We Undersized the Stadium IMO...

[engie]

Chairbacks - Under 200 chairback tickets remain. Which means people pay $1200 basically right now and $600 more in two years when their seat is available. Plus the cost of the tickets. We only designed for 850 more chairbacks than the current stadium has. And that's not counting the people that would have bought chairback season tickets at the last minute -- without wanting to lock in to the same seats for 10 years sight unseen with the PSLs.

Loge - 29 four seat tables. Long since sold out.

Stadium Suites - 20, 14 current size and 6 doubles. Long since sold out.

Stadium Club - 300+ seats. ~ 75 remain.

Backstop Club - 500 passes, requires another seat somewhere in stadium, Very nearly sold out.

LFL - 86 spots. All long since sold out.

Basically, we are looking at a hard sell out of season-long options -- possibly before the first piece of concrete comes down in a month -- 2 years prior to overall completion.

On the plus side -- financially, we are looking at:
Chairbacks - $9 million plus prior to first pitch in the new yard and probably $1.6 million thereafter(guessing the individual cost of the ticket is going to vary by the location even though all the donations were the same).
Loge - $200k annually
Suites - $750k annually
Stadium Club - $400k annually
Backstop - $300k annually
LFL - $350k annually
So, the new stadium is going to raise us $3mil/yr plus in and of itself which will be a tremendous shot in the arm and put us very similar to LSU stadium $$, where they currently raise triple or quadruple what we do.

 

[philduckworth]

How many total chairbacks we will have when finished?

 

[engie]

4550.

There is 3700 in Dudy Noble now

 

[patdog]

That's what I was afraid of. incredibly short sighted. We had a chance to build a stadium for the next 30 years & we're going to outgrow it almost as soon as it's built. 17.

Of course, there are some on this board who would say if 200 seats are unsold today, we're building it 200 seats too big.

 

[Xenomorph]

How much debt is the AD assuming to build it?

 

[philduckworth]

Well, I guess all 4550 are basically behind home plate. We have the grass berms where we can add seats if necessary. I know one of the keys was to make it where our stadium doesn't look empty when in reality we might have 4000 people at the game.

 

[maroonmadman]

Seats are sold but will they be occupied? Sat/Sun SEC games and regionals are the only time we'll need all those seats. The $$ is nice though. Going to look mighty empty during those mid-week games when only a thousand or so show up.

 

[dawgstudent]

How many weekends a year do we need a large capacity? 3-4?

The problem is still there - how to easily transfer single game tickets for those that don't attend but have season tickets.

 

[engie]

I have no idea on that and can't find a straight answer. I doubt we ever do know to any greater extent than we do on the football expansion, which I have no clue about.

We have built one helluva rainy day fund the last couple seasons. The AD has put back ~ $20 mil the last 3-4 years after all bills are paid per the official numbers in the EADA.

 

[rynodawg]

Disappointing, I think we are missing out on a ton of demand from fans that are willing to travel for most SEC weekends, but don't necessarily want to lock in full season tickets for 10 years. To me, this is like if the Braves/Pearl sized Trustmark park for the season ticket base only, and ignored the fact that thousands more will show up on every Saturday. Maybe a ticket exchange system can finally be implemented to help out.

That said, if I can bring a lawn chair, and see the game from a berm somewhere, that's preferable to me over the bleachers.

Glad the seats that are available are selling well.

 

[engie]

I'm not at all sure I agree with that concern because I don't think our visible grandstand has been a remotely accurate representation of how many people are in the stadium for many years now.

Lot of games this year where I noticed how many people were in the bleachers while the chair backs remained at 1/4 capacity

 

[philduckworth]

Since we aren't going to sell single game tickets for chairbacks, we should open up the chairbacks starting with the Top of the 3rd. How many season ticket holders show up that late to a game? And if they do, simply ask the person to leave their seat.

 

[Xenomorph]

The Bulldog Club should reward members who transfer tickets back to be re-sold thru the ticket office. So.. they aren't giving you money back but maybe you get 1 point for every two tickets you recycle?

Others might come up with a better scheme, but it's a conversation and a fix that needs to happen.

Do this the Skunk Works way... put a small number of people who have knowledge of the problem and mechanism into a room and let them out when they have the problem solved.

 

[Xenomorph]

I like the blue hairs around me sneering at the late-game invaders like they're Syrian refugees. (How dare they sit in that seat that I've had my feet propped on for 6 innings!)

 

[Bulldog from Birth]

The stadium should have been built to handle at least 500-1,000 average joes to show up the day of the game and be able to buy an actual seat to sit in that's first come first serve like the bleachers. I think attendance will be lower at new DNF for this reason. Unless there is a great ticket exchange (good luck with that), then it's going to be a huge issue.

 

[patdog]

Who cares what it looks like for weekday games? You size your stadium for the weekends & regionals. And we're under sizing it. Stupid.

 

[Junction John]

You can add the Left Field Lofts to the financial calculations too.

They're coming.

 

[dickiedawg]

I'm somewhat disappointed we didn't extend down the baselines further. I would have loved to see bleachers where they are now, with better angles and preferably with seat backs like Hoover Met.

Someone has a hard on for grassy berms, which just seems like an outdated crappy way of doing things.

Also, I'm thinking with the increased costs fewer people will have both chair backs and lounge spots.
That's one reason so many of the chair backs are empty.

 

[engie]

Can't figure those until we know how many there will be and how expensive they will be. Definitely coming however and I'm sure will be sold out prior to groundbreaking also.

There will also be an outfield club level in that building I believe.

 

[bulldogcountry1]

What has to be considered is the we wiped the slate clean, as far as the lifetimers. There are going to be a lot less Bermuda Triangle chairbacks that never get used. This means more fans that actually come will have tickets. I guess I'm going to trust that they will come up with a good ticket exchange to help meet the demand. This should be sufficient for all but 4 games a season. Is that good enough? I doubt it. I would have preferred to have chairbacks all the way down the lines and would like to hear the thought process behind the decision.

What really needs to be compared is current total grandstand seats (including skybox seats) versus new total (including all premium seat options).


Also, someone mentioned possible add-ons the contract a while. I didn't really see these in the plans and don't know what they amount to, but I'd like to know more.

 

[Hoover Dawg]

So, let me get this straight - if we sell those last 200 tickets, we are going to have no general admission area at all, outside berms, outfield and standing room only?

One other note - website says we normally sell 5,600 season tickets....where are those extra 1,900 purchases coming from? If we only have 3,700 seats. Can't all be LFL. Are people buying season bleacher tickets?

 

[ShrubDog]

I'm somewhat disappointed we didn't extend down the baselines further. I would have loved to see bleachers where they are now, with better angles and preferably with seat backs like Hoover Met.

Someone has a hard on for grassy berms, which just seems like an outdated crappy way of doing things.

Also, I'm thinking with the increased costs fewer people will have both chair backs and lounge spots.
That's one reason so many of the chair backs are empty.

The grassy berms are functional for future expansion/more seats, kids to play catch (i.e. hoover met) and fans to sit. Look around the SEC and you will see several nice parks that incorporate the grassy berm. Yall act like we are dumbasses for doing this, its called functional design.

 

[Bulldog from Birth]

That is correct.

 

[Hoover Dawg]

That is correct.

Would be interested in how LSU and South Carolina did it. I can't imagine any school spending a big sum of money on GA chairback seating.

Upon looking it up, LSU has 3,900 chair backs under roof and about 6,900 bleachers. Seems like all the bleachers are in the outfield too.

So ultimately, we need to define our problem before bitching. Are we trying to accommodate season ticket purchasers or general admission?

And does anyone know for certain that we are 200 tickets away from selling all 4,500? Or just an 'unnamed' allotment?

 

[Bulldog from Birth]

I don't think having general admission seats would justify the capital cost of additional seating economically. But the question is are we going to be a program where the average Joe who can't afford a multi thousand dollar 10 year season ticket commitments only choice is to come to a game and either stand or sit in the grass??? The whole ambiance of the left field lounge is that we are a university and a baseball program for the common everyday man. Sure we will be better off economically. But I think we are making a dire mistake that will dissuade lots of families and every day people from coming out to the ballpark. I think most fans in general expect to be able to have a seat to watch a 3.5 hour ballgame.

 

[Hoover Dawg]

I don't think having general admission seats would justify the capital cost of additional seating economically. But the question is are we going to be a program where the average Joe who can't afford a multi thousand dollar 10 year season ticket commitments only choice is to come to a game and either stand or sit in the grass??? The whole ambiance of the left field lounge is that we are a university and a baseball program for the common everyday man. Sure we will be better off economically. But I think we are making a dire mistake that will dissuade lots of families and every day people from coming out to the ballpark. I think most fans in general expect to be able to have a seat to watch a 3.5 hour ballgame.

Yeah that, and students. Sounds like the only way to do that is cheap bleachers over the berms. Or, a valid ticket exchange, which I think we have if you call the ticket office ahead of time.

 

[RocketDawg]

The stadium should have been built to handle at least 500-1,000 average joes to show up the day of the game and be able to buy an actual seat to sit in that's first come first serve like the bleachers. I think attendance will be lower at new DNF for this reason. Unless there is a great ticket exchange (good luck with that), then it's going to be a huge issue.

Yep. I can't really criticize since I've only been to a couple games at DNF, but I don't think I'd buy a ticket to sit on a grassy berm. That couldn't be too great either during or just after a rain. Nothing wrong with bleacher seats.

 

[coachnorm]

There is about 3 to 4 thousand seat difference between Seahawks Stadium and Miss. St. There will possibly be some seating expansion when the home side is reworked. The new London Tottenham Stadium, the probable new home of the Jacksonville Jaguars will seat about the same as Miss St currently?

http://www.centurylinkfield.com/stadium-facts/

 

[coachnorm]

Sorry about the duplicate post. I used the football stadium as an example to indicate quality seating. I believe that MSU baseball will be all about quality. Just think about the quality participation, at Miss St, with a marginal structure behind the plate. Now there will be a quality structure to support a quality fan base.

 

[Hankp22]

I'm worried about it

I share the concerns many in this thread have expressed. The need for an internal ticket exchange with the lack of GA seating has intensified. The walk-up crowd is a very large component of MSU baseball.

The baseball stadium is going to have all the bells and whistles. It's going to be very nice and I'm optimistic in that regard. It is very encouraging to know that chairbacks and premium seats are being sold at a fast rate. That said, Im still worried about it for some reason. We will see where we are with it this time a year from now.

I do wish the athletic department would be a little more forthcoming with information. The best information I've seen regarding the new stadium was a 7-part article written by Gene and it's premium content. Gene did a good job writing the article and I appreciate the information. But that's information that should be easily accessed on our official university page. For some reason I find that interseting.

 

[MedDawg]

The grassy berms are functional for future expansion/more seats, kids to play catch (i.e. hoover met) and fans to sit. Look around the SEC and you will see several nice parks that incorporate the grassy berm. Yall act like we are dumbasses for doing this, its called functional design.

The berms are also angled toward the center of the field, so if they are ever replaced by chairbacks, those will have the correct view of the field.

 

[msudawg12]

There is a reason you cannot have extra chairback seating but can have bleachers. If there are extra chairback seats available for general seating every game then you lose the incentive for people to buy season tickets because they can just show up and buy single game chairbacks. That is why you will never see extra chairbacks of any reasonable amount.

Thats why GA is always bleacher/berm