This!!! Exactly…There are multiple FCS teams that now have stadiums (on-campus) larger than ours…the expansion needs to happen yesterday.
Must wait for the “right time” meanwhile the cost of steel, concrete, and other materials have skyrocketed. Expansion beyond 15,000 should have happened years ago.
Weren’t some of the big games scheduled because we said we will have an expanded stadium by then?
I think the big games have a min seating requirement not that we will have been expanded.
As for expansion I know it’s top of mind. I’m sure bonds will have to be issued to make it happen. Curious what amount we need to have on hand to issue the bonds to fund the rest.
Aside from material costs escalating interest rates will likely be heading that way as well. It’s going to cost a bit more than initially projected now.
What does it cost to install temp seating, rent, and tear it down? Lots of wasted money. They are taking down the temp seats today. When does permanent expansion take place?
Expansion will happen when the funding needed to make it happen is in place. Previous admin made no plans for it in the near term. Mike started on it in the context of a larger plan and everything fell apart with covid. I know he wants to do it. I know its a priority. I know they have a plan for building it. What I don’t know is what the funding model looks like and what the state will allow us to do from a bond issuance.
clt says we should take funding from the architecture school , just like eCu did with the med school
Unfortunately building anything out of concrete, steel or lumber right now is going to cost a good bit more than it would have just a year or two ago. I wonder if it would be possible to install semi-permanent stands in the short term with seats & seatbacks that can be reused in some way when we have funding to build a permanent steel & concrete structure. Would cost more in the long run but at least we could increase our capacity & not have that used against us in recruiting. And we wouldn’t have to keep installing & removing temporary seating for large events which can’t be cheap. This construction & housing market is eventually going to crash like it did in 2008. When it does construction should be cheaper as long as the rest of the economy doesn’t crash & burn, which will once again make stadium expansion look irresponsible.
I would hope funding is coming from multiple private donations and possibly one or two large donors with naming rights attached; with Mike Hill firmly implanted in those circles and actively having conversations there. That would fast track
some of this stuff. Otherwise we’re treading water and that’s not what we had hoped for with Mike Hill. The exact reason more schools are pulling in business execs to run these departments. Find and create revenue streams outside of tix sales. The ra ra stuff is nice, but show me the money is how you build and sustain these departments. I know it’s an uphill battle, but we are entering post Covid and we have to be ready otherwise we’ll get left behind. I was hoping Hill would be more engaging and open with the process and planning but it seems to be back to everyone sitting around waiting and speculating. TBD I guess.
I know they are working with those donors and I know some of the names. He’s in those circles, but I have no idea where it stands with amounts. As for transparency, with capital fund raising there is always a silent period then a public section. They were in the private part when Covid hit. The total plane is in the 240-250 mil range, I don’t expect them to have raised all that or even half. What we likely are trying to do is get enough on hand to issue bonds to build all that they need in the short term.
Been saying the same since before the 2013 kickoff.
Cool deal. Nice to get some background info there. 
We should have built initially to about 20k, 15k was just the wrong size. Judy had no vision and was pushed into football though and with she and Phil leading the way I am not surprised at the stadium size since neither had big football dreams. Luckily we have better leadership in place now - the question is what size and how do we pay for it? I know I am on the low end of folks but I would be perfectly happy with a 25-30k stadium. The demographics of attendance was already trending down nationwide and I expect that covid will just make decline rapid.
I would be fine with 25 to 30k as long as the amenities were top notch. In other words, suites, attractions, anything that makes our stadium nicer even if it isn’t bigger. I would trade seats for amenities.
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I am curious how receptive the corporate crowd is to suites. Those are your major customers. I know there is a desire for suites for both halton and football - but I am wonder what the desire is in our business community for those.
If our leaders can’t sell 10-12 suites (in this city), then we need new leaders. I always have heard this concern and yet most all of our peers have corporate suites. Most of them in much smaller cities than Charlotte. Football stadium Examples: ECU has 24 suites, App has 18 suites, ODU has 26 suites. All 3 also have club seating options and/or loge boxes. Keep in mind, these schools are in Greenville, Boone and Norfolk. None of those can hold a candle to the corporate opportunities in Charlotte. There are zero excuses for not having these already.
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Smaller cities means they don’t have suites at an NFL or NBA arena. I would guess it is dependent on price point and then doing the cost analysis of cost of suite vs what they can get for them. A lot less competition for dollars there. Add in Knights and MLS and it’s a battle for those entertainment dollars. I don think that’s an excuse it’s just the reality. Big city is a lot of advantages and comes with challenges.
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Smaller cities also mean far fewer businesses doing corporate entertainment, in theory.
Yup - I’d be curious with app and ecu what is the breakdown on Corp suite and box owners vs fans and alums. I have a friend that had a app suite, I’ll ask him what it ran him.
Also in Boone and Norfolk and Greenville, those games are the highlight of something to do. In Charlotte our games don’t crack the top 3 - at least not yet.