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Post by WCHC Sports on Aug 15, 2017 10:45:46 GMT -5
'Sota... what is your obsession about lights? Do you want us to have games during times that even more students would rather go out and get drunk than attend games, and have less asses in the seats... except now we'd have those emtpy aluminum bleachers illuminated by a multi-million dollar expenditure? Do you think that the competing cable TV shows and pro sports games and anything else going on during a Saturday evening-- as you yourself brought up-- will have LESS success against HC Football during prime time? Give up the ghost.
As was said elsewhere on this thread, and many times before, a winning product will attract fans. Anything else is a gimmick that will work in a temporary fashion at best. My two cents (some of this repeated among my thousands of prior posts):
- Free parking with paid ticket - Unrestricted tailgating policy - One free hot dog/burger/soda with each paid ticket (e.g. if I opt for the free burger, I'm still going to want fries and a drink) - Buy one get one beers for students.
If you don't let the students drink, they won't come in droves. If you have the game at night and crack down on booze, you will see nary a student.
WIN. FOOTBALL. GAMES.
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Aug 15, 2017 11:20:19 GMT -5
Lights would be nice for about 2-3 games per year -- renting them for a game or two per year is perfectly fine. No one wants to sit on aluminum bleachers for a night game in October / November when it's below 45 degrees.
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Post by cmo on Aug 15, 2017 12:40:03 GMT -5
Pro: Tix to Ring of Honor Day vs UNH are $8 for all Worcester Residents.
Con :Saturday afternoons are a tough time for families.
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Post by bringbackcaro on Aug 15, 2017 12:49:53 GMT -5
Lights would be nice for about 2-3 games per year -- renting them for a game or two per year is perfectly fine. No one wants to sit on aluminum bleachers for a night game in October / November when it's below 45 degrees. So bring a towel to sit on! I think an argument can be made that even 2-3 football games per year would be worth it. However, combining that with other opportunities to generate additional revenue (pretty good venue for an outdoor concert, no?), and it could become an excellent asset. And games don't even need to start at 7:00 PM - moving back to 3:30 or 4:00 would give families an opportunity to attend games after soccer, football, etc.games that typically consume Saturdays in the fall, provide a better tailgating experience for those traveling from beyond the Worcester area, increase student attendance ( "Start drinking early" -TB12) and provide a tremendous atmosphere for a game on a Saturday afternoon in the Fall.
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Post by ncaam on Aug 15, 2017 12:58:49 GMT -5
I will continue my boycott (year 2) of HC FB season tickets until RSIG security is fired and the parking passes are included in the season ticket packages like before. Former season ticket holders should have been grandfathered into the new ticket system, BAD POLICY! What u pay for parking goes to security. Little security at th Pa skools.
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Post by ncaam on Aug 15, 2017 12:59:40 GMT -5
Should not be allowed to park on baseball field.
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Post by hc87 on Aug 15, 2017 13:12:24 GMT -5
The only early afternoon crowds at Fitton that would approach/surpass 10K today are Homecoming and Family Weekend....as we've discussed here ad infinitum before, in this day and age, kickoffs at 12, 1 are a non-startahh for many today.
I highly doubt students would pass on a night game at 7....don't students still basically "pre-game" (no pun intended) and then go out at 10, 11 etc? I think a night game at Fitton would be a great "starting out point" on Saturday nights. The # of students at a game is rather marginable too imo...I'd rather they go, but it's probably only about 1K or so at best for most games.
The frigidity of a night game in Worcester in October (or even November) is being overblown here too imo. The vast majority of Massachusetts high schools play Friday night games well into November and very rarely does it become Syracuse1973-like.
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Post by sarasota on Aug 15, 2017 13:51:05 GMT -5
If one-half of the entire HC student body attended a game, they number only about 1,500. So HC student attendance is not a major factor in a significant solution to attendance. As for winter weather, I remember sitting in frigid weather in Fitton with a heavy coat on, a thick woolen blanket covering my lap, an admittedly illegal flack of brandy in my coat pocket and, if I was real lucky, my arm around a honey of a coed. As the brandy took hold, the game on the field got better and better. Now THAT is college football in New England. Yes, the wood was a much poorer conductor of cold than aluminum. Yes, there are only a finite number of Saturday nights in Fall/Winter. But Saturday is only one day of the week. There is Friday night and Sunday night. There are some obvious challenges, but imagine a rock concert on Fri or Sun night. Imagine a HUGE rock act. Fitton is a UNIQUE outdoor asset in Worcester. It's possible HC could enjoy significant revenue from renting it out as well as ancillary income from the vendors along "Pakachoag Avenue" leading to the stadium. The race is won by those who can innovate.
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Post by sader1970 on Aug 15, 2017 13:52:15 GMT -5
At the risk of sounding like a prohibitionist or prude, I prefer that students who attend the games will actually be interested in the outcome and cheer for their team regardless of the score and not be there as a prelude to a later party(ies) and be half in the bag before kickoff and then leave at halftime. If every single student showed up sober who is on campus, that is still probably 2,500 or less considering so many are studying abroad. And we know unless the team is undefeated and the game is on TV, we aren't going to get close to a full complement of students.
So, forget the night games except every 2-3 years when it is an exceptional game/opponent. Getting a steady 5,000 - 7,500 is probably as good as it will get considering all the many factors in D-IAA college football in the Northeast that have already been discussed. We get and keep those kind of numbers and we are still one of the more highly attended football schools in the Northeast at our level. But let's see if winning can boost those numbers a bit, perhaps to a steady 7,500 - 12,000?
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Post by timholycross on Aug 15, 2017 18:07:27 GMT -5
Lights would be nice for about 2-3 games per year -- renting them for a game or two per year is perfectly fine. No one wants to sit on aluminum bleachers for a night game in October / November when it's below 45 degrees. So bring a towel to sit on! I think an argument can be made that even 2-3 football games per year would be worth it. However, combining that with other opportunities to generate additional revenue (pretty good venue for an outdoor concert, no?), and it could become an excellent asset. And games don't even need to start at 7:00 PM - moving back to 3:30 or 4:00 would give families an opportunity to attend games after soccer, football, etc.games that typically consume Saturdays in the fall, provide a better tailgating experience for those traveling from beyond the Worcester area, increase student attendance ( "Start drinking early" -TB12) and provide a tremendous atmosphere for a game on a Saturday afternoon in the Fall. Spot on...lights give you a lot more options to use the facility instead of just letting it sit there . I bet there are at most 10 events annually in the football stadium now. And while I'm a couple years past my soccer-dad days, it still seems to me that a lot of people's schedules clear up later in the afternoon...
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Post by hc87 on Aug 15, 2017 22:20:29 GMT -5
I think the TPTB like the level we are at football-wise right now....not great/not bad, competitive with the Ivies and the PL schools mainly....it's a safe position to be in, most of the alumni now don't care about football success, they show up at Homecoming and events like Fordham at Yankee Stadium....football at HC has basically become a back-drop for alumni events....which is fine but let's drop the pretext that Gilmore is actually at HC to win.
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Post by sarasota on Aug 16, 2017 3:34:01 GMT -5
I think the TPTB like the level we are at football-wise right now....not great/not bad, competitive with the Ivies and the PL schools mainly....it's a safe position to be in, most of the alumni now don't care about football success, they show up at Homecoming and events like Fordham at Yankee Stadium....football at HC has basically become a back-drop for alumni events....which is fine but let's drop the pretext that Gilmore is actually at HC to win. The proof of the truth of your analysis is if Gilmore is kept on.
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Post by Sader Fan on Aug 16, 2017 6:56:13 GMT -5
Nate Pine told us at my reunion that adding lights to Fitton is not a minor project and would trigger the Americans With Disabilities Act accessibility requirements which would require spending many millions of dollars in accessibility upgrades. Fitton is on the radar for an upgrade in the future but not anytime soon.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Aug 16, 2017 7:01:04 GMT -5
Nate Pine told us at my reunion that adding lights to Fitton is not a minor project and would trigger the Americans With Disabilities Act accessibility requirements which would require spending many millions of dollars in accessibility upgrades. Fitton is on the radar for an upgrade in the future but not anytime soon. Thank you for bringing important facts into this interminable debate about lights at Fitton Field
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Post by JRGNYR on Aug 16, 2017 7:33:06 GMT -5
Nate Pine told us at my reunion that adding lights to Fitton is not a minor project and would trigger the Americans With Disabilities Act accessibility requirements which would require spending many millions of dollars in accessibility upgrades. Fitton is on the radar for an upgrade in the future but not anytime soon. Thank you for bringing important facts into this interminable debate about lights at Fitton Field Moreover, we have additional clarity as to the projects for which 'sota can write his checks.
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Post by sarasota on Aug 16, 2017 9:22:47 GMT -5
You mean you actually bought NP's convenient cover story!
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Post by rickii on Aug 16, 2017 9:34:19 GMT -5
Lights would be nice for about 2-3 games per year -- renting them for a game or two per year is perfectly fine. No one wants to sit on aluminum bleachers for a night game in October / November when it's below 45 degrees. So bring a towel to sit on! I think an argument can be made that even 2-3 football games per year would be worth it. However, combining that with other opportunities to generate additional revenue (pretty good venue for an outdoor concert, no?), and it could become an excellent asset.And games don't even need to start at 7:00 PM - moving back to 3:30 or 4:00 would give families an opportunity to attend games after soccer, football, etc.games that typically consume Saturdays in the fall, provide a better tailgating experience for those traveling from beyond the Worcester area, increase student attendance ( "Start drinking early" -TB12) and provide a tremendous atmosphere for a game on a Saturday afternoon in the Fall. bbc -
Funny you should mention this....
Just learned that Wake hosted a Guns & Roses concert last Friday night within it's football stadium ( capacity 35,000 ). 'Announced' crowd was 27,000. TTBOMK, this is a first-time for a concert at the stadium.
Now, a couple points of comparison with Fitton....
Wake has an 'athletic campus' located about one-half mile from it's main campus for some of its teams ( football stadium, basketball arena, baseball stadium, indoor/outdoor tennis facility ).
The football stadium has permanent lights plus adjacent large parking lots with lights.
The playing surface is some sort of advanced FieldTurf that may or may not have been covered/protected from patrons who had field level tix ( looked like maybe 3-4,000 ). Potential for damage I would think.
As we all know, parking at/around Fitton is limited. Plus, rainey weather pre concert would make Freshman Field a muddy mess. And even renting huge tarps for field seating. our new grass would take a beating. Oh and how would field level tix holders find a rest room....couple dozen potty ports in the endzone ? In addition to the stadium, permanent lighting would needed on FF.
In sum, logistics don't work IMO.
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Post by cmo on Aug 16, 2017 14:17:08 GMT -5
Nate Pine told us at my reunion that adding lights to Fitton is not a minor project and would trigger the Americans With Disabilities Act accessibility requirements which would require spending many millions of dollars in accessibility upgrades. Fitton is on the radar for an upgrade in the future but not anytime soon. Let's "rent" lights in perpetuity. 😃
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Post by sarasota on Aug 16, 2017 14:30:49 GMT -5
On the old Board, AD Regan disclosed the rental costs.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Aug 16, 2017 14:52:51 GMT -5
Let's not overthink this. No matter how much it demonstrates the marketing creativity of its proponents, adding lights to Fitton Field to host concerts, high school games, youth soccer, cricket matches, tractor pulls, outdoor sumo wrestling, or any other potential event is unlikely to generate a financial return for the college. To me the real question is: would adding lights help the HC football program.
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Post by bringbackcaro on Aug 16, 2017 15:27:18 GMT -5
Let's not overthink this. No matter how much it demonstrates the marketing creativity of its proponents, adding lights to Fitton Field to host concerts, high school games, youth soccer, cricket matches, tractor pulls, outdoor sumo wrestling, or any other potential event is unlikely to generate a financial return for the college. To me the real question is: would adding lights help the HC football program. The answer to your question is YES.
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Post by rgs318 on Aug 16, 2017 15:57:49 GMT -5
I have stated many times that i am baffled how HC seems unable to do what high schools across the country seem able to do with no trouble. However, the need to catch up with regulations related to equal access regulations can be VERY costly and that (along with no real desire from the coaches for permanent lights) would seem to explain why this may not be done in my lifetime.
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Post by ncaam on Aug 16, 2017 16:03:38 GMT -5
So what kind of school are we to not keep up with a da. Shouldn't we be doing that anyway?
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Post by A Clock Tower Purple on Aug 16, 2017 16:16:44 GMT -5
I have stated many times that i am baffled how HC seems unable to do what high schools across the country seem able to do with no trouble. However, the need to catch up with regulations related to equal access regulations can be VERY costly and that (along with no real desire from the coaches for permanent lights) would seem to explain why this may not be done in my lifetime. Rob - many of the high school fields you reference are public, taxpayer-funded facilities. That's the difference.
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Post by sarasota on Aug 16, 2017 19:49:39 GMT -5
Too expensive? Endowment $755M......give me a break. Have you noticed the large number of hires in the Athletics Dept....and they are experienced hires? That's not cheap. No. My gut tells me there's a factor TPTB don't want to divulge. Most of our fball players have played under the lights in high school. Survey them as to what they think. I dare TPTB to disclose the results.
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