, I hope they use a different design. The seats in that image would be way too far fro the field for a modern stadium.

Seems like it would be designed to have a track around the field which is very odd nowadays but maybe they plan on hosting big track and field meets?

 

[paulbl99]

What has our Administration done in the Last 30 YEARS to warrant ANY consideration for Support?

The Ath Dept at Pitt may be the most inept and worst run entity in .....the history of entities.

 

[ZetaZetaBeta]

Buck up. And get your friends to buck up.

It's really that simple. If there were a financial will to build an on campus stadium, the university would find a way.

The financial participation of Pitt alumni and boosters is abysmal. And Pitt hasn't showed a remarkable tolerance for athletic captial investments without the influence of private seeding. Until there is a paradigm shift in that kind of engagement, the constant harping on a Stadium in Oakland is just wasted breath.

Hey hooper, I pledge $1,000,000. Ask Pederson how much you should give!
Can you feel the tide rolling in for the www.newpittstadium.com

 

[sibleyfan91]

True, which is why is was a huge mistake to move in the first place. Pitt should have at least tried the dual stadium model first. Instead, we went all in with a flush draw and didn't connect.

I am not local (loco, maybe) but the look i had suggested they thought football was iffy proposition for the long term so they set it up to be easy to drop if it didn't work out. Meanwhile a niche existed in basketball in the city. No pro team, etc. All of that was smart IMO. Problem was they didn't stick to the commitment to provide excellent basketball. They likely thought they were, by paying Dixon. But the head coach is the tip of that iceberg. Need commitment to great staff, and willingness to turn the other way with dubious recruits etc. Pitt simply wasn't willing. Then appears to have thrown in the towel completely last year. So now you have a boring laughable, last week anyway, football program and what amounts to be one of the worst basketball teams in America about to get underway. Man, how ugly for the school.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

What has our Administration done in the Last 30 YEARS to warrant ANY consideration for Support?

Well to be fair they did hire a very good coach for the mens soccer team.

 

[paulbl99]

I am not local (loco, maybe) but the look i had suggested they thought football was iffy proposition for the long term so they set it up to be easy to drop if it didn't work out. Meanwhile a niche existed in basketball in the city. No pro team, etc. All of that was smart IMO. Problem was they didn't stick to the commitment to provide excellent basketball. They likely thought they were, by paying Dixon. But the head coach is the tip of that iceberg. Need commitment to great staff, and willingness to turn the other way with dubious recruits etc. Pitt simply wasn't willing. Then appears to have thrown in the towel completely last year. So now you have a boring laughable, last week anyway, football program and what amounts to be one of the worst basketball teams in America about to get underway. Man, how ugly for the school.

They have no focus or direction.
Run FB off campus and build a 120M white elephant in its former home.
New bunch of Yummies takes over and kill BB and make FB its new priority.

Now nothing is working.

They may as well just let the ALLEGHENY County Commissioner CLOWNS run the ATH DEPT.
Get the same end results , maybe cheaper.

 

[Panther_in_Kentucky]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.th...f-reveals-on-campus-stadium-feasibility-study

I am just so sick of schools with 1/10 of the tradition and 1/10 of the fanbase like USF and Temple diligently studying the idea of building a stadium on-campus instead of playing in a mostly empty NFL stadium.

If Pitt is destined to play in a half-empty NFL stadium forever, fine.....but at least do a feasibility study and release it to the public to show me why it is so impossible.

USF and Temple are such small time programs. Pitt is in the freaking ACC. It deserves much better from our leadership.

Pitt SUCKS. Accept it. It's easier.

 

[PITTLAW]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.th...f-reveals-on-campus-stadium-feasibility-study

I am just so sick of schools with 1/10 of the tradition and 1/10 of the fanbase like USF and Temple diligently studying the idea of building a stadium on-campus instead of playing in a mostly empty NFL stadium.

If Pitt is destined to play in a half-empty NFL stadium forever, fine.....but at least do a feasibility study and release it to the public to show me why it is so impossible.

USF and Temple are such small time programs. Pitt is in the freaking ACC. It deserves much better from our leadership.

Look, everyone, even Pitt's former leaders, know that playing on campus is the preferred route to follow. However, Pitt has always been short on resources for athletics. Unfortunately they made a short term, financially expedient decision...without understanding the long term effects on the program, students, alumni and fans [and costs, in terms of money, flexibility, and prestige]. While moving off campus has not destroyed the program [as I feared], it clearly has not given it the bounce that leadership and many posters suggested at the time. I'd love to see an on campus facility, but I honestly do not see it in the cards during my lifetime [which I also said back in '98/99 when the discussion was taking place]. It was probably not a mistake to move off campus to Heinz in the short term, but it was a catastrophic mistake to tear down Pitt Stadium--as now there are virtually no options. All we can hope for is that Pitt's new leadership is more successful in raising private support so that its athletic teams have a fair shot at being competitive in the ACC. Hail to Pitt!

 

[KanePA]

It's a catch-22. Pitt would never receive the local cooperation, govt support, booster generosity etc without FIRST showing significant success, and that means championship level. Yet in college sports, if you're a loser (and our perception is close to that), rising up to championship level is practically impossible without major increases in the support mentioned above. So it looks like a holding pattern that will remain for a long time.

You know what breaks the catch-22? Pay more than you could imagine and get a dynamic HC who would drum up some interest. Give that coach money to hire the best recruiters in the country and see what happens. This is a Power5 team in one of the best conferences in the country. Stop acting small time.

 

[Panther_in_Kentucky]

Look, everyone, even Pitt's former leaders, know that playing on campus is the preferred route to follow. However, Pitt has always been short on resources for athletics. Unfortunately they made a short term, financially expedient decision...without understanding the long term effects on the program, students, alumni and fans [and costs, in terms of money, flexibility, and prestige]. While moving off campus has not destroyed the program [as I feared], it clearly has not given it the bounce that leadership and many posters suggested at the time. I'd love to see an on campus facility, but I honestly do not see it in the cards during my lifetime [which I also said back in '98/99 when the discussion was taking place]. It was probably not a mistake to move off campus to Heinz in the short term, but it was a catastrophic mistake to tear down Pitt Stadium--as now there are virtually no options. All we can hope for is that Pitt's new leadership is more successful in raising private support so that its athletic teams have a fair shot at being competitive in the ACC. Hail to Pitt!

Again: Pitt SUCKS ! Accept it, it's easier.

No more long winded, excuse laden diatribe on poor old Pitt. If only the fans would support our shitty product we roll out every year then everything would be better. Get it, "It's the Fan's Fault".

I'm going new car shopping. I want to buy the shittiest car on the market because I know it will help that company make a better product SOMEDAY.

I used to eat at a little Pizza Place in Western Kentucky that had a cute sign up to make people laugh " Free Pizza Tomorrow ". Pitt's sign for Football for the past 35 years has been "Great Football Next Year ".

 

[TD_istheman]

Again: Pitt SUCKS ! Accept it, it's easier.

No more long winded, excuse laden diatribe on poor old Pitt. If only the fans would support our shitty product we roll out every year then everything would be better. Get it, "It's the Fan's Fault".

I'm going new car shopping. I want to buy the shittiest car on the market because I know it will help that company make a better product SOMEDAY.

I used to eat at a little Pizza Place in Western Kentucky that had a cute sign up to make people laugh " Free Pizza Tomorrow ". Pitt's sign for Football for the past 35 years has been "Great Football Next Year ".

You have people on this board that won't even accept big time football is a business. Like they are living in 1917 not 2017

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.th...f-reveals-on-campus-stadium-feasibility-study

I am just so sick of schools with 1/10 of the tradition and 1/10 of the fanbase like USF and Temple diligently studying the idea of building a stadium on-campus instead of playing in a mostly empty NFL stadium.

If Pitt is destined to play in a half-empty NFL stadium forever, fine.....but at least do a feasibility study and release it to the public to show me why it is so impossible.

USF and Temple are such small time programs. Pitt is in the freaking ACC. It deserves much better from our leadership.

Look, everyone, even Pitt's former leaders, know that playing on campus is the preferred route to follow. However, Pitt has always been short on resources for athletics. Unfortunately they made a short term, financially expedient decision...without understanding the long term effects on the program, students, alumni and fans [and costs, in terms of money, flexibility, and prestige]. While moving off campus has not destroyed the program [as I feared], it clearly has not given it the bounce that leadership and many posters suggested at the time. I'd love to see an on campus facility, but I honestly do not see it in the cards during my lifetime [which I also said back in '98/99 when the discussion was taking place]. It was probably not a mistake to move off campus to Heinz in the short term, but it was a catastrophic mistake to tear down Pitt Stadium--as now there are virtually no options.

Correction: There are plenty of options. Just no easy/cheap options.

 

[h2p_5150]

The next time conference realignment happens Pitt might get the boot from the ACC. We are a P5 program in name only. Our donation levels and "success" in sports would make us a better fit in the AAC.

 

[Pitt79]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.th...f-reveals-on-campus-stadium-feasibility-study

I am just so sick of schools with 1/10 of the tradition and 1/10 of the fanbase like USF and Temple diligently studying the idea of building a stadium on-campus instead of playing in a mostly empty NFL stadium.

If Pitt is destined to play in a half-empty NFL stadium forever, fine.....but at least do a feasibility study and release it to the public to show me why it is so impossible.

USF and Temple are such small time programs. Pitt is in the freaking ACC. It deserves much better from our leadership.

Based on Aspirations, USF and Pitt should probably trade places. USF is in Florida, in the ACC area, probably want to win at football more than Pitt does too.

 

[JohnnyGossamer]

Thread is so modern jaded Pitt that I'm cracking up at every post in it.

 

[ameoba defense]

They may as well just let the ALLEGHENY County Commissioner CLOWNS run the ATH DEPT.
Get the same end results , maybe cheaper.

You do realize that the county got rid of the commissioners a couple of decades ago.

 

[paulbl99]

You do realize that the county got rid of the commissioners a couple of decades ago.

Bring them back to be clear thanks.

They did build Pgh International
They could run the Ath Dept.

 

[ameoba defense]

Buck up. And get your friends to buck up.

It's really that simple. If there were a financial will to build an on campus stadium, the university would find a way.

The financial participation of Pitt alumni and boosters is abysmal. And Pitt hasn't showed a remarkable tolerance for athletic captial investments without the influence of private seeding. Until there is a paradigm shift in that kind of engagement, the constant harping on a Stadium in Oakland is just wasted breath.

This is the best post in this thread. It's all about money. If I were a super billionaire, and told the powers that be, that I had 500 million to get Amoeba Defense Stadium built, it would be built. Now it might not be built where you want it it, but it would be built. This is totally a money issue. The city might not let you clear South Oakland to build it, but 500 million would probably be enough to clear the old Forbes Field site, and rebuild the library and other buildings elsewhere, and put the stadium there, which in my opinion, would be the ultimate dream scenario. Money always works, but if you think that Pitt is going to dip into the endowment for this, you must be part of the opioid epidemic. Pitt is never dipping into the endowment for this, especially with the possibility that the school will have to revert to private status in the not so distant future.
If you want this to happen, you better find someone other than the school, who is willing to pay for it.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

Not an expert by any means but I’m darn near certain even if they wanted to they couldn’t use the endowment for a stadium. Endowments are earmarked for specific things, correct??

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.th...f-reveals-on-campus-stadium-feasibility-study

I am just so sick of schools with 1/10 of the tradition and 1/10 of the fanbase like USF and Temple diligently studying the idea of building a stadium on-campus instead of playing in a mostly empty NFL stadium.

If Pitt is destined to play in a half-empty NFL stadium forever, fine.....but at least do a feasibility study and release it to the public to show me why it is so impossible.

USF and Temple are such small time programs. Pitt is in the freaking ACC. It deserves much better from our leadership.

To be fair, Temple aside, alot of these other places have cheap land with open spaces.

 

[pittman71]

Just tear down Peterson Events Center and put a football stadium in its place. Then tell Stallings and the bball team to go find their own place to play

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Buck up. And get your friends to buck up.

It's really that simple. If there were a financial will to build an on campus stadium, the university would find a way.

The financial participation of Pitt alumni and boosters is abysmal. And Pitt hasn't showed a remarkable tolerance for athletic captial investments without the influence of private seeding. Until there is a paradigm shift in that kind of engagement, the constant harping on a Stadium in Oakland is just wasted breath.

This is the best post in this thread. It's all about money. If I were a super billionaire, and told the powers that be, that I had 500 million to get Amoeba Defense Stadium built, it would be built. Now it might not be built where you want it it, but it would be built. This is totally a money issue. The city might not let you clear South Oakland to build it, but 500 million would probably be enough to clear the old Forbes Field site, and rebuild the library and other buildings elsewhere, and put the stadium there, which in my opinion, would be the ultimate dream scenario. Money always works, but if you think that Pitt is going to dip into the endowment for this, you must be part of the opioid epidemic. Pitt is never dipping into the endowment for this, especially with the possibility that the school will have to revert to private status in the not so distant future.
If you want this to happen, you better find someone other than the school, who is willing to pay for it.

Nobody is saying dip into the endowment but Pitt has actual money that isn't in an endowment you know.

If we use the $500 million price tag, lets say a whale donates $100 million (Petersens donated 30 million almost 20 years ago, its not impossible). Then you have a fundraising campaign to raise another $100 million. Lets say with naming rights and other corporate deals you can raise another $100 million. The last $200 million, Pitt issues muni bonds and/or pays some of it off with non-endowment money.

 

[HailtoPitt]

Not an expert by any means but I’m darn near certain even if they wanted to they couldn’t use the endowment for a stadium. Endowments are earmarked for specific things, correct??

Generally, yes. In reality though, it depends. Pitt can't "dip into the endowment" because the principle is used to generate earnings, so say Pitt's $3.5 billion endowment (or whatever it is now) generates about 5% for the University to use, or $175 million. Most of that $175 million is going to be earmarked for things like student scholarships, professorships, maintenance of some special piano hidden away in the music building, etc.

However, the endowment, in theory, should free up annual operating capital. An endowed professorship that covers the cost of an economic professor's salary would save the University that amount per year in covering that professor's salary. An endowed offensive lineman scholarship would save the University the cost of covering that student athlete's tuition. So, a large endowment can provide the University some more flexibility in making budget decisions when projecting revenue, since it's much more stable than something like projecting tuition revenue or ticket sales revenue.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Not an expert by any means but I’m darn near certain even if they wanted to they couldn’t use the endowment for a stadium. Endowments are earmarked for specific things, correct??

Generally, yes. In reality though, it depends. Pitt can't "dip into the endowment" because the principle is used to generate earnings, so say Pitt's $3.5 billion endowment (or whatever it is now) generates about 5% for the University to use, or $175 million. Most of that $175 million is going to be earmarked for things like student scholarships, professorships, maintenance of some special piano hidden away in the music building, etc.

However, the endowment, in theory, should free up annual operating capital. An endowed professorship that covers the cost of an economic professor's salary would save the University that amount per year in covering that professor's salary. An endowed offensive lineman scholarship would save the University the cost of covering that student athlete's tuition. So, a large endowment can provide the University some more flexibility in making budget decisions when projecting revenue, since it's much more stable than something like projecting tuition revenue or ticket sales revenue.

This is what I've been saying for years that people don't understand. Becauzw Because Pitt has such a large endowment, that can pay for things that other universities have to pay for out of operating capital. Pitt, in theory, should have more money just laying around because the endowment pays for so much.

I use the analogy of a trust fund kid making $100K per year off the trust fund which covers every single one of his expenses but can use his 50K/year salary to do things the trust fund forbids like world travel, strip clubs, alcohol, etc.

 

[mehinpgh]

I'm so sick of this topic. Look at the much improved Duke stadium...still no one comes. If Pitt wins, people show up, even at Heinz Field. There was nowhere to park at Pitt Stadium, nowhere to tailgate, the stadium was a dump but people remember it like it was one of the great stadiums of all time. If Pitt wins, they will come. That's it. There is nowhere to put a stadium on campus. It would cost hundreds of millions of dollars. There are better places to put the money. Such a dead horse. Good lord.

 

[ThePanthers]

Thread is so modern jaded Pitt that I'm cracking up at every post in it.

Yep.

 

[ameoba defense]

I'm so sick of this topic. Look at the much improved Duke stadium...still no one comes. If Pitt wins, people show up, even at Heinz Field. There was nowhere to park at Pitt Stadium, nowhere to tailgate, the stadium was a dump but people remember it like it was one of the great stadiums of all time. If Pitt wins, they will come. That's it. There is nowhere to put a stadium on campus. It would cost hundreds of millions of dollars. There are better places to put the money. Such a dead horse. Good lord.

When a team is losing, there are many excuses not to come. At Heinz, the excuses are that "it's too far from campus", there's no atmosphere". In Oakland, it will be the same as it was for Pitt Stadium, "traffic", "nowhere to park". etc. When the team is winning, these problems seem to melt away.

 

[HailtoPitt]

When a team is losing, there are many excuses not to come. At Heinz, the excuses are that "it's too far from campus", there's no atmosphere". In Oakland, it will be the same as it was for Pitt Stadium, "traffic", "nowhere to park". etc. When the team is winning, these problems seem to melt away.

And again, the argument for an on campus stadium isn't about increasing attendance. It's about having a right sized stadium for the program. And a stadium on campus that Pitt controls. And a better atmosphere because the stadium is filled. And... And.. And...

 

[ThePanthers]

And again, the argument for an on campus stadium isn't about increasing attendance. It's about having a right sized stadium for the program. And a stadium on campus that Pitt controls. And a better atmosphere because the stadium is filled. And... And.. And...

Until they lose a game and the soft dramatic Pitt fans don't come anyway.

 

[TD_6082]

You know what breaks the catch-22? Pay more than you could imagine and get a dynamic HC who would drum up some interest. Give that coach money to hire the best recruiters in the country and see what happens. This is a Power5 team in one of the best conferences in the country. Stop acting small time.

Let's just cough up the money for recruits.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

I'm so sick of this topic. Look at the much improved Duke stadium...still no one comes. If Pitt wins, people show up, even at Heinz Field. There was nowhere to park at Pitt Stadium, nowhere to tailgate, the stadium was a dump but people remember it like it was one of the great stadiums of all time. If Pitt wins, they will come. That's it. There is nowhere to put a stadium on campus. It would cost hundreds of millions of dollars. There are better places to put the money. Such a dead horse. Good lord.

Not in numbers that will make it look good.

 

[MarySki]

The Pete at the beginning was a crown jewel on the Pitt campus. Just because basketball has a few down years does not mean the Pete went downhill. White Elephant? WTF, it is more than a basketball court for the students. For all you Pitt JoePa's out there - "I should have done more" rings more true for Pitt Athletics - Do More - Donate, attend games and good things will come.

 

[Panther Al]

It's not excuses, its the facts about off campus buildings being morgues and kills recruiting. If you watched the 21st ranked USF BULLS last night vs Temple, you say them playing to 5000 people MAXIMUM in a 65,000 seat building with RED seats. If you thought Heinz was bad, this was a complete utter embarassment and USF has 15,000 more undergrad students than Pitt. ZERO atmosphere and difficult to recruit 4/5 star talent to play in off campus stadiums.