SPORTS AND ATHLETIC FACILITIES

[titanfan24]

In a lot of cities, I'd lean way more to the no-new stadium front.

However, in Nashville, I think you could make a case that you'd get a lot more utilization than most towns with a retractable roof stadium.

Just thinking about the Titans, MCB, College Football Playoff, Final Four, CMA, X number of concerts we maybe miss out on in the cooler months, etc.

I wonder if there is anywhere directly downtown where you could build one with some convenient access to the MCC or if you just build on the current East Bank site and maybe send the Titans to the MLS stadium for a year while its being redone.

[markhollin]

^ ^ ^ I agree with you completely that a retractable roof stadium makes the most sense when its time for a new one to be built.  Certainly open to studies being made about a roof being added to Nissan Stadium, but my guess is it would make . more sense in the long haul to start from scratch.
 

It takes at least two years to construct a major league stadium. As I've stated before, I think the best site is where PSC Metals/CITGO Petroleum/P'Neal Steel sit currently.  If the new football stadium goes there, then eventually, after Nissan is torn down, a major league baseball stadium facing downtown (a long right field homer could get baptized in the Cumberland) would work incredibly well there, and offer views comparable to PNC Park for the Pirates in Pittsburgh (which many rate as the best stadium in the majors).  

Other sites that could work for the retractable roof stadium:

1) The parking lot to the east of Nissan Stadium,.

2) The area just east of the river and north of Main St. that is currently home to Gerdau Ameristeel and TA trucking).

3) The area just west of I-40/65 inner loop north of Broadway, south of Church, and east of 16th Ave. North (Beamon owns a lot of this, along with Country Delite Dairy. 

[timmay143]

6 hours ago, Nash_12South said:

I doubt the existing stadium was built for the added weight of a roof. The retrofitting could be as expensive as starting over. Perhaps you could tear down half the stadium and fast track rebuild that half before the next season and then do the same on the other half. It would be an interesting exercise to see what is possible.

I think Miami just built a roof over their existing stadium.  I don't think it is fully enclosed though.  Was still $400-$500 million...might just be better off building a new one for that much though!

[nashvylle]

A lot can be done with Nissan stadium... this is what I have in mind:

[LA_TN]

Building a roof over one of the 5 worst NFL stadiums will be just that: a roof over one of the 5 worst NFL stadiums

[nashvylle]

29 minutes ago, LA_TN said:

Building a roof over one of the 5 worst NFL stadiums will be just that: a roof over one of the 5 worst NFL stadiums

A roof over one of the 5 worst NFL stadiums = a top 15 NFL stadium that can host NCAA final four, SuperBowl, World Cup. 

[markhollin]

Two years after pondering preliminary plans, Vanderbilt is no closer to building a new football stadium or renovating its current one, and that lack of progress may be self-inflicted.

Multiple sources told The Tennessean university administrators undercut efforts to raise funds for a stadium project to focus on building other campus structures. Athletics fundraisers were prohibited from soliciting certain donors already targeted by university fundraisers. Vanderbilt is amid a $600 million capital project, which includes no athletics facilities.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/college/vanderbilt/2018/08/03/vanderbilt-university-football-stadium-vandy/865688002/

[Pdt2f]

3 minutes ago, markhollin said:

Two years after pondering preliminary plans, Vanderbilt is no closer to building a new football stadium or renovating its current one, and that lack of progress may be self-inflicted.

Multiple sources told The Tennessean university administrators undercut efforts to raise funds for a stadium project to focus on building other campus structures. Athletics fundraisers were prohibited from soliciting certain donors already targeted by university fundraisers. Vanderbilt is amid a $600 million capital project, which includes no athletics facilities.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/college/vanderbilt/2018/08/03/vanderbilt-university-football-stadium-vandy/865688002/

Good, a university prioritizing academics over athletics. I love college football but kudos to Vandy for having the correct priorities. 

[nashvylle]

1 hour ago, Pdt2f said:

Good, a university prioritizing academics over athletics. I love college football but kudos to Vandy for having the correct priorities. 

Stanford, Northwestern, Georgia Tech, Rice, Wake Forest, Duke all prove that you can prioritize both. Vandy is completely neglecting football which is frustrating. 

[Nash_12South]

The problem that Vanderbilt may see is that many donors for academic projects like a nice football stadium too. Athletics is the way for the big dollar donors to socialize (show off).  

Edited August 8, 2018 by Nash_12South

[PruneTracy]

Bring back the Magnolia League!

[DDIG]

2 hours ago, nashvylle said:

Stanford, Northwestern, Georgia Tech, Rice, Wake Forest, Duke all prove that you can prioritize both. Vandy is completely neglecting football which is frustrating. 

Also keep in mind that athletics is the most powerful marketing tool for any University. Any year a school wins championship or makes it far in major sports there is an uptick in applications. Alabama's applications and out-of-state enrollment is through the roof solely due to the Saban effect.

[AronG]

Athletics is one way to market a university, and in a lot of cases in the US I agree it's the best one available. Vanderbilt has a completely different option though, growing and building their reputation as a top-tier prestige academic institution on par with Harvard et al. I've always been skeptical that they can do what it takes to maintain that spot and at the same time keep trying to compete in a top-tier football conference like the SEC.

SEC schools spend a huge amount of institutional capital scratching and clawing at every possible way to get an advantage on the football field. Unfortunately, in the modern NCAA that usually involves things that are in direct conflict with a true focus on academic excellence, like setting up weird, obfuscated accountability structures to provide cover for dirty recruiting/academic practices. Dealing with a disgusting rape scandal every few years seems to be par for the course in the SEC. That's a strange branding association to pair with Ivy League aspirations. I think the Magnolia League or Southern Ivy League or whatever would be a great alternative.

[nashvylle]

11 minutes ago, AronG said:

Athletics is one way to market a university, and in a lot of cases in the US I agree it's the best one available. Vanderbilt has a completely different option though, growing and building their reputation as a top-tier prestige academic institution on par with Harvard et al. I've always been skeptical that they can do what it takes to maintain that spot and at the same time keep trying to compete in a top-tier football conference like the SEC.

SEC schools spend a huge amount of institutional capital scratching and clawing at every possible way to get an advantage on the football field. Unfortunately, in the modern NCAA that usually involves things that are in direct conflict with a true focus on academic excellence, like setting up weird, obfuscated accountability structures to provide cover for dirty recruiting/academic practices. Dealing with a disgusting rape scandal every few years seems to be par for the course in the SEC. That's a strange branding association to pair with Ivy League aspirations. I think the Magnolia League or Southern Ivy League or whatever would be a great alternative.

In my opinion, being in anything other than the SEC would be horrible for Nashville. We get hundreds of thousands of SEC fans coming to West End every year to watch their team play in Nashville. It is a huge reason why so many college grads from SEC schools move to Nashville. 

If Stanford can compete with the best of the best, Vanderbilt can be competitive. 

[MidTenn1]

30 minutes ago, DDIG said:

Also keep in mind that athletics is the most powerful marketing tool for any University. Any year a school wins championship or makes it far in major sports there is an uptick in applications. Alabama's applications and out-of-state enrollment is through the roof solely due to the Saban effect.

I agree with your assessment, DDIG, on the good will a University can receive when winning, but how does that help Alabama State?

It is time to privatize sports at state colleges. Let private entities lease the stadium, pay royalties for the school name and nickname and pay the players whatever they want. The SEC can be a professional collegiate league and the colleges can have agreements that all players are to be students in good standing. All the college President has to worry about is where to cash the check and not worry about some star skipping classes or trying to cover up various abuses. The money can go back into the general state college funds and help Alabama State, also.

The market will determine which schools thrive and not the politicians and boosters. Sports facilities that do not receive private buyouts can be sold or converted to academic use. There must be hundreds of millions of dollars tied up in  sports facilities real estate on all the State of Tennessee college campuses.

A couple more points

• The colleges themselves should not be privatized. There are already plenty of private options that pull public colleges ahead competitively (academically). Public colleges are a tremendous investment with what has to be a very high ROI.
• You will never convince me a college athletic program is profitable. No matter who or where. I seriously doubt any accounting of the expenses  of a college athletic program includes many hidden costs such as the value of the real estate.

 

[Jamie Hall]

10 hours ago, markhollin said:

Two years after pondering preliminary plans, Vanderbilt is no closer to building a new football stadium or renovating its current one, and that lack of progress may be self-inflicted.

In all fairness to Vanderbilt, this topic comes up in the fall every year or two during the SEC media days and doesn't go very far.

Reporter at SEC media days: "Hey Coach Mason, any thoughts on your stadium?"

Derek Mason: "We'd love to have a new stadium."

And like clockwork, the stadium becomes a story again.

[nashvylle]

5 minutes ago, Jamie Hall said:

In all fairness to Vanderbilt, this topic comes up in the fall every year or two during the SEC media days and doesn't go very far.

Reporter at SEC media days: "Hey Coach Mason, any thoughts on your stadium?"

Derek Mason: "We'd love to have a new stadium."

And like clockwork, the stadium becomes a story again.

how is it fair to Vanderbilt? They have purposely not done anything and are neglecting their fans.  It deserves to be a constant story. 

[Jamie Hall]

Just now, nashvylle said:

how is it fair to Vanderbilt? They have purposely not done anything and are neglecting their fans.  It deserves to be a constant story. 

I've been to Vanderbilt games and don't feel neglected at all -- aside from the sometimes-mediocre performance of the 'Dores on the field, but that's not the fault of the stadium.

No doubt that a new stadium would have more luxury suites for the high-rollers, but that wouldn't affect me. And probably more amenities for VIPs, but that wouldn't affect me, either. In fact, it's hard to imagine the experience for an average fan being much different with a new stadium or the current one. If anything, having a new and bigger stadium could do more harm than good in terms of the school's image if it's still only half-full for home games. 

I'm all for stadium improvements and upgrades to the existing structure. And ultimately it's Vanderbilt's money -- if the mega-donors want a new stadium, they'll make enough so that it happens. But it doesn't seem to be a priority, and as a fan, I'm fine with that for now.

[nashvylle]

9 minutes ago, Jamie Hall said:

I've been to Vanderbilt games and don't feel neglected at all -- aside from the sometimes-mediocre performance of the 'Dores on the field, but that's not the fault of the stadium.

No doubt that a new stadium would have more luxury suites for the high-rollers, but that wouldn't affect me. And probably more amenities for VIPs, but that wouldn't affect me, either. In fact, it's hard to imagine the experience for an average fan being much different with a new stadium or the current one. If anything, having a new and bigger stadium could do more harm than good in terms of the school's image if it's still only half-full for home games. 

I'm all for stadium improvements and upgrades to the existing structure. And ultimately it's Vanderbilt's money -- if the mega-donors want a new stadium, they'll make enough so that it happens. But it doesn't seem to be a priority, and as a fan, I'm fine with that for now.

The lack of an adequate stadium absolutely affects recruiting which affects performance on the field. 

Vandy is telling their donors they don't want a new stadium.

I'll disagree with your average fan experience. 

 

[MLBrumby]

As an alum, I question the need for all the new "Neo Gothic" style dorms all done at the same time, but that's the direction they've chosen.

But to football, I've long thought a good parallel program for Vandy would be Texas Christian University. Even their games have the same feel... albeit with more people. Unlike Vandy, they've kept up their athletic facilities with the times and it has paid off in their teams' performances on the fields/courts. 

[Pdt2f]

5 hours ago, nashvylle said:

The lack of an adequate stadium absolutely affects recruiting which affects performance on the field. 

Vandy is telling their donors they don't want a new stadium.

I'll disagree with your average fan experience. 

 

Vandy doesn’t care about fan experience for a child’s game, they care about their reputation as one of the best schools in the world. And judging from academic recruitment (from all over the world), reputation, and doner gifts, their relative indifference to athletics hasn’t hurt anything. 

[nashvylle]

7 hours ago, Pdt2f said:

Vandy doesn’t care about fan experience for a child’s game, they care about their reputation as one of the best schools in the world. And judging from academic recruitment (from all over the world), reputation, and doner gifts, their relative indifference to athletics hasn’t hurt anything. 

It has hurt football, which is a huge money machine, and a huge benefit to Nashville. 

Vandy should care about the fan experience, in my opinion. Just like dozens of other schools, some are deemed more academically prestigious than Vanderbilt. 

I am not saying build a stadium that compares to Neyland, I am just saying don’t completely abandone your stadium, which they have done. 

They receive $40MM I think in revenue sharing from SEC football. $7MM per year  over 10 years... $70MM could do a ton for their stadium, fan experience, and product. 

[markhollin]

NFL Draft today, Super Bowl tomorrow? Nashville keeps dreaming:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/columnist/joe-rexrode/2019/04/28/nfl-draft-nashville-super-bowl-final-four-nissan-stadium/3542497002/

[nashvylle]

Butch Spyridon mentions Hard Rock Stadium- I agree! 

[DMilner]

1 hour ago, nashvylle said:

Butch Spyridon mentions Hard Rock Stadium- I agree! 

Hard Rock is a fantastic facility now. We go down for a Hurricanes game, or two, a year. The Dolphins owner financed the renovations on his own; I hope the Titans are in the same boat. 

Edited April 28, 2019 by DMilner