UA Fan

http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/2360492

Is the soccer nat'l championship played at a neutral site or one of the contenders' fields? I can't imagine a northern site like Akron being chosen because the weather is too dicey in the late fall. And with smaller crowds for soccer it seems a bit irrelevant to be concerned about playing in the new 25-30K stadium. And isn't soccer still preferred to be played on real grass rather than artificial surfaces?On the other hand, it will be perfect for those Div. I Massillon/McKinley/Garfield/St. Ignatious HS playoff games and maybe Div. III college (Mt. Union, etc.) as well. Heck, it will be much nicer than Fawcett so why not try to lure the HOF game a few miles up the road? And with band shows and possibly drum corps and potential concerts it should get plenty of gridiron-format use. I would especially like to see the student programming board arrange some kind of live music event(s) for May Day to make that a positive thing rather than a Spicertown arsonist/police-raids fiasco. Lots of possibilities here...

"In precisely 772 days," he said, "we will gather again about 200 yards from here under blue skies, marching band in full blare, as it leads are team, our students, and our fans across this campus into a gleaming glass and brick stadium."I'm not sure exactly what it means but should be interesting.http://media.www.buchtelite.com/media/stor...d-2928782.shtml

If you look at drawing #4 from uakronkid's post above, you will see lights on the visitor-side stands...is it possible Summa Field would be entirely lit from the one side? More questions: --Will they build green and use fluorescent or LED lighting? It would save a lot on the power bill, you know. --Speaking of electricity, why did FirstEnergy get out-donated on this (...and Goodyear) --And did they say anything at the press conference about using the old urinals from the Rubber Bowl as decorative planters outside the front gates?

I'm really glad they're putting the additional buildings on the east side rather than the west so that the press tower is unobstructed from Lee Jackson Field/campus/Exchange St. I will prefer to sit on the east side and enjoy the view of the home stands, downtown, etc. I'll just be sure to bring my shades in the unlikely event of clear skies

The new mayor of Akron

You're not really losing your income by e.d. though because you have every right to take the payment for your property and buy another property to continue the business. The risk is in whether you can find an equally profitable location but in reality with the redevelopment of the area bringing in more customers there will now be even more viable opportunities for business owners. I don't think the founding fathers would have meant for an individual property owner to impede the progress and good of the greater community...they were some very wise dudes.

Yes, it was her...she didn't last too long. That was a bad stretch for the U. as we were in danger of losing some or all accreditation which would have been a disaster. Thankfully they chose a great successor in Dr. Pro. Muse's emphasis was on selective excellence, especially polymer science of course and thus the Goodyear tower was built. He also did good work with the city to get Buchtel Ave. closed/rerouted. Ocasek Natatorium and the JAR were built in his tenure I believe as well as the old student center expansion. I want to say the acquisitions of Polsky and the Caddy dealership & Holiday Inn south of Exchange happened then too. I don't know for sure when all of the Master Plan was developed but I suspect it was mostly during the 80's before Dr. P. got here and the trustees had a lot to do with it. Basically they saw a downward trend in enrollment and knew they would have to make the campus more attractive & updated. I know there were plans for a fieldhouse back in the Faust days because I remember him mentioning it on his radio show.Many more projects yet to come...

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2950229

He's willing -- even eager -- to abandon the renovation and expansion plans he has in hand for the coffee shop, pub and part of a building he leases to Chopstix restaurant in favor of one that suits the university. He will build whatever they want, he said expansively. If UA takes him to court for eminent domain -- the governmental right to acquire property for a public purpose -- a jury would side with him, he insisted. ``We are optimistic and confident that we can deal with Akron U in a wise and fair way -- hopefully,'' he said.I'm not sure why the U. wouldn't keep the strip along Exch.St. as retail/eatery space, at least the lower level(s). The recent stadium plan shows plenty of space south of the stadium for that (including some new buildings pencilled in) and it sounds like Mr. Nemer is fine with his properties being redeveloped as long as he can stay. My guess is the U. will buy the property if they can (I hope so), otherwise they'll have to cut a deal. We won't know any more about their intentions until Aug. 1...the ABJ is getting a little ahead of itself here.

Thanks for the info. I wouldn't doubt that the Admin can come through with Coach Engle's request for a new home for the rifle team, one of our best

Nice pics. From the silly questions dept.:1) Why so many shooters at one time? Couldn't they do it in "flights"?2) What exactly do these air rifles shoot...BB's/pellets/bullets? How much more powerful are they than a kid's BB/pellet gun? Is there more to the backstops than just the curtains?3) Does the target distance vary by type of rifle and/or level of competition?Yes, I think the U. is getting very good at hosting all kinds of athletic events. We were the center of the basketball world recently thanks to LeBron and don't forget we held the Big East track championships. That, if nothing else, familiarizes the BE with U. of Akron.

Now that would be cool. We could sell a LOT of tickets to spectators to watch all that action. Especially if it was during the national soap box derby.

It looks great, but wouldn't you rather have the majority of seating (home stands, press box, suites & loges) facing campus/downtown/valley/sunset?Maybe they could use the RB light standards outside the stadium somewhere like along Exchange St. as an architectural element. I like the way the dorms complement the stadium but don't hide it. How many stories is the stadium tower, like 7 or 8?

Yeah, did you see the look on Zippy's face when Mom asked if he's a she? Those videos are great. This one too: Were these done for a class project or contest or something?

They should be able to salvage the Rubber Bowl press box, seating, and scoreboards for the new stadium. The name should be Son of Rubber Bowl, RB2 or RB Jr (I'm suddenly hungry for a roast beef sandwich) We'll have to have some future discussions of what should be done with the old Rubber Bowl after the Zips vacate.An on-campus stadium will add a lot to the collegiate feel as would a clock tower. Carillon bells that could play the alma mater would be the ultimate. It's important too though not to overreach on architectural elements and end up with something too dorky or gimmicky.It's hard to imagine watching the Zips playing at home from a suite or loge (let alone HS football). Can't wait to see the final design. If they're clearing land by the end of the year can it still be finished in 20 months to start the 09 season?

With 25K seats, a bowl/horseshoe design doesn't seem likely. Would you want something reminiscent of the Rubber Bowl or something different to signify a new era? You make the call. I like the collegiate feel of a bowl (like Notre Dame) but I don't think we will need all the corner seating with its less optimal viewing angle...those would be good areas for plazas. To float another conspiracy theory, maybe the admin is trying not to overbuild/overspend for football because they may be already looking ahead to a hoops arena project sooner than later. I think they would be happy if we could sell out 25-30K seats on a regular basis. Tosu may not come here to play but we should be able to get an Indiana, Pitt, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, etc. If we have better home revenue (which we will) we'll be less dependent on having to play as many payday road games.

http://www.uakron.edu/news/articles/uamain_1818.php

Rifle champs and potential recruit:http://www.themonitor.com/news/team_3722__...one_school.html

I don't know if any of these guys are still rattling around or are officially done:WR Lavel Bailey, WR Jake Schifino, WR Matt Cherry...also I'm drawing blanks on the names of our recent PK (@Dallas?) and FB (@Philly?) who had been on NFL rosters.The only former Zip I can think of who is retired after a "substantial" NFL career is Victor Green. I don't know that we had any old-timer players in the league back in the 40's-50's-60's. It is good to see that list of current players getting longer each year !

MRasor's update:http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/zips/Personally, I am confident that the Trustees/Prez/AD can create an excellent stadium facility within the budget dictated by reality (remembering that the JAR arena would have been bigger & better if more resources had been available at the time). On the other hand, I am disappointed that there has been zero solicitation of input/ideas from the fans & community who will be the attendees and whose tax dollars will contribute and they apparently will only share the most preliminary concept drawing until the design is finalized at which point it will be too late & too costly to make any significant changes.

Bad news: We missed out on these recruits.Good news: Judging from where they're going, we're recruiting the right people.Bad news: They apparently don't want to play in our conference.Good news: When the stadium is built, we'll have a good chance to get a couple of these guys.

In basketball, Mark Alberts. He is from the area (Wooster), is currently a HS coach in the area (IIRC) and comes from a hoops coaching family so he's basically been submersed in the sport all his life. I don't know what his goals are but I think his dad was always a HS coach so maybe those are the footsteps he's following. His sister Marcie who played at tosu is also a HS (womens) HC now. Mark always seemed like the even-keeled type, not fiery...I don't know much about his coaching style, motivational techniques, how he'd do at recruiting, etc. but it seems like he'd have potential at the D1 level.

Getting back to the topic...the Buchtelite answers a few of the questions:http://www.buchtelite.com/The site (9 acres) does in fact adjoin the existing campus footprint. The shops will be allowed to continue operating. Implementation date may be next summer. The historical nature & memorabilia are to be preserved.On a disappointing note, the Buchtelite now requires registration/login/email address to access the full content. I guess I won't view it as much anymore.I may be biased toward the U. but I would rather see downtown businesses move out to the suburbs where there are already hotels than have a new hotel built downtown and increase the value of real estate there which UA will undoubtedly need in the future

We still need parking spots, don't forget. I wonder if that ancient Wonder Bread factory will still be going strong 200 years from now