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Post by purplehaze on Jul 16, 2019 16:44:03 GMT -5
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Post by rickii on Jul 16, 2019 19:12:09 GMT -5
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Post by longsuffering on Jul 18, 2019 10:23:36 GMT -5
How many sold out games will these stadiums host this year? A) none B) one or more
Also, Colleges are starting to "sell" naming rights to the turf inside the stadiums as several have a name for the field inside the stadium now. I like the clean, time tested name "Fitton Field." for the football stadium. The baseball field has a separate name of Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field (seperate name for the diamond within the park would be available for the right sized donation, I presume) sold for a fixed price for a fixed term as I recall, and we ended up with a free ballpark.
I am not in favor of an additional name for the gridiron at Fitton Field, but if HC does "sell" the name I hope the donation is enough to go a long way towards endowing the program...and it's not a hyphenated name.😉
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Post by Chu Chu on Jul 18, 2019 12:17:01 GMT -5
Any endowment of the field name should go towards lights!
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Post by Crucis#1 on Jul 18, 2019 12:38:24 GMT -5
The first priority should be to make the stadium ADA compliant. As I am approaching my eighth decade in a couple of years, climbing the stairs on game day has its challenges.
A rebuild to all locker rooms and bathrooms are needed on the home side of the stadium. The HC team game day locker rooms also need a major renovation. There have been discussions regarding a new game day facility at Fitton for all teams that use lower campus facilities. Hope I live to see that building in place.
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Post by Tom on Jul 18, 2019 13:11:39 GMT -5
How many sold out games will these stadiums host this year? A) none B) one or more Also, Colleges are starting to "sell" naming rights to the turf inside the stadiums as several have a name for the field inside the stadium now. I like the clean, time tested name "Fitton Field." for the football stadium. The baseball field has a separate name of Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field (seperate name for the diamond within the park would be available for the right sized donation, I presume) sold for a fixed price for a fixed term as I recall, and we ended up with a free ballpark. I'm not sure what's up with this whole Hanover Insurance Park thing. I thought that the old Tornadoes re-did the stadium portion in exchange for something like 25 years of free usage. They also sold the naming rights to Hanover Insurance supposedly so that Hanover actually paid for the upgrades on behalf of the Tornadoes. There had to be some sort of side deal brokered by the Tornadoes that HC would also call the place Hanover Insurance Park and permit signage as such. Otherwise HC which owns the field could call it whatever they want and could do away with the Hanover thing and go back to just plain old Fitton
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Jul 18, 2019 13:14:17 GMT -5
As I am approaching my eight decade in a couple of years, climbing the stairs on game day has its challenges. You seem pretty spry to me.
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Post by timholycross on Jul 18, 2019 16:50:01 GMT -5
James Madison had 3 or 4 sellouts. Only game in town helps.
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Post by Crucis#1 on Jul 18, 2019 17:03:24 GMT -5
Thanks Dave. 😊
Guess it is better to be thought of as spry, than curmudgeonly.
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Post by hchoops on Jul 18, 2019 17:11:18 GMT -5
What does Dave know ? He is a youngun. You'll hear curmudgeon in your 8th decade, if not before.
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Post by longsuffering on Jul 19, 2019 0:31:10 GMT -5
How many sold out games will these stadiums host this year? A) none B) one or more Also, Colleges are starting to "sell" naming rights to the turf inside the stadiums as several have a name for the field inside the stadium now. I like the clean, time tested name "Fitton Field." for the football stadium. The baseball field has a separate name of Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field (seperate name for the diamond within the park would be available for the right sized donation, I presume) sold for a fixed price for a fixed term as I recall, and we ended up with a free ballpark. I'm not sure what's up with this whole Hanover Insurance Park thing. I thought that the old Tornadoes re-did the stadium portion in exchange for something like 25 years of free usage. They also sold the naming rights to Hanover Insurance supposedly so that Hanover actually paid for the upgrades on behalf of the Tornadoes. There had to be some sort of side deal brokered by the Tornadoes that HC would also call the place Hanover Insurance Park and permit signage as such. Otherwise HC which owns the field could call it whatever they want and could do away with the Hanover thing and go back to just plain old Fitton I am remembering the CEO of Hanover Insurance at the time, Fred Eppinger is a Holy Cross Graduate and the Hanover contribution was six figures, not seven, plus public gratitude for helping to bring professional baseball to Worcester. It is amazing that H.I.P. at Fitton Field was built without a penny of public funding. The excitement is greater for the WooSox, but not 90 million times greater to match the $90 million cost of publicly financed Polar Park. There is always the possibility that the original naming rights deal expired and Hanover renewed it with Holy Cross. I don't think the Bravehearts would have any right to any money from Hanover other than group ticket sales.
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Post by timholycross on Jul 19, 2019 10:54:20 GMT -5
You still need a lot of money for what I suggest, but much more realistic, I think.
Lights are a must. Scoreboard with video, which typically you can get someone to sponsor.
The complaints about safety (a drop of moisture and the entry ways/aisles are a tragedy waiting to happen), dressing facilities, rest rooms and concessions should be addressed in some way, shape or form.
Replacing the 1950s press box with some combination of press box and VIP seating is in order as well.
Downsizing is good, not just a tarp (reminds me of the Oakland As, tied for last in my book as the worst stadium in MLB). mm67 is right that 10-15K is a proper size for a FCS stadium these days. If you made the height the same as the visitors' side on the home side and end zone, for example.
Unless there is some master plan to use Fitton Football Field for lots of other events, I wouldn't go to turf, no reason I can think of for making that switch.
One caveat: I'd have some engineers take a long look at the supporting structure. All bets are off if the building is a disaster waiting to happen. Much of it is very, very, very old.
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Post by bfoley82 on Jul 20, 2019 2:30:31 GMT -5
Second toughest press box I have had to work in...only Harvard was worse
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Post by jkh67 on Jul 20, 2019 13:38:58 GMT -5
You still need a lot of money for what I suggest, but much more realistic, I think. Lights are a must. Scoreboard with video, which typically you can get someone to sponsor. The complaints about safety (a drop of moisture and the entry ways/aisles are a tragedy waiting to happen), dressing facilities, rest rooms and concessions should be addressed in some way, shape or form. Replacing the 1950s press box with some combination of press box and VIP seating is in order as well. Downsizing is good, not just a tarp (reminds me of the Oakland As, tied for last in my book as the worst stadium in MLB). mm67 is right that 10-15K is a proper size for a FCS stadium these days. If you made the height the same as the visitors' side on the home side and end zone, for example. Unless there is some master plan to use Fitton Football Field for lots of other events, I wouldn't go to turf, no reason I can think of for making that switch. One caveat: I'd have some engineers take a long look at the supporting structure. All bets are off if the building is a disaster waiting to happen. Much of it is very, very, very old.I couldn't agree more as the steel framework is over 100 years old. I'm assuming the College has the structure examined periodically, but who knows? And even if the structure is still sound today, the College should get a professional assessment of its remaining useful life, if it hasn't already done so. Although I haven't been in the place for decades, I've always liked Fitton for its size, quirky characteristics, history, and close identification with the College. More than a few folks I've met over the years have exclaimed "Fitton Field!" as soon as they hear I'm an HC grad. But the time to replace it may not be too far away.
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