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On Campus Stadium

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H2P_3313

Prep
Sep 3, 2015
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I know fans have been complaining and pitching ideas for an on campus stadium. While almost everyone says it cannot be done, there is no way Temple should be able to construct one and Pitt cannot. For anyone unfamiliar with Temple's campus it is in a much more condensed area and far more dangerous than Pitt's Oakland campus. Attached to this is a link to the $100 million facility that Temple is planning to build. While the stadium idea they are pitching is much smaller than the current stadium they play at, it will have more capacity crowds and most likely increase recruiting.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...Stadium-on-Campus_Philadelphia-336423641.html
 
H2P_3313 said:
I know fans have been complaining and pitching ideas for an on campus stadium. While almost everyone says it cannot be done, there is no way Temple should be able to construct one and Pitt cannot. For anyone unfamiliar with Temple's campus it is in a much more condensed area and far more dangerous than Pitt's Oakland campus. Attached to this is a link to the $100 million facility that Temple is planning to build. While the stadium idea they are pitching is much smaller than the current stadium they play at, it will have more capacity crowds and most likely increase recruiting.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...Stadium-on-Campus_Philadelphia-336423641.html
Click to expand...


We don't have room, unless parking isn't important.
 
if you want to see an empty stadium, you put a bad football team in the middle of oakland and see how many fans are going to put up with waiting in single lane traffic to go see them.
 
pittzap said:
We don't have room, unless parking isn't important.
Click to expand...

You people kill me with your parking and traffic fears. Somehow, some way Oakland can accomodate, I dont know, 100,000 people during rush hour on weekdays but the world will end if 40,000 people decide to go to a football game on a Saturday.

If traffic is so bad in Oakland, perhaps Pitt and UPMC should move out of Oakland.

Parking and traffic are NEVER a reason why we wont get a stadium.

If Temple can build one, you best believe Gallagher and Barnes will.
 
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Sean Miller Fan said:
You people kill me with your parking and traffic fears. Somehow, some way Oakland can accomodate, I dont know, 100,000 people during rush hour on weekdays but the world will end if 40,000 people decide to go to a football game on a Saturday.

If traffic is so bad in Oakland, perhaps Pitt and UPMC should move out of Oakland.

Parking and traffic are NEVER a reason why we wont get a stadium.

If Temple can build one, you best believe Gallagher and Barnes will.
Click to expand...

You are 100% correct. While I am not saying that anything is in the works... The idea that "there is no room to build in Oakland" is based on the premise that NOTHING will ever been demolished, leveled, purchased, etc. While the footprint of land needed would be great.. there are areas in the surrounding the main area of campus where this certainly is feasible.. and we have talked about a number of them on here.

People talk about parking. This is not a difficult fix. The way the OC lot is constructed is a complete waste, with single level parking, taking up most of it.

Any single level parking lot could be eliminated immediately, and parking could be raised or under ground. Think about Soldiers & Sailors years ago.

The average life of an NFL stadium is probably around 30 years. We are halfway there. I highly doubt that we follow the Steelers to the next place....
 
JoeScaz said:
You are 100% correct. While I am not saying that anything is in the works... The idea that "there is no room to build in Oakland" is based on the premise that NOTHING will ever been demolished, leveled, purchased, etc. While the footprint of land needed would be great.. there are areas in the surrounding the main area of campus where this certainly is feasible.. and we have talked about a number of them on here.

People talk about parking. This is not a difficult fix. The way the OC lot is constructed is a complete waste, with single level parking, taking up most of it.

Any single level parking lot could be eliminated immediately, and parking could be raised or under ground. Think about Soldiers & Sailors years ago.

The average life of an NFL stadium is probably around 30 years. We are halfway there. I highly doubt that we follow the Steelers to the next place....
Click to expand...

Pitt can acquire land in Oakland tomorrow for a stadium site if it wanted. They dont feel its worth the investment......right now.

Land, parking, and traffic aren't the issue. $$$$$$$$$$ is the issue.
 
Sean Miller Fan said:
You people kill me with your parking and traffic fears. Somehow, some way Oakland can accomodate, I dont know, 100,000 people during rush hour on weekdays but the world will end if 40,000 people decide to go to a football game on a Saturday.

If traffic is so bad in Oakland, perhaps Pitt and UPMC should move out of Oakland.

Parking and traffic are NEVER a reason why we wont get a stadium.

If Temple can build one, you best believe Gallagher and Barnes will.
Click to expand...

The problem is you would never get approval from city planners unless these issues are adequately addressed. This isn't like 75 years ago when Pitt stadium was put up and no one really thought about it since you didn't have the sprawl and traffic like today. Heck you try and open a Rite aid and the neighborhood is up in arms about traffic & parking, imagine what types of loons a stadium would bring out to protest it.
 
Heinz Field is 20,000 feet from Oakland ! PITT is one of the largest employers in the area and guess who payed for Heinz……that’s right taxpayers.
 
Slick Manager of Champs said:
The problem is you would never get approval from city planners unless these issues are adequately addressed. This isn't like 75 years ago when Pitt stadium was put up and no one really thought about it since you didn't have the sprawl and traffic like today. Heck you try and open a Rite aid and the neighborhood is up in arms about traffic & parking, imagine what types of loons a stadium would bring out to protest it.
Click to expand...
good point, my folks live near south hills village and they tore down the old Consol building to build one of these new grocery chains, right on a busy intersection (in front of mall and Washington Rd). It's gonna much up traffic something awful. the local bp and usc residents put up a hell of a fight, which they lost of course. My point? MOney beats out protests.. Wal Mart is being built in McCandless, against residents.. Guess who is gonna win that one?
 
Temple is right to strike while the iron is hot. Even without continued 7-0 starts or 9-10 win seasons, Temple should be able to comfortably fill a 35K stadium and won't need much more in the near term. I can't access the linked video, but 100 mil probably gets you two basic, one level grandstands. Make it expandable (ability to close end zones and/or add upper decks) and you have room to grow with continued success.

I do not know if Pitt ever sees their own stadium, but I do know that it will be a very real topic of discussion (and not just on this board) when the Steelers are discussing their next venue, probably within the next 15 years.
 
I was wondering the same thing about how Temple is building one. However, as great as an on-campus stadium is, it probably is not realistic here right now. Oakland is not made for large amounts of cars driving through, it's a nightmare. It's a shame Pitt Stadium is not there anymore, but Heinz Field is not a bad venue and it's pretty easily accessible from any surrounding area. I do think when Heinz Field is no more though, Pitt will explore all options at that point in time.
 
The sad matter is, with a "right sized", on campus stadium, Thursday night would be awesome with a great atmosphere. But it is not and we are worried about attendance.
 
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H2P_3313 said:
I know fans have been complaining and pitching ideas for an on campus stadium. While almost everyone says it cannot be done, there is no way Temple should be able to construct one and Pitt cannot. For anyone unfamiliar with Temple's campus it is in a much more condensed area and far more dangerous than Pitt's Oakland campus. Attached to this is a link to the $100 million facility that Temple is planning to build. While the stadium idea they are pitching is much smaller than the current stadium they play at, it will have more capacity crowds and most likely increase recruiting.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...Stadium-on-Campus_Philadelphia-336423641.html
Click to expand...
I think to money would be better spent on almost anything else.

$100,000,000 for a team that is hard pressed to draw 15,000 / game?

Stupid.
 
Even with a big game just two days away, the usual out of season topic rises again.

I live in Raleigh, home of NC State. Is anyone aware that State plays in an off-campus stadium? Its the same distance from the center of campus as Heinz is from the Cathedral.

I've lived here for 20 years, know a lot of state fans, and I've never heard a single word from any fans or anyone in the media regarding the need for an on-campus stadium. No one wants one, and no one thinks its holding the program down, or hurts attendance. Not a single word in 20 years.
 
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raleighpanther said:
Even with a big game just two days away, the usual out of season topic rises again.

I live in Raleigh, home of NC State. Is anyone aware that State plays in an off-campus stadium? Its the same distance from the center of campus as Heinz is from the Cathedral.

I've lived here for 20 years, know a lot of state fans, and I've never heard a single word from any fans or anyone in the media regarding the need for an on-campus stadium. No one wants one, and no one thinks its holding the program down, or hurts attendance. Not a single word in 20 years.
Click to expand...
They still share their bball arena with the Carolina Hurricanes also, do they not? How far from campus is that arena? I agree with you just as much as the people who want an on-campus stadium. Like I said, it would be great. Pitt Stadium was a legendary venue, despite it's shortcomings. However, Heinz Field is much easier to get fans to. The students may show up more to an on-campus game, but the alumni and other fans may not.
 
Pittx9 said:
They still share their bball arena with the Carolina Hurricanes also, do they not? How far from campus is that arena? I agree with you just as much as the people who want an on-campus stadium. Like I said, it would be great. Pitt Stadium was a legendary venue, despite it's shortcomings. However, Heinz Field is much easier to get fans to. The students may show up more to an on-campus game, but the alumni and other fans may not.
Click to expand...
Yes, I should have mentioned that. The bball arena is just behind the football stadium, they share a parking lot. And the bball team used to play in Reynolds Coliseum, still in heart of campus (the women's bball team plays there). The men won 2 national championships there, and its an historic old place. The seating was terrible though, with most of it in the endzones, and parking would be a nightmare for a big crowd. Again, no one complains and wants to tear apart the campus to build an arena on campus.
The two facilities have good parking and easy access to get in and out of the place.
 
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recruitsreadtheseboards said:
The sad matter is, with a "right sized", on campus stadium, Thursday night would be awesome with a great atmosphere. But it is not and we are worried about attendance.
Click to expand...

This is exactly right. Heinz Field is simply too large for our fan base.

We are never going to fill it and the frustration or embarrassment associated with that is not really the fans' fault--it's the result of decisions made by prior administrations.

A right-sized on campus stadium fitting around 50,000 people would be ideal. Further, Pitt needs to make more money from its football program. You do that by selling out tickets through increased demand and also requiring donations for seats and season tickets (which you also can do with increased demand). You could do that with a right-sized stadium.

We are never going to be able to get such increased demand in a stadium this size--because we are not going to fill it with this fan base. We didn't sell out the stadium for a de facto Big East championship game years ago.

I'm not even going to get into the potential troubles for the program if the Steelers decide to build a stadium in Butler County or Washington County in the next 10-15 years. But read some of the articles about the Miami head coaching job and Miami's difficulties playing in the Dolphins stadium.

Pitt never should have torn down its home. The stadium is going to be an issue going forward and I hope Pitt is already planning on how to deal with it. My advice? Look at what the University of Minnesota did. They built a 50,000 seat on-campus stadium in Minneapolis and relied heavily upon corporate donations.

I have total confidence in the current administration and, thanks to Coach Narduzzi, they will expand the fan base. But we are never going to consistently fill Heinz Field, given the size of the school and the size of the fan base.
 
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pittzap said:
We don't have room, unless parking isn't important.
Click to expand...
Where there's a will there's a way. 95 per event of power 5 school have on campus stadiums and 100 per cent of those have traffic and parking issues. It can be done.
 
raleighpanther said:
Even with a big game just two days away, the usual out of season topic rises again.

I live in Raleigh, home of NC State. Is anyone aware that State plays in an off-campus stadium? Its the same distance from the center of campus as Heinz is from the Cathedral.

I've lived here for 20 years, know a lot of state fans, and I've never heard a single word from any fans or anyone in the media regarding the need for an on-campus stadium. No one wants one, and no one thinks its holding the program down, or hurts attendance. Not a single word in 20 years.
Click to expand...

The issue isn't the location of the stadium--it's the size of the stadium! Heinz Field is too big for Pitt's fan base to sell out.

There's a reason why nearly every division 1 college football program is trying to move into their own stadium (whether it's on campus or not) and stop playing at an NFL stadium--atmosphere matters and the size of the fan base matters. Why are schools like Tulane and Temple trying to build their own stadiums? Look at what Minnesota did.

No matter how many games we win, we won't consistently sell out Heinz Field. We should never have torn down Pitt Stadium and the stadium is going to be an issue in the future.
 
Pittx9 said:
They still share their bball arena with the Carolina Hurricanes also, do they not? How far from campus is that arena? I agree with you just as much as the people who want an on-campus stadium. Like I said, it would be great. Pitt Stadium was a legendary venue, despite it's shortcomings. However, Heinz Field is much easier to get fans to. The students may show up more to an on-campus game, but the alumni and other fans may not.
Click to expand...
In the same area as the football stadium.
 
raleighpanther said:
Even with a big game just two days away, the usual out of season topic rises again.
Click to expand...

And why not? I'm not sure why this discussion causes such irritation yet the damn PSU threads pop up every day. At least the stadium discussions are pertinent to Pitt football, both past and current.
 
If the issue to many is truly stadium capacity, then I'm going to bring up the dreaded tarps again. Seriously, the end zone bleacher seats are screaming for a large tarp with a giant script PITT on it. Hell, the Oakland Raiders do it. And, being they're bleachers as opposed to actual seats, it would reduce capacity by 7K+. 50K in a 60K stadium looks much better than 50K in a nearly 70K stadium.
 
raleighpanther said:
I live in Raleigh, home of NC State. Is anyone aware that State plays in an off-campus stadium? Its the same distance from the center of campus as Heinz is from the Cathedral.

I've lived here for 20 years, know a lot of state fans, and I've never heard a single word from any fans or anyone in the media regarding the need for an on-campus stadium. No one wants one, and no one thinks its holding the program down, or hurts attendance. Not a single word in 20 years.
Click to expand...

What's probably even more interesting is the fact that Carter-Finley stadium was built in 1966. Given the size of Raleigh back then, the location of the stadium must have seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere from campus (even though it was only still 3 miles away). Given all the room they had just south of campus (prior to the development of the Centennial campus), it's surprising they built Carter-Finley all the way out where they did. While the location of the stadium is very convenient and accessible - especially given the size of Raleigh today, I've got to think that there were a lot of grumblings about its off-campus location back in the 60's.
 
H2P_3313 said:
I know fans have been complaining and pitching ideas for an on campus stadium. While almost everyone says it cannot be done, there is no way Temple should be able to construct one and Pitt cannot. For anyone unfamiliar with Temple's campus it is in a much more condensed area and far more dangerous than Pitt's Oakland campus. Attached to this is a link to the $100 million facility that Temple is planning to build. While the stadium idea they are pitching is much smaller than the current stadium they play at, it will have more capacity crowds and most likely increase recruiting.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...Stadium-on-Campus_Philadelphia-336423641.html
Click to expand...

H2P! IT WILL BE BUILT! And the plan at the following site will be the first conceptual design for the record. GSPIA HAS A PLAN DESIGNED 15 OR SO YEARS AGO. THEY KNOW IT CAN BE BUILT!
www.newpittstadium.com
 
Pitt Law '04 said:
The issue isn't the location of the stadium--it's the size of the stadium! Heinz Field is too big for Pitt's fan base to sell out.

There's a reason why nearly every division 1 college football program is trying to move into their own stadium (whether it's on campus or not) and stop playing at an NFL stadium--atmosphere matters and the size of the fan base matters. Why are schools like Tulane and Temple trying to build their own stadiums? Look at what Minnesota did.

No matter how many games we win, we won't consistently sell out Heinz Field. We should never have torn down Pitt Stadium and the stadium is going to be an issue in the future.
Click to expand...

If Pitt built an on-campus stadium, I'm pretty sure that attendance would do well for a few years, just because people like to go see new stadiums.

PittLaw04, I'm nostalgic about ole Pitt Stadium too; my dad played there back in the day. But you keep saying it never should've been torn down.

Well, Pitt didn't sell it out either, and it was on-campus, and smaller than Heinz. Attendance was worse there than at Heinz. It had a big track around it, so all seats were far from the field; the facilities were awful for fans; and the whole place was eye sore that had to hurt recruiting. Oh, and they played on a bad artificial turf. Traffic and parking were bad, etc. It had to go. They could've torn it down and built a new one on the same spot, but it had to go.

In any event, it happened, its gone. No sense continuing to glamourize the place and whine about what a mistake it was.

Eventually, Heinz will age and Pitt will need another solution. But the 'right size' and 'on-campus' are separate issues. I know people want both. Eventually we may get a 'right sized' stadium, but it could well still be off campus.
 
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raleighpanther said:
Even with a big game just two days away, the usual out of season topic rises again.

I live in Raleigh, home of NC State. Is anyone aware that State plays in an off-campus stadium? Its the same distance from the center of campus as Heinz is from the Cathedral.

I've lived here for 20 years, know a lot of state fans, and I've never heard a single word from any fans or anyone in the media regarding the need for an on-campus stadium. No one wants one, and no one thinks its holding the program down, or hurts attendance. Not a single word in 20 years.
Click to expand...
MooU fans don't complain about Carter-Finley Stadium being off-campus because they love their tailgating in the parking lot (that surrounds the whole stadium) more than they like attending the actual football game itself. That's why, unless they're having an above average season, the stadium becomes half empty after halftime. They go out to tailgate at halftime and don't come back, even though they receive "pass-outs" and can come back in after halftime.

An on-campus stadium would mean little to no parking within close proximity of the stadium (as seen at UNC, UGA, Georgia Tech, etc. etc.) which would limit their tailgating scene substantially. Also, re: your post further down about how they view the RBC Center (or whatever it's called now), they absolutely pine for the old days of playing in Reynolds on campus. You're right though, they don't want an on-campus football stadium.

I have zero dog in this fight, but it would be cool if Pitt got an on-campus stadium. It's what makes college football, college football, IMO. Nothing cooler than walking through a campus on your way to the stadium. It certainly does create parking nightmares though, that's for sure.
 
Slick Manager of Champs said:
The problem is you would never get approval from city planners unless these issues are adequately addressed. This isn't like 75 years ago when Pitt stadium was put up and no one really thought about it since you didn't have the sprawl and traffic like today. Heck you try and open a Rite aid and the neighborhood is up in arms about traffic & parking, imagine what types of loons a stadium would bring out to protest it.
Click to expand...
1926 - Pitt Stadium
 
CaptainMurphy said:
Temple is right to strike while the iron is hot. Even without continued 7-0 starts or 9-10 win seasons, Temple should be able to comfortably fill a 35K stadium and won't need much more in the near term. I can't access the linked video, but 100 mil probably gets you two basic, one level grandstands. Make it expandable (ability to close end zones and/or add upper decks) and you have room to grow with continued success.

I do not know if Pitt ever sees their own stadium, but I do know that it will be a very real topic of discussion (and not just on this board) when the Steelers are discussing their next venue, probably within the next 15 years.
Click to expand...
Temple has NEVER averaged 30K.....even with their own place. Maybe not 25K. This year, with psu, ND & a good team, maybe they will. Temple FB is half a step above Philly Science (Textile for us old guys) hoops.
 
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