Lamar Football

[DenisGScott]

no, not negative, yea it would be great but I feel its unrealistic to think that would happen...yes UT is playing SHST this year in Austin, but why would a UT, a&m, LSU agree to play a smaller school in a smaller stadium? the smaller school will make more money playing that game at UT than at home because there are 85,000+ seats at DKR compared to maybe 30,000 at a La-Laf. All I'm saying is athletic depts are in this for the money as well, would it be a great event yes, without a doubt. UT tried to schedule other schools than SHST, they tried with UCLA, Tennessee even ND but couldnt come to a financial agreement.

I admit my bad when you said mini dome I thought you were referring to something along the lines of Northern Iowa or Northern Arizona's dome stadiums. Carrier Dome is a nice multi purpose arena but again why would the Texans sacrifice money to play a game in Beaumont when their stadium in Houston is only an hour and half away and has more capacity to make more money?

I suppose the black college games would be a possibility but again it all comes down to playing in the Georgia Dome/Alamo Dome/etc against a Carrier Dome type facility. If you were the athletic director of 2 of those schools where would you rather play? In an Atlanta/San Ant/New Orleans or in Beaumont?? You have to be able to sell it to the schools, recruits, sponsors..everybody.

I'm not negative, not saying they are not good ideas, just that I dont feel they are realistic money wise. It would great for the city yes but what benefit is there for the schools or teams involved? It all goes back to my previous post of why do in Beaumont when you can do it in Houston in a nicer facility and make more money? I'd love to see LU bring back football I was one of the few who attended those games regularly, schedule UT I'll be first in line for tickets in all my burnt orange. I remember back when LU had football and played Ariz St in Tempe, I think LU's pay day for that was somewhere over $500,000 thats an amount you cannot make here or Hunstville or Lake Charles, not and have to split part of it with the other team.

Let's start with something on a smaller scale say maybe an NBA preseason game, say Rockets and Celtics at the Montagne...Kendrick Perkins plays for Boston, see what kind of support we get for that first.

And all this is assuming LU even brings back football, I hope they do, give me something to go do on Saturday afternoons when the Horns arent on. but Beaumont needs to show veryone that we support all sports that we already have before adding new ones. Average 8000 a night in the Montagne for basketball, average 6000 a night in Ford Park for the Wildcatters, show the teams, sponsors that we do care about what we already have.

[UNLV]

Not in all cases, but sometimes build it, they will come works.

Look at a few preseason games, especially the last and first, the crowds arent that big. It would be great press for the Texans to play 1 preseason game in the Exxon-Mobile dome.

I think LSU and others would come to Beaumont if:

1. LU was I-A

2. First class stadium

3. a crowd

4. money is right.

[KFDM COOP]

UNLV, your prediction on when Lamar football is brought back?

[UNLV]

If LU wants to make a move into a better conference during the big 2010 conference shake-up, LU needs a I-AA team on the field the fall of 08. With plans for an I-A move in 2010. So I say fall of 08 or fall of 09.

[KFDM COOP]

Gosh i hope!

[AshlyHasBeen]

This is crazy a couple of years ago I made Lamar on NCAA Football for the PlayStation, my home stadium ExxonMobil Dome, no lie ::4

[KFDM COOP]

:shock: ::2 Cool..

[UNLV]

This is crazy a couple of years ago I made Lamar on NCAA Football for the PlayStation' date=' my home stadium ExxonMobil Dome, no lie ::4[/quote']

Was LU I-A?

[DenisGScott]

Not in all cases' date=' but sometimes build it, they will come works.

Look at a few preseason games, especially the last and first, the crowds arent that big. It would be great press for the Texans to play 1 preseason game in the Exxon-Mobile dome.

I think LSU and others would come to Beaumont if:

1. LU was I-A

2. First class stadium

3. a crowd

4. money is right.[/quote']

La-Laf and La-Monroe are both D-I and have a lot more LSU fans there than we do here. There is a big difference between mini-dome and first class stadium. La-Laf has been playing D-I for a while and has managed to pull off only 2 notable home games since 1990 when Alabama came to Lafayette that drew 36,133, and when a&m went to Lafayette in 1996 and drew 38,783. Both instances I believe La-Laf traded 3-4 road games at Tuscaloosa or college station for one game in Lafayette.

[UNLV]

You keep knocking everyone's ideas, lets hear yours.

The few times a I-A LU could lure a big name school to Beaumont is still better than I-AA football playing Mississippi college in BMT.

[DenisGScott]

ok......first off this area is so fickle when it comes to supporting local teams you have to have local ties which means hiring a local coach who knows local players, we do have a lot of football talent here no denying that. Todd Dodge is a stretch, he's done too well at the highest HS level to come back here, he's primed for a major D-I offensive coordinator spot, and even if he were to take the job here and had the same success he's had on the HS level why would he stay and not turn that job into a big 12/SEC job??? WOS fans may not like this, but why not hire Hooks?? The guy is a proven winner in every class and knows football and always puts winning teams together and knows the local football landscape. Aside from that maybe Ronnie Thompson, he's the one who taught Dodge and Stump. Stump may be a possibility as well. Even the article in today's paper about Frank Middleton coaching lineman at Kelly, the guy played 8 years in the NFL going to a super bowl, yeah I'd like to see him coaching my o-line. D-I is a great idea but just be realistic schools of the same size and stature as LU (La-Monroe and La-Laf) cant run with the big boys, it just wont happen. Start out I-AA, then try to get back to the Sun Belt, as D-I with Ark St, Monroe, UNT, they get a little bowl bid to the New Orleans Bowl, and if we were good enough to get that far its still a day/weekend trip driving so you can have support. You have to crawl before you walk and walk before you run. I'd rather see us start out to play I-AA and be capable of 7-4/8-3 as opposed to playing D-I and going 1-10/2-9 that wont generate support, Lu basketball has proven that. Also as I recall most LU football games were played at night when the program was in tact. Why??? We have nice weather here during the fall why not play during the day, set up some real tailgate parties out there, in all the years I went to LU football games I never not once saw a honest tailgate party. If you go D-I and can get a game with UT, a&m or so play it but dont be so grandiose as to think that game will happen here. The only reason UT even plays Rice in Houston is because of the market and the number of UT alums in Houston. Obviously Cardinal Stadium needs to be blown up, the Carrier dome type facility isnt a bad idea IF you get the basketball teams to agree to play at Ford Park for a few years, it seats 8000+ for hockey so you could get close to 9000 for basketball. Then build the new stadium in kind of rectangular fashion like the Alamo Dome on the site that used to house the stadium and the Montagne Center and make it home for all the teams football/basketball/soccer so that it gets it use. Have it seat 30-35,000 kind of like Robertson in Houston and then go from there. Be the sacrficial lamb to make money early... 3 yrs ago Ark St went to Va Tech got blown out but got a nice payday in an early season game and got on ESPN 2. Offer to play at Texas/Tennessee/Arkansas but dont think you can really get them here, if you have 35000 seats you can bring in a middle of the road D-I school maybe once a year.

[AshlyHasBeen]

Yeah I was IA, I played in the Sun Belt Conference and dominated, I think it was because of the great running back with the initials A.E.

[DenisGScott]

if LU re-instates football... and goes to I-A, here's the thing and I promise I'm not trying to be negative about it...what you suggest about schools like LSU coming here sounds great, great for LU, great for the city, but what does LSU have to gain from it?? A recruiting stronghold?? No everyone here knows who LSU is. Money?? No, because they can play the same game on their field and make more money than what they would by playing the game here. I'm by no means saying I wouldnt support it, only that is has to be a good deal for both teams. LU in my opinion would have to be somewhere along the lines of Fresno St, Sou. Miss, the anyone, anywhere, anytime mentality. Play in the Sun Belt where you at least have a bowl bid. Non conference schedule Fresno at Fresno, at Southern Miss. The MAC schools have been popular lately and I know there's a couple of kids from Beaumont playing for Ohio. The MAC has their Thurs. night TV slot, schedule Ohio maybe they'll give you a home and home, where you get a Thurs game up there that ESPN or one of the 58 Fox Sports Net picks up, and then they've been recruiting down here so allows a couple of their players to come home and play again and for them to have a base to try to recruit more kids from, it's a win-win deal. Build it and they will come is great in the movies, but doesnt necessarily apply to reality. I'd support football at LU in any fashion.

[UNLV]

LOL, and I thought my idea was grand.

1. A football field next to Exxon-Mobile is not a good Idea

2. Part of the deal says Ford park cant host basketball.

3. Nothing wrong with the Montagne, it just needs sprucing up. Maybe rename it the Billy Tubbs center.

Agree, day time football. Start I-AA before moving to I-A.

LSU or UT sometimes wants to take a conservative road before Conference.

A nearby I-A team would be perfect. I bet if LU was playing I-A right now, UT would be playing LU instead of -I-AA SHSU.

Todd Dodge would go with a head coach job at LU before UT offensive coordinator. A good head coach will get an upper big name school head coach job before a coordinator.

[UNLV]

A few years ago coach Tubbs mentioned Barry Switzer at LU. I would prefer Dodge over Switzer, but it's nice to hear coach Tubbs thinking big.

[Cat22]

For Todd Dodge to come here, Lamar would for sure have to update its facilities. Southlake Carroll has better facilities than Lamar does right now. SLC has an indoor practice field that the Cowboys use to use on bad weather days. The Cowboys have since built there own.

[KFDM COOP]

Oh i agree! No way Dodge comes here, just can't see that.

[UNLV]

I'm sure one of the nations top recruiter, who was sure to get a big name offer, I'm talking about ROC.

[KFDM COOP]

True!

[DenisGScott]

ok then where on campus would you build your stadium??? For the stadium to draw any students it would really have to be on or near campus so to be within walking distance for those in the dorms. I was not aware FP could not host basketball, but I'm pretty sure thats an obstacle that could be overcome if needed. If youre going to build a new stadium why not put it where the old one sits, its next to the plants anyway so whats the difference, and as far as the Montagne its still the best in the SLC I will grant that but it needs work yes and if youre going to build a new football stadium like the Carrier Dome why not use it for basketball as well to give more dates of operation instead of sitting empty during the winter??? I wasnt saying Todd Dodge would go straight to a prime D-I job as head coach, but that he could go to a bigger school as Off coorinator if he has the same success at that level as he had in HS then he would get a pretty good big name D-I job. Given the choice between off. coordinator at UT or head coach at LU, you would get FAR more exposure at UT as off coordinator then the head job at LU would provide just because of UT's stature and the fact that every game they play is on TV, so everyone every week is seeing your product.

[UNLV]

That depends, if a Carrier Dome is built, I doubt LU alone could do a project of that size alone, it would be a joint project with the City and maybe BISD. It would go downtown. It would not be empty in the winter, because the city would use it as a convention center/civic center after the current civic center is raxed. If LU remains I-AA, then the current stadium is ok for I-AA. However if LU wants to build a I-A stadium alone, I build in that area between LU and MLK. LU would need to buy those old homes, raze them. However keep in mind, a small percent of students actually go to the games. Even at UNLV we had few students attend the games so the stadium shouldn't be built for students, but rather for economics. BTW, UNLV plays at the Silver Bowl which is way across town. We had to catch the bus to go to the games.

[DenisGScott]

I'm familiar with the Silver Bowl, I just getting at most successful D-I stadiums are on campus facilities.

[UNLV]

I'm familiar with the Silver Bowl' date=' I just getting at most successful D-I stadiums are on campus facilities.[/quote']

I understand what your saying about an on campus stadium. But it makes better sense to build it downtown and make it multipurpose.

Another angle, if built, what happens to Ford Park? The Ford Park Pavilion was a waste of money.

[NedDog]

Hiring SMG seems to be more of a waste than anything. That group has done next to nothing for getting acts to come here, and yet we still have to pay out the nose for their services. Added to that is the point that Dennis brought up about the fans in this area (sports fans, music fans, whatever), being so fickle. Advanced ticket sales for most events in the area are typically slow at best, which tends to scare most major musical acts away. Yes, there have been some exceptions, (Cher, Hillary Duff, etc.), but by & large, Golden Triangle fans will get their tickets on the day of the event, which makes it difficult to book acts here, whether it is at Ford Park or any other facility.

[UNLV]

The county is clueless when it comes to Ford Park. Ford Park could be a huge profit maker if it was built right and ran right. The county is screwing Ford Park the same way they screwed up the SETX regional airport. I wish Beaumont would take control of both.