Jerry Richardson Stadium Expansion Approved šŸŸ

Companies are MUCH more likely to be interested in buying/leasing luxury boxes and suites than they are/were to just buying ā€œseatsā€, which is all we have ever had to offer. The sales pitch to the corporate folks should be easier (not easy, but easier) once those options are available. You can’t sell em’ until you have 'em.

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Flame away at me but I find shit like this hypothetical as hell. We complain that college sports has turned professional with paying players but we’re gonna spend 60 million for 3k seats that will be empty more than half the games anyway.

SMH

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Hootie - you are basing that on teams with losing records like our 3-9 last season.

At some point, we have to become an actual winning program. If we aren’t building (figuratively and literally) towards that, what’s the point?

Personally, I think a winning program here would sell out 25k seats every game and 30k for any game of interest. We actually support our program pretty well even though we have only ever had 1 winning season.

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Since day 1, we have made it hard for casual fans to buy individual game, reasonably priced seats between the goal lines.

In order to convert casual fans to season ticket holders they have to come to games first.

Put 2-3k temp seats on visitor side and sell them for $25-50 / game depending on opponent. It only takes a little effort, but one no one seems willing to do.

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I was kinda hoping Mike would bring back the temp seats we brought in for App a few years back.

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I was hoping to get 1A done initially as well but glad we’re getting this moving. This first step should be the most challenging.

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I’ve got ten years of history to base it on. 3-9 is kinda the norm. Even if we get to the point of 7-5 most years we’re not selling 21k seats for a home game against North Texas.

I do think we can draw well against ECU and maybe Navy.

My point is we’re ok to blow through that kinda cash for 3k seats and are excited to do it but rail against NIL. Seems a little hypocritical to me

I thought most of this debate was coming from people NOT okay with spending $60MM on 3k seats?

Also, 7-5 isn’t what I would aspire to. Gotta start winning 8 or 9 games a year regularly, and be in the hunt for the league title. Then let’s see what attendance looks like.

Fair point, I’d love to be wrong. I’ll be the first to admit I’m a putz. Wouldn’t be the first time, lol

Some of the rendering I’ve seen slip through the cracks look awesome, Jerry world is going to be first class. Glad we are moving forward. Also this mean’s Phil will be in the grave soon right?

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We aren’t spending $60M for just ā€œ3,000 seatsā€. I love it when people make that ridiculous statement. We are building a completely new tower. Take a look at any building project on campus recently. You’d probably be hard pressed to find one that wasn’t at least in that neighborhood, in terms of cost.

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For sure, and Biff has mentioned several times that the Football team will use it for meals/meeting rooms ect. Will be a great facility for fund raising and bringing corporate Charlotte onto campus.

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I would like 30k seats and for the stadium to look like a full stadium. Having said that, if you look at what nba and nfl venues are doing, and college for that matter, it’s becoming less about ā€œseatsā€ and more of, for lack of a better word, ā€œhospitality areas.ā€ Like a beer garden or an open area with tables, tvs, bars, etc.

The idea of a stadium full of seats is going away. It’s more of how can we have these hospitality areas incorporated and still see the game. Personally if we were very forward thinking, we create one, standard side of seats and another side that is primarily a hospitality area. Where folks can walk around, mingle, watch tv. Essentially a larger Niner Club. I doubt they do that, but the idea of paying x to sit for 3 hours is not what folks want anymore.

A tower will give the stadium a greater presence and will fast track the other side to get completed. I remember app having one giant side of seats and literally a small set of bleachers on the other side which always looked bizarre.

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The expanded meeting spaces can be used as overflow of the conference center at the hotel if we host a big conference.

There is some synergy here.

I also like not being in a ton of debt.

We have no idea where things are going with the college sports market.

I plan to watch a lot of Niner sports beyond the big 2 when I retire and I like the idea that we are not putting ourselves in an unstable financial position that could jeopardize our future.

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Like this idea. Email the powers that be. Speak it into existence.

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clt is hearing there will be a section with unlimited wine and real housewives on the monitors.

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I was just wondering. If we expand to 18k, will we still be the smallest stadium in FBS?

No. Sam Houston State joined the FBS this past year and Kennesaw State is moving up this season. both have stadiums that seat under 15k.

Spin it any which way you like, we’re gonna net 3k more seats.

3,000 seats that produce substantially more income due to Club level amenities

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