Originally Posted by Flyer14
I don't understand the obsession with football. We aren't D1. There's no point in building a new stadium for something people already have no interest in. I know UD has a very strong football history with Chuck Noll and John Gruden, but its glory days are in the past. Hate to be the bearer of bad news.
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UD just announced plans for a $70+ million renovation of the Arena for BB...men's BB being the only revenue-producing sport.
All other UD sports are subsidized,....incl, of course, football. Apparently UD decided long ago to buck the trend and keep playing Ivy-league style non-schollie FB. And, since we have been very good at it, I suppose the intent is to keep going.
At present we play in a facility that seats about 11,000....and which is only about 1/3 filled for a typical game, e.g., ~ 3500 fannies in seats. If we had a stadium seating 4000-4500, the atmosphere with those 3500 in attendance would be mighty different.
Fairfield U has a nationally ranked lacrosse team...that is one of their "Tier 1" sports. The attached link shows a video of FU's new lacrosse stadium. It seats 3500 and is beautiful...more impressive than the video. As one watches the video it's clear that the FU stadium could easily be adjusted upwards to the 4000-4500 range with no significant design change or cost.
The FU stadium, Rafferty Stadium, was built at a cost of $16 million on ground owned by the university. Construction costs in CT are higher than in OH by quite a bit. I think we could build the same thing for under $15 million. In view of the $70 million Arena upgrade, $15 million doesn't sound bad at all....the Chapel renovation was over $12 million.
Whatever, have a look at FU's stadium...it shows what a ~ 4000 seat college facility could look like. It's quite nice.
http://www.fairfieldstags.com/ViewAr...CLID=209369274