| FTBL UA nears decision on adding to stadium

[TerryP]

TUSCALOOSA | University of Alabama administrators will decide in the next few months whether to go ahead with an expansion of Bryant-Denny Stadium, President Robert Witt said Tuesday.

Earlier this year, Witt delayed the expansion, which was in an initial planning stage, because of an economic downturn. Sagging tax collections meant a cut in state money, forcing Witt's staff to focus on more pressing financial issues. More importantly for athletics, though, administrators wanted to know how a sluggish economy would affect fundraising.

Finding a way to pay for the expansion is the major issue, and Witt said architects are designing a wide range of options, from the most expensive to the cheapest, to see what is realistic, based on the university's finances.

T-town News article

 

[rammerjammer]

Good Article TP...........

Find it interesting that UT is going to add club level seating and decrease the size of their stadium. Guess more money from big donors to have better seating is more important than the prestige of being one of the largest stadiums in college. It all comes down to dollars and cents.

 

[Nate]

To move up in Tide Pride there are about 10,000 people currently on the waiting list... Tide Pride will tell you it will be quicker to wait for next expansion... so I hear

 

[Nate]

Good Article TP...........

Find it interesting that UT is going to add club level seating and decrease the size of their stadium. Guess more money from big donors to have better seating is more important than the prestige of being one of the largest stadiums in college. It all comes down to dollars and cents.

WE could have surpassed UT with the last expansion, yet we built "THE ZONE" instead lol

 

[Guest]

interesting......Are you aware of what kinda plan is more likely Terry? skyboxes,club seating, bleacher only,ect.

 

[rammajamma]

This should be one of the easiest decisions ever for the U of A. How much is Tide Pride? 500 bucks?

500 x's 10,000 =$5,000,000.00 Plus

30 Bucks a ticket x's 7 home games=$210.00

$210.00 x's 10,000=$2,100,000.00

Total=7,100,000.00 Not to mention how many six dollar cokes and hotdogs these folks will buy.

 

[Guest]

30 bucks a ticket? yeah right :lol:

 

[rammerjammer]

30 bucks a ticket? yeah right :lol:

Exactly....cheapest is what $40.....and then next season you have UT,LSU, and Ark at home...Ark will most likely be $55 and the other two at $60.

I can't remember who our east opponent is next year, but it will most likely be a $50 ticket at least, which is probably the average for all 7 games.

 

[Guest]

One bubba's thought are this:
First, with 10K on the waiting list today, and a ever growing number of students graduating out of the student section, there is little doubt that the 100k mark can easily be breached AND still have a waiting list. The sky is the limit for size.

Second, lets face it. There is prestige in have a big one. Size matters. I'm talking about stadiums you cheeky monkey. The truly elite of the elite are above 100K. It will be decades before being part of the 100K club is not a sign that your program is one of the kings. What ever happens, the first requirement in designing the expansion will be that it must make us breach 100K.

Third, Some of you will recall a story about either Dr. Witt or Coach Moore being confronted by the parent of a student who could not get student tickets. He did not have a good reason for this, and more importantly also thought that this was unacceptable. What ever is built, an increase in student seating will have to be addressed.

Fourth, the success of The ZONE (read $$$ to the UA) has affirmed that it is better to have more to the experience than just a seat. It has been said that there is just not enough room to mirror The ZONE in the south Endzone. However, you old timers will recall the old Fire Station and Hospitality House that use to stand between BDS and Bryant Drive. The point is that there is room for the footprint of some kind of structure. There may not be another ZONE, but there may be a "ZONE-lite".

So what I see is an 8k+ chair-backed upper deck over an exclusive Club area with higher end food options, better bathrooms, and not so much seating as standing tables for people to eat and watch big screens. These seats will be filled mostly by existing TIDEPRIDE members who care more about comfort than the angle at which they view the game. The seats freed up by this movement will filled by existing TIDEPRIDE members aiming to improve their angle of view, and by those currently on the waiting list. (We will still end up having a waiting list.) Then the seats opened by TIDEPRIDE members "moving to the center", will be filled with the increase of the student section.

100K+ fans, increased high-price seating, increased student seating, decrease in the numbers on the waiting list...that's how I see it.

 

[rammajamma]

30 bucks a ticket? yeah right :lol:

Exactly....cheapest is what $40.....and then next season you have UT,LSU, and Ark at home...Ark will most likely be $55 and the other two at $60.

I can't remember who our east opponent is next year, but it will most likely be a $50 ticket at least, which is probably the average for all 7 games.

You mean they charge different prices for different games? I always buy my tickets off the street and I knew that they charged different prices for different parts of the stadium, but I never realized that they charged more for different opponents.

 

[Swamptick]

interesting......Are you aware of what kinda plan is more likely Terry? skyboxes,club seating, bleacher only,ect.

From what I understand BOTH have their supporters. I have a 'souce' that is close to this thing and the only thing he is saying right now is that one of the two WILL happen. Allot rides on the trustees but from what he is telling me, the sense that the trustees will approve SOMETHING is almost a given.

Great article Terry.

 

[alagator]

This should be one of the easiest decisions ever for the U of A. How much is Tide Pride? 500 bucks?

500 x's 10,000 =$5,000,000.00 Plus

30 Bucks a ticket x's 7 home games=$210.00

$210.00 x's 10,000=$2,100,000.00

Total=7,100,000.00 Not to mention how many six dollar cokes and hotdogs these folks will buy.

I think your revenue numbers are off, but don't have the time now to adjust.

On the side where your gross numbers are too low is the fact you failed to include the season lease costs on skyboxes, the per ticket price is too low and that one or two of the early years we will probably have an eighth home game (only consider the net addition a South End Zone addition would add to the revenues and not the total stadium contribution).

On the side where your gross numbers are too high is that you will have to remove all the additional tickets allocated to students. This could remove around 2,000-to-4,000 tickets from the current Tide Pride rolls. So the net addition to Tide Pride tickets would be less than the gross number of seats added.

I think the net numbers would probably be a little higher than your $7.1MM annual estimate, by about $1.5MM would be my first guess.

Also, you need to factor in the actual cost of the construction to see if it is a good deal. New revenues alone are not a solid benchmark. I could make an argument, and might later, that unless you get AT LEAST half of the construction costs from booster or corporate donations that this project would not be a wise investment of UA capital funds. (Now, more than likely, UA will get MORE than half the construction costs donated, but the contrary would need to be considered upfront.)

 

[Guest]

30 bucks a ticket? yeah right :lol:

That's what I was thinking. Where are you getting those tickets, and can I get some? :wink:

 

[rammerjammer]

You mean they charge different prices for different games? I always buy my tickets off the street and I knew that they charged different prices for different parts of the stadium, but I never realized that they charged more for different opponents.

Yes.....depending upon the opponent the game ticket costs change. This week they were $40. Auburn ticket face value is $60. SEC opponents are harder ticket/higher price.


As far as the Zone is concerned.....I'm not all the keen on it. I like the aspect of being able to get out of the rain and heat and all, but those seats for the most part (outside) are empty. Most everybody stays in the AC and watches the game from inside while the seats to the zone sit empty. I don't know if there is a happy medium or not, but I think they could sell The Zone to folks in the south endzone and keep the seats to the outside the same. I dare say at most games that the north endzone outside seating is about 1/3 full. You could get the number well over 100k if they did something like that.

 

[TerryP]

From what I understand, we aren't likely to get a "bleacher only" addition in the South Endzone and won't get another Zone either. Indoor, upgraded food choices likely.

Coach Moore said a few months ago that he was more inclined to go with skyboxes along the S end zone...figure seating to be at around 101K.

I don't see anything keeping this from coming "online" and I wouldn't be shocked to see an announcement later on this fall with construction starting soon after.

If you figure (supposition on dates) that it starts at the end of the season this year it would be ready by season opener in 2010.

 

[RussB]

Student seating is a must. If they increase the size of the stadium, but do not increase the size of the student section they will have a riot on their hands. :shock:

 

[TerryP]

Speaking of the student section...I hope they end up putting them as far away from the field of play as possible.

 

[alagator]

Student seating is a must. If they increase the size of the stadium, but do not increase the size of the student section they will have a riot on their hands.

Student seating for any given season should be determined by the lowest student attendance the prior year.

If 12,000 seats are allocated to the student section this year and only 10,000 show up for one game this season, then the seats allocated to the student section the following year should be only 10,000. (Numbers are meant to be representative examples only, I have no idea the actual seating capacity of the student section.)

If every seat is used for every game, then and only then should the student section be enlarged. Determined in relation to the increase in enrollment I would guess.)

And before the students harp that the same should be applied to regular seats. Not an apples-to-apples argument. At least regarding the numbers. Kind of requires a long-winded explanation, but (as most here know) I can provide it if necessary.

 

[RussB]

Are u kidding? Students should be allowed to have the opportunity to attend every home game they wish too. At this point freshman aren't afforded that opportunity. That must be rectified before increasing general seating.

 

[TerryP]

I wouldn't mind seeing the students being put on a point system like Tide Pride members are. If they support more than one program, they get higher priority in terms of tickets.

Freshman not having access to tickets means nothing to me. The upper classman should have access to those seats long before frosh.