On campus stadium and Olympic sports
- Thread starter jivecat
- Start date
Can you go deeper into this jivecat? This is a big statement to make, for many reasons!
I'd imagine it'd be. Only way would probably be if they don't want the hassle with the SEA. Besides, I've always wanted to see what football game at PNC would look like.We'll see.
PNC? In spikeless golf shoes maybe. The pigeons aren't even permitted to crap on the grass on flyovers...
That would be like WVU's stadium. Its not really "on campus." Its separated from the main campus by a residential neighborhood. You have to take that monorail to get there. I think they call it the Evansdale campus. The stadium is over there, the hospital, the engineering school (I think), and a dorm building or 2.
I never thought they should have put a stadium at the top of that hill. Too many excuses for people not to walk up it. There's plenty of places it could go on the lower campus once buildings are bought up and torn down.
I still say the best spot is across Forbes from the Cathedral next to the Carnegie Museum. This would require buying that new little park for $100 million, tearing down Hillman and Posvar and rebuilding them elsewhere.
That is what I waa thinking. I think its unreasonable to go out and fundraise for a new volleyball/wrestling/gymnastics arena without also having conversations with donors about football. I believe that this Victory Heights project will get done while plans are being made and donations are being solicited for an on-campus stadium. That's where the "yet" comes in from Lyke's quote.
I think Lyke is going to see what Heinz is like the next few years and then realize playing there long-term is not viable. The size (not the location) really kills the atmosphere and badly hurts recruiting
The Steelers may build a new stadium but it will always be on the Northshore.
There's to much money at stake to leave that area.
But it's more likely that Heinz will be renovated, and upgraded.
It's a "destination" location with all of the hotels, restraurants, bars, great views, spectacular shots for TV viewers, access to major highways, parking, good mass transit to and from the stadium, etc.
PITT should build a multi purpose all sports football stadium that is appropriately sized.
It could accomodate football, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, track, include a bubbled ( summer & winter) tennis complex, and could be used by other colleges and high schools for major events and championships.
"it's five o'clock somewhere"
Signed: Mr Buffett
Go PITT & CSU Rams!
"it's five o'clock somewhere"
Signed: Mr Buffett
Go PITT & CSU Rams!
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She never says "no", just "not the top priority" or "Not at this time". She and the Chancellor should just come out and say "we have zero interest in a new stadium". But, for the same reasons of not building one in the first place, they also won't say that.
10 yrs lmao
Just to shut up those of you wif half a clue anyway.....
10 yrs just think about Oakland lmao
It would cost close to a bil
But The Million-Man Post will keep on rolling
You two are way too fun
It means stop being an embarrassment to the league. A track team without a track to run on. A tennis team without a tennis court. The main building... if you can even call it that... more like a warehouse from the 50s... with no air conditioning.
Pitt would be an embarrassment to the WPIAL if it were a high school. I can say matter of factly both Peters Township and Upper St Clair have better facilities.
It shouldn't, but that also doesn't mean it should be neglected like it has in the past. Those facilities need major upgrades.
I would love a right sized on campus stadium, for the reasons you state in your other posts. I think it would help a ton. But it just is not happening in the near future, so they should focus on fixing the things they can in order to better Pitt athletics overall.
Yeah, I completely agree with you. That wasn’t my point. This project needs to happen first. However, that doesn’t mean the other project cannot or should not happen. It needs to happen as well.
This sounds like a great plan for Pitt. If I’m reading it correctly and reading between the lines, what I’m envisioning is that they plan to construct the new indoor track facility and the new weight room/locker room/sports medicine complex on the OC lot - and potentially integrated directly with the Cost Center. If correct, that has the potential to be a really, really fine facility and an asset for Pitt and for Pittsburgh as the only indoor track in the region. I also have a feeling that that would be constructed first because it doesn’t require demolition and won’t disrupt any sport’s current operations. It’s also been in the works for longer, affects more sports overall, and is satisfying an unfilled need rather than providing needed improvements to what we already have.
I would imagine that the rebuilt field house would be a second phase, and would involve demolishing the field house as it stands and building a new facility in its place - and I imagine that the volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling teams could temporarily play at the Pete during the interim. I would also imagine that it would provide a nice venue for hosting tournaments, high school championships, and other revenue-drivers for the university and athletic department.
I get the desire for a football stadium in the OC lot, and agree that Pitt needs to consider its succession plan for Heinz Field when the Steelers inevitably start to beat the drums for a new, fancy, taxpayer-financed stadium (that could conceivably be out in the suburbs), but these are necessary improvements that would provide a cohesive athletic footprint in what would honestly be a pretty difficult area for ~50,000 football fans to access on Saturdays.
I would imagine that the rebuilt field house would be a second phase, and would involve demolishing the field house as it stands and building a new facility in its place - and I imagine that the volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling teams could temporarily play at the Pete during the interim. I would also imagine that it would provide a nice venue for hosting tournaments, high school championships, and other revenue-drivers for the university and athletic department.
I get the desire for a football stadium in the OC lot, and agree that Pitt needs to consider its succession plan for Heinz Field when the Steelers inevitably start to beat the drums for a new, fancy, taxpayer-financed stadium (that could conceivably be out in the suburbs), but these are necessary improvements that would provide a cohesive athletic footprint in what would honestly be a pretty difficult area for ~50,000 football fans to access on Saturdays.
I don’t think they’re going to build a new athletics facility on the current fieldhouse site. It is all going to be on the current OC Lot. The land that currently hosts the fieldhouse will become a multi-story parking garage.
...at least that’s what I was told would happen.
As for the new on campus football stadium, I know there are some who would like to cover their ears and insist that it’s never going to happen, but I am telling you it is DEFINITELY going to happen and probably sooner than many currently believe. I think this project basically ensures as much.
Raising money for athletic facilities can be difficult – especially in a place like Pittsburgh and for a school like the University of Pittsburgh.
However, once you start to build that momentum it’s going to be very difficult to stop it – especially when there is one specific facility that a large percentage of your donor base would like to see built.
How do you make this case as the University of Pittsburgh?
“You need to donate to this project because our student-athletes deserve better than they have gotten for many years now. They deserve top-flight on campus facilities… Except our football players. What they have works just fine.
“Besides, can you imagine the traffic around here and the real estate prices in Oakland are through the roof. Woo! Who can afford it all?”
Does anyone honestly believe that logic is going to prevail over the long haul? I, for one, think that’s more than a little unlikely.
I think the whole world should be able to see where this is DEFINITELY headed. If you can’t see where this is headed, then God bless you.
Once you start getting into fundraising for athletic facilities projects, that is a very difficult momentum to stop.
To me, the question then becomes where do you build the stadium? There are a lot of potential spots for it, but I would not put anywhere near the “Victory Heights” development. I think that’s the worst possible place in all of Oakland to put a football stadium and is a major reason for the traffic jams that we always experienced at Pitt Stadium and still experience coming in and out of the Petersen Events Center.
I think if you build a stadium in the 21st century, you should build it for 21st century fans to 21st century specs and with 21st century transportation in mind.
To me, that means smaller but loaded with technology and future technological opportunities and also close to transportation hubs like highways, bus lines, possible subway lines, etc.
People castigating this whole thing as a pipe dream are whistling Dixie, as far as I’m concerned. That doesn’t mean this is on the verge of happening soon, but it’s now definitely going to happen. I am now more convinced of it than ever before.
...at least that’s what I was told would happen.
As for the new on campus football stadium, I know there are some who would like to cover their ears and insist that it’s never going to happen, but I am telling you it is DEFINITELY going to happen and probably sooner than many currently believe. I think this project basically ensures as much.
Raising money for athletic facilities can be difficult – especially in a place like Pittsburgh and for a school like the University of Pittsburgh.
However, once you start to build that momentum it’s going to be very difficult to stop it – especially when there is one specific facility that a large percentage of your donor base would like to see built.
How do you make this case as the University of Pittsburgh?
“You need to donate to this project because our student-athletes deserve better than they have gotten for many years now. They deserve top-flight on campus facilities… Except our football players. What they have works just fine.
“Besides, can you imagine the traffic around here and the real estate prices in Oakland are through the roof. Woo! Who can afford it all?”
Does anyone honestly believe that logic is going to prevail over the long haul? I, for one, think that’s more than a little unlikely.
I think the whole world should be able to see where this is DEFINITELY headed. If you can’t see where this is headed, then God bless you.
Once you start getting into fundraising for athletic facilities projects, that is a very difficult momentum to stop.
To me, the question then becomes where do you build the stadium? There are a lot of potential spots for it, but I would not put anywhere near the “Victory Heights” development. I think that’s the worst possible place in all of Oakland to put a football stadium and is a major reason for the traffic jams that we always experienced at Pitt Stadium and still experience coming in and out of the Petersen Events Center.
I think if you build a stadium in the 21st century, you should build it for 21st century fans to 21st century specs and with 21st century transportation in mind.
To me, that means smaller but loaded with technology and future technological opportunities and also close to transportation hubs like highways, bus lines, possible subway lines, etc.
People castigating this whole thing as a pipe dream are whistling Dixie, as far as I’m concerned. That doesn’t mean this is on the verge of happening soon, but it’s now definitely going to happen. I am now more convinced of it than ever before.
So to quote all those Einsteins that have stated, "You mean it's going to be built and used more than just six Saturdays in the fall? More than six times a year?"
To be honest with you I've not encountered a minor or major U without tennis courts and a track of their own.
We live in the Lehigh Valley. All local D3 schools Muhlenberg, Moravian, Cedar Crest, D2 East Stroudsburg, D1AA Lafayette, and Lehigh U have really nice indoor and outdoor track and tennis facilities. Even the local community colleges have nice track and tennis facilities.
In fact Mrs Buffett and I play with a group of people at Lehigh in the winter ( indoor ) summer (outdoor), and play some league matches at Lafayette College. All of the local HS have nice track and tennis facilities.
"it's five o'clock somewhere"
Signed: Mr Buffett
Go PITT & CSU Rams!
I think eventually something will be done with regards to the stadium on campus, but I think it is still a long ways off. I do agree with you though that it shouldn't be up on the hill. That is way too congested up there and needs to be used for our other sports.
That said, I'll believe it when I see it.
That said, I'll believe it when I see it.
That’s what I heard too, regarding the parking garage at the Field House. Would be much needed to replace lost parking at the OC.
The only way they could put a stadium in upper campus would be to purchase the VA lot if they ever move, and even then it’d be a congestion nightmare. What’d be the best scenario (and will never happen) is buying out all the land in South Oakland from Allies to the Mon. Connect it to 376 with an exit ramp and use the excess land to build parking around it. You could even connect it to the new transit that’s going from Almono to Oakland. It’d force that area to get spruced up.
I talked about this a while back https://pittsburgh.forums.rivals.com/threads/my-o-c-stadium-proposal.101740/
Thats a convienent talking points argument against an on campus sports facility.
If PITT wants an on campus sports facility including a football stadium it can be done and if planned out properly would be used for most of the year by lots of different groups.
"it's five o'clock somewhere"
Signed: Mr Buffett
Go PITT & CSU Rams!
Don't forget BRT is coming. You can park downtown or at the North Shore and be in your seat in Oakland in 15 minutes.
As for raising money, I don't see it being as difficult as you state. RMU raised $50 million for their new arena without even having a public campaign or asking alums for money. I am an alum of a graduate school and in my annual call that I get to donate, I asked how I could donate to the arena and that was like not even a thing I could do.
Pitt could find $300 million tomorrow. Its their willingness to do it. I think eventually it will happen. I think Lyke is going to try some new last ditch things at Heinz (including making it smaller starting next year with PSU not on the schedule) but noe of it is going to work. Pitt needs a smaller stadium and it will get one in Oakland, probably in 10 years or so
Well, they should definitely try tarps before they build a new stadium. That would certainly be a much cheaper option to right-size the stadium. That could work as well and I certainly hope it does work. Personally, I doubt it will work, but it’s definitely worth trying for a few years.
However, I believe that eventually, common sense is going to prevail…even at the bizarro-world that is the University of Pittsburgh where they can’t even get simple things like their logos and colors right.
However, I believe that eventually, common sense is going to prevail…even at the bizarro-world that is the University of Pittsburgh where they can’t even get simple things like their logos and colors right.
Again, you don't need actual tarps. You could simply close off 25K seats without them and force people into smaller areas. Then after a few years people could decide if empty swaths of yellow seats really look better than sleakly designed tarps
Congestion up to the new stadium on the VA lot? Don't want to drive and find parking up there in an underground parking garage? Gondolas baby! Gondola! Gondola! It's the wave of the future. It will be all the rage!!!
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/04...d-los-angeles-just-steal-the-as-gondola-plan/
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-dodger-stadium-gondola-20180426-story.html
Think what an attraction the inclined trolleys are. If you can dream it, you can do it.
Interesting regarding your first point - at first glance it doesn’t look like a whole lot of space on the OC lot footprint for an indoor track, an arena and an integrated locker room/weight complex, but you appear to have more knowledge than I do.
If the plan is to build a parking facility where the field house currently sits, I hope they also plan to build on top of it - ideally some kind of student housing whether it’s a new dormitory or upperclassmen/grad student apartments. Space is too scarce within the core campus footprint IMO to devote exclusively to parking.
Maybe a little bit more information in this instance, but definitely not more knowledge. I can promise you that much.
As for your other point, I’m not sure I agree. I would love to see more student housing up there as well. However, there is a scarcity of parking in Oakland - especially in that part of Oakland.
If you don’t give people anywhere to park, they’re not going to come to your games and it’s just that simple. You can tell people walk up Cardiac Hill or to take shuttles or whatever, but if you make going to games inconvenient for people, eventually they are simply going to skip it altogether in favor of another option.
Pitt is losing a lot of parking spots in the OC Lot they need to somehow adequately replace them or they are definitely going to regret it.
As for your other point, I’m not sure I agree. I would love to see more student housing up there as well. However, there is a scarcity of parking in Oakland - especially in that part of Oakland.
If you don’t give people anywhere to park, they’re not going to come to your games and it’s just that simple. You can tell people walk up Cardiac Hill or to take shuttles or whatever, but if you make going to games inconvenient for people, eventually they are simply going to skip it altogether in favor of another option.
Pitt is losing a lot of parking spots in the OC Lot they need to somehow adequately replace them or they are definitely going to regret it.
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Couldn't they build an underground garage in the basement of the new volleyball arena similar to that Sennott Square building?
Sure, they can do all kinds of things. Maybe they could build a garage under a new dorm on the site of Fitzgerald Fieldhouse and a second garage under the the new volleyball/wrestling building? That would be a very good solution. However, it would also be very expensive.
However, I have always been of the mindset that when you do a project like this, you do it right the first time and you figure out how to pay for it later.
Instead of doing it 75% of what it could be to stay under budget, do it to its full potential and work extra hard to find the money to pay for it.
I am actually with SMF on this one. If tiny little Robert Morris can find $50 million to build a new convocation center - and really do it without much difficulty; surely a massive and wealthy institution like with University of Pittsburgh can triple that amount with relative ease.
But you have to do the work. That’s the key to the whole thing. No one’s going to come to you offering you big money, you have to go to them. More importantly, you have to actually listen to and engage them.
However, I have always been of the mindset that when you do a project like this, you do it right the first time and you figure out how to pay for it later.
Instead of doing it 75% of what it could be to stay under budget, do it to its full potential and work extra hard to find the money to pay for it.
I am actually with SMF on this one. If tiny little Robert Morris can find $50 million to build a new convocation center - and really do it without much difficulty; surely a massive and wealthy institution like with University of Pittsburgh can triple that amount with relative ease.
But you have to do the work. That’s the key to the whole thing. No one’s going to come to you offering you big money, you have to go to them. More importantly, you have to actually listen to and engage them.
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There are still a lot of moving parts, but they definitely plan to replace the OC Lot with a garage/garages. Again, this is also still a ways off. The first phase is to try to build the 3rd floor on the Petersen Sports Complex. If we actually start doing that, I'll start getting excited about "Victory Heights".
Oh, it’s going to happen. If it wasn’t going to happen they would’ve never made this so public. They are probably already fairly well on their way to their goal.
If they went public with this announcement while having no real idea how it would be received, then our problems runs much deeper than we had previously imagined.
If they went public with this announcement while having no real idea how it would be received, then our problems runs much deeper than we had previously imagined.
I agree with you, and I think you might have misunderstood what I meant - if I had my pick of what to do with the field house site, it would involve several levels of parking to replace what you lose with the OC lot with primary vehicle entry and exit on Darragh Street and a direct pedestrian connection to the concrete patio at the Pete on the other side, space on the “ground floor” facing Allequippa Street for the Pitt Hall of Fame and a merchandise shop, and several floors of student housing above it all. The topography of the site is such that you could effectively build several levels of parking below Allequippa Street similar to what they did with the garage beneath the Cost Center - just with retail/housing above the garage instead of an indoor turf facility.
Edit: you could also create more room on the ground floor facing Allequippa Street for student amenities (dining, etc) - especially if including general university amenities would motivate the university to contribute more to the project financially.
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They don't want to do the work. That's fairly obvious.
Congestion up to the new stadium on the VA lot? Don't want to drive and find parking up there in an underground parking garage? Gondolas baby! Gondola! Gondola! It's the wave of the future. It will be all the rage!!!
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/04...d-los-angeles-just-steal-the-as-gondola-plan/
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-dodger-stadium-gondola-20180426-story.html
Think what an attraction the inclined trolleys are. If you can dream it, you can do it.
Does Kennywood still have gondolas to transport people from the parking lot on the hill overlooking the entrance?
Pitt is going to need far more than triple $50M though if it wants to build an on campus stadium.
RMU got most of that money from UPMC to become the exclusive care provider for all of RMU athletes, something Pitt already has. I know there is outside the box thinking that needs to occur, and Pitt can raise money, but I don't think the 2 are 100% comparable.
As in ten times that.
10 yrs from now it will be more like 20 X
Lyke just threw that number out of approx 10 yrs to quiet the in Oakland FB Field knuckleheads...for her likely tenure at Pitt..........
Pitt fans are sounding like we’ve just announced the building of a space station on Mars.....for a freakin tennis court and track and updating one of the most out of date buildings Pitt owns.
Neither The slums of Oakland nor the peak of a big hill in Oakland is going to be home to a new Football Field.
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Funny how Temple is building a new stadium for $130M, yet Pitt's would cost up to a billion according to some here.
Once again,typically, you’re all frigged up with your numbers but to be expected
Pitt could build a really nice 40-50K stadium for $150 million. I had a post a few months ago showing every NCAA stadium built since 2005. They were all in the 35-45K area and most around $150 million. I even researched how every single one was financed. It can be done at Pitt in a couple of years if the VA space opens up. It wouldn't be very difficult at all.
