Guest coachacola Posted June 10, 2008 Report Posted June 10, 2008 I think that configuration would hold more like 35K to 40K than 50K, but they were thinking ahead when they built it. With the Montagne Center on the north end and the athletic complex on the south end, they can still build a modified bowl that would seat maybe 25K to 30K.
Guest mffl Posted June 11, 2008 Report Posted June 11, 2008 Wow thats crazy... pretty big. Then you see the old buildings around the Stadium and no Montagne.
UNLV Posted June 11, 2008 Report Posted June 11, 2008 If Lamar had completed this stadium, the school population would have continue to grow, football would have remained strong, fans support would not have dropped, and Lamar would be FBS today. Its not too late to bowl the southend and bowl the northend at half the size. But ofcourse we know ideas like this is better done in other communities.
Guest coachacola Posted June 11, 2008 Report Posted June 11, 2008 If Lamar had completed this stadium, the school population would have continue to grow, football would have remained strong, fans support would not have dropped, and Lamar would be FBS today. Its not too late to bowl the southend and bowl the northend at half the size. But ofcourse we know ideas like this is better done in other communities. Lamar's enrollment has always followed the population trend of SETX. Lamar's enrollment started declining right after the population in the region started declining. And in case you didn't notice, Lamar wasn't even a university back then and was still almost a decade away from being a D1 school. They didn't have the support or the money to expand it back then. There's a lot of schools with large stadiums and crappy attendance: Rice, UAB, most of the Sunbelt and MAC schools. Being FBS is more about money than stadium size. We can lay the blame on Lamar not having the money to support football on past administrations, but it looks like Simmons and Tubbs are trying to correct past mistakes.
AJ25 Posted June 11, 2008 Report Posted June 11, 2008 this pisses me off.. here we are talking about how we need to make it a bowl, when it ALREADY was a bowl!!!
BIGREDFAN2 Posted June 11, 2008 Report Posted June 11, 2008 "We can lay the blame on Lamar not having the money to support football on past administrations, but it looks like Simmons and Tubbs are trying to correct past mistakes." I agree. You can see it all over the campass, and the positive atmosphere amongst the students. Football is going to bring excitement in the campass life and the Golden Triangle.
Guest coachacola Posted June 11, 2008 Report Posted June 11, 2008 I really don't like how that drawing looks, but maybe because it's over 40 years old and looks dated. It reminds me of all those cookie-cutter stadiums that used litter the NFL and MLB back in the 70s and 80s. I like the idea of a smaller, cozy, updated Cardinal Stadium with VIP suites and maybe some upper decks. Cardinal Stadium could look a lot like what Southern Miss has:
UNLV Posted June 11, 2008 Report Posted June 11, 2008 If Lamar had completed this stadium, the school population would have continue to grow, football would have remained strong, fans support would not have dropped, and Lamar would be FBS today. Its not too late to bowl the southend and bowl the northend at half the size. But ofcourse we know ideas like this is better done in other communities. Lamar's enrollment has always followed the population trend of SETX. Lamar's enrollment started declining right after the population in the region started declining. And in case you didn't notice, Lamar wasn't even a university back then and was still almost a decade away from being a D1 school. They didn't have the support or the money to expand it back then. I can name a dozen schools that grew without community growth. Texas a&m and Sam Houston. There's a lot of schools with large stadiums and crappy attendance: Rice, UAB, most of the Sunbelt and MAC schools. Being FBS is more about money than stadium size. Oh Rice this and Rice that. Rice is not Lamar. I dont care about Rice, I care about Lamar. Lamar AND LAMAR FANS needs to think independent of what others do. I bet Rice will not hold itself back because of what Lamar does. I bet Rice fans aren't holding Lamar up as a Rice example. We can lay the blame on Lamar not having the money to support football on past administrations, but it looks like Simmons and Tubbs are trying to correct past mistakes. What mistake is being corrected? please point them out. Was the mistake a grass field instead of turf? Lamar football started down in the early 80's. What was Lamar football back then? I-AA, slc, cardinal stadium... What will we see in 2011? FCS = I-AA, slc, and a cardinal stadium with turf and paint.
UNLV Posted June 11, 2008 Report Posted June 11, 2008 I really don't like how that drawing looks, but maybe because it's over 40 years old and looks dated. It reminds me of all those cookie-cutter stadiums that used litter the NFL and MLB back in the 70s and 80s. I like the idea of a smaller, cozy, updated Cardinal Stadium with VIP suites and maybe some upper decks. Cardinal Stadium could look a lot like what Southern Miss has: I hope so, but I doubt it. USM is a little bit bigger than Lamar, but smaller than Sam Houston st. Hattiesburg times 2 = smaller than Beaumont. So how could they do? and we do not? USM built the stadium that would attract fans and big time competition, which lead to more fans, which lead to big name conference, which lead to more fans. Assuming Lamar is not expanding Cardinal stadium, then we can forget about bringing in anyone bigger than a SLC level team, which leads to little fan support, which leads to no conference upgrade, which leads to Lamar wondering why no one is going to the freaking games.
Guest coachacola Posted June 11, 2008 Report Posted June 11, 2008 I can name a dozen schools that grew without community growth. Texas a&m and Sam Houston. I can too, and a lot of that has to do with the leadership of the university. That's why I put some of the blame on past administrations. What mistake is being corrected? please point them out. Wouldn't you agree that past administrations didn't do enough to keep Lamar growing when SETX wasn't? Why did the Lamar University System get in such a financial mess that they had to fold in it into the Texas State University System? Why did Lamar put all it's resources into basketball and let football die on the vine in the 1980's? Why didn't Lamar try to expand Cardinal Stadium back in the 70's when they were 1A and had some good seasons? These are the mistakes I'm talking about. They cannot be easily corrected, and they can't do it overnight. But Tubbs and Simmons are bringing back football. Lamar is embarking on a $100 million capital campaign to improve all aspects of Lamar. They are building new dorms on campus so Lamar is less of a commuter school. They are upgrading all the athletic facilities. They can't fix 2 decades of neglect in a couple of years. I just believe we have to be patient. Lamar has a lot of catching up to do, it's going to take a lot of time and money, but it will happen. And a lot of that depends on how much support Lamar's alumni and the people of SETX support it. Assuming Lamar is not expanding Cardinal stadium, then we can forget about bringing in anyone bigger than a SLC level team, which leads to little fan support, which leads to no conference upgrade, which leads to Lamar wondering why no one is going to the freaking games. I agree with you, I'll be disappointed if they have no plans to expand the stadium. I think they do have a plan, but like the drawing from 1964, if they don't actively try to build up the program then it won't happen. But it's a pretty simple plan: Winning = fan support = money = bigger stadium = better conference.
AJ25 Posted June 11, 2008 Report Posted June 11, 2008 I agree with you, I'll be disappointed if they have no plans to expand the stadium. I think they do have a plan, but like the drawing from 1964, if they don't actively try to build up the program then it won't happen. But it's a pretty simple plan: Winning = fan support = money = bigger stadium = better conference. i agree!
UNLV Posted June 11, 2008 Report Posted June 11, 2008 I can name a dozen schools that grew without community growth. Texas a&m and Sam Houston. I can too, and a lot of that has to do with the leadership of the university. That's why I put some of the blame on past administrations. What mistake is being corrected? please point them out. Wouldn't you agree that past administrations didn't do enough to keep Lamar growing when SETX wasn't? Why did the Lamar University System get in such a financial mess that they had to fold in it into the Texas State University System? Why did Lamar put all it's resources into basketball and let football die on the vine in the 1980's? Why didn't Lamar try to expand Cardinal Stadium back in the 70's when they were 1A and had some good seasons? These are the mistakes I'm talking about. They cannot be easily corrected, and they can't do it overnight. But Tubbs and Simmons are bringing back football. Lamar is embarking on a $100 million capital campaign to improve all aspects of Lamar. They are building new dorms on campus so Lamar is less of a commuter school. They are upgrading all the athletic facilities. They can't fix 2 decades of neglect in a couple of years. No No No, I was talking about mistakes made with football. I think Lamar campus master plans is excellent. Lamar 3 football mistakes of the 80's. 1. I-AA 2. Slc 3. losing I just believe we have to be patient. Lamar has a lot of catching up to do, it's going to take a lot of time and money, but it will happen. And a lot of that depends on how much support Lamar's alumni and the people of SETX support it. Assuming Lamar is not expanding Cardinal stadium, then we can forget about bringing in anyone bigger than a SLC level team, which leads to little fan support, which leads to no conference upgrade, which leads to Lamar wondering why no one is going to the freaking games. I agree with you, I'll be disappointed if they have no plans to expand the stadium. I think they do have a plan, but like the drawing from 1964, if they don't actively try to build up the program then it won't happen. But it's a pretty simple plan: Winning = fan support = money = bigger stadium = better conference. Your formula is right, but so is this one. bigger stadium + FBS = lots of community surpport = better recruits = winning = more community support. Here is the problem with your formula. What if Lamar doesn't win, then everything goes down. My formula doesn't require winning for football to succeed. Your plan, low fan support at the game if Lamar record is 2-6. My plan allows fans to show up in huge numbers even if Lamar is 2-6 because Lamar will be hosting teams like Alabama and Baylor.
Guest coachacola Posted June 11, 2008 Report Posted June 11, 2008 Lamar 3 football mistakes of the 80's. 1. I-AA 2. Slc 3. losing You can also add to the list: 1. going 1-AA independent 2. crummy facilities 3. admin that didn't care Your formula is right, but so is this one. bigger stadium + FBS = lots of community surpport = better recruits = winning = more community support. I agree with that but I think Lamar's caught in somewhat of a catch-22 situation. Lamar has to start off at the FCS level and doesn't have an automatic invite to a FBS conference like South Alabama. And unlike UTSA, Lamar isn't a large school in a large media market so it'll be a harder for Lamar to get invited to a FBS conference. I'm afraid Lamar has to prove they can win and draw good crowds at the FCS level first. We'll see how well Tubbs is able to lead the athletic department to the next level over the next few years or for however long he stays the AD.
UNLV Posted June 11, 2008 Report Posted June 11, 2008 Right, Lamar has no choice but to start FCS. However so does UTSA. UTSA just implied FBS and they are in conversations about a new FBS conference. Lamar could do the same. I'm sure the Sunbelt would take Lamar. I dont want the Sunbelt, but I preferr them over the slc any day. You're right, we are not a big media market, not small either. However media markets are tricky in using them to gauge a market because they over lap. Regional market size and MSA/CSA is a better judge. The next census updates come out soon. Beaumont was 109k 2 years ago, 117k last year, and I would bet 125k this year. MSA 413k. Now that is a Good market size and its expected to continue to grow for several years. If CUSA breaks up, Lamar needs to be ready. I dont want Lamar to miss that boat.
AJ25 Posted June 12, 2008 Report Posted June 12, 2008 hopefully not. i'm agreeing, winning or not, if we can get in a good conference then it will generate attendance. which means money, which means improving the facilites more, which means better recruits, which THEN means WINNING. all of this however, has to take place before we can go to the FBS.
Guest mffl Posted June 12, 2008 Report Posted June 12, 2008 hopefully not. i'm agreeing, winning or not, if we can get in a good conference then it will generate attendance. which means money, which means improving the facilites more, which means better recruits, which THEN means WINNING. all of this however, has to take place before we can go to the FBS. I think we have to win with what we have before we get the consistent crowds season in and season out.
AJ25 Posted June 12, 2008 Report Posted June 12, 2008 i agree. the excitement will die after the first year if we don't win atleast a few games..
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