Zipsrifle

Someone posted this in another thread, but in keeping with the theme:Akron Admissions:

As Zipsnation evolves into "Zipipedia", I thought it would make sense to start a thread where we can put links to videos relavent to UA. This was a good piece about The University Park Alliance. Enjoy! name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flush" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>"> name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flush" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350">

Well, the eminent domain issue isn't so clear cut in my mind. I don't like the idea of someone who has a home, or has built a buisness in a location being kicked off their land. What if the land has been in your family for 200 years? Why does someone else have the right to the land you've put your life into? On the other hand, the rustbelt cities are in bad shape, and reinvestment in the cities is crucial to reviving our urban centers. In addition, I despise urban sprawl! So how do you make land available for re-development if one person doesn't want to sell? Complicated issue, and I have many more thoughts on this topic that are not well suited to this forum. I can't even say if I think eminent domin in this case was appropriate, but again my thoughts don't matter. I'm glad there is a new stadium and I think that everyone has gotten an appropriate deal and I'll leave it at that.

Ok, here is the way I see it....Congress is looking into SPORTS for the rich helping the rich, but we're going to spend billions to bailout the banks and builders who happen to have powerful lobbies??? WTF is going on in Washington!

The funny thing is that the people protesting the building of a new Football Stadium got more pictures in the ABJ than the actual football team has had in the past 10 years!

I think in Fingerhut's plan he was emphasizing how each university should focus on a specialty. I believe Can't was singled out for Journalism whereas UA was mentioned for Science and Engineering. No offense, but I'm glad UA is stronger than Can't in these areas as the future investment is likely to be much higher.

Did anyone notice that the forms are going up on the West Stands to start pouring concrete? They appear to be backfilling the East Side where the concrete was just poured. Can't be too long before it stops looking like a giant sandbox and starts looking like an actual building.

Eminent Domain is a hot button issue and these guys are, IMO, doing an excellent job of taking advantage of it to promote their buisnesses. Though it sucks to get pushed out of a location you've occupied for years, it sounds like both will be moving to locations very close to where they already are and they got pretty good deals from UA. If anything, the new stadium will improve their buisness, so from my vantage point, they are just taking advantage of the spotlight and trying to capitalize on it. Personally, I'm OK with it, actually, more power to these guys! U of A did what they had to do to get the stadium. Everyone knew it would ruffle feathers. News is slow, they get front page, ABJ gets people riled up, UofA is horrible, that damn commuter school on the hill, these poor owners, bla, bla, bla....... 17 months from now we will be reading, New Stadium is the best thing to happen to Akron, UofA is a wonderful institution, buisness is booming, Odd Corner to open franchises in Can't and Columbus, bla, bla, bla.

This would require the students to actually care about their athletic programs and what is happening on their campus. In general, I don't think this is the case.

You know what would make a cool fundraiser for the stadium? If you were to allow the fans to pay money to run the equipment on the site! Say $1000 for 10 minutes to run the backhoe that knocks down a house. $500 dollars for 10 minutes to push some dirt around on a bulldozer. Maybe $500 to install your seat(s) in the stadium! Completely impractical and it would never happen, but that would be cool!

I think 4 wins and he gets the boot. 5 wins and he probably hangs around. Here's my thoughts why. I think JD entered this job with NO intent of making Akron his home. He wanted to get into Akron, build the program in 3-4 years, and get out. Things were good early on, and he was "Building" by taking on some risky players. Remember all of those #1 recruiting classes we had? Where are all those guys? Reality Check.Now he knows he's on the hot seat and he's backed himself into a corner. I would like to think that he's trying to recruit players that aren't such a risk. I think he's a pretty good coach and if he is getting better recruits, things could turn around. If he is on this path, which I don't know that he is, then I would not object giving him more time. If we get a new coach, then we have another 3-4 years of "Building", ugh! If we tank this year, then I think we need to look for other options, but I don't think that will happen. Personally, I think it is rediculous how much college coaches move around in the Mid-Majors. I know I'm dreaming, but I would love to see a school give a coach a 2nd chance and when he turns things around, he sticks around.

Just nosing around on gozips.com and came across these stats for the stadium. I guess I'm very surprised at how many suites are sold and that $21 million of the $30 million is raised. The big question there is, how much of that money ISN'T from Summa or InfoCision? Anyway, it's interesting.http://www.uakron.edu/stadium/support.php

That makes sense. Lots of asbestos used in those days. How long does it take to clear one house? I can't wait to see some actual steel rising on the site!

Seems to me that they are preparing to tear down the houses across Nash Street. They have been ripping out the trees which means they are getting ready to bring in the heavy equipment! The hole is right up to the edge of the street now and they'll probably want the street to haul away the remains after they rip the house down. I would guess that tomorrow or early next week we'll see some the houses come down and the street starting to be torn up! Of course, I don't know the first thing about tearing down houses or building a stadium so take it for what it's worth. Also, the forms are coming off the concrete on the back of the visitors stands. So, what properties does UA still need to acquire in the construction area? I believe they own all the land they will need for the stadium building, but not ALL of the land for the entire complex. I'm hoping to see some more destruction here soon.

I'll see how much it is to get a spot by the stadium, but I'm willing to bet it is more money than I can afford. I'm thinking about putting down roots in the Schrank Lot. I'll be able to stop into the range and check out the Zips for a rifle match, and then head over the the stadium! Reasonably close, and it would be nice if we could get on the practice field so the kids can run around and play ball. That would be perfect!

I would imagine that something drove the ump and authorities to censor the rowdies. Any idea what that might have been?

New season ticket strategy was announced. Unfortunately, no details as to what the deal with parking will be.http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/17319194.htmlI think I'm gonna have to go with both seasons.

Concrete walls are going up on the visitors side, the ground is level under the home stands and you can see the slope down to the field on the home side is looking good. I see some concrete pilings on the home side are in place as well. Not just pushing dirt around anymore! I need to get to campus and take a look for myself!

One stop shopping for Zips fans. I think that is the intent and I happen to think it is a good idea. Why should I have to wander around the net to find Zips stories? As for cluttering things up, just don't read them if you don't want to. I have no problem finding my way around here.

I have to say I disagree with many of the points here. I don't believe there is an urgent need for a new arena. I don't believe throwing huge amounts of money into the athletic program is a wise choice. I do believe that winning will help improve things and I do believe that things many things could be done better, with little or no increase in the current budget to improve fan support. I understand that the students don't directly fund the new athletic complexes, but the U will have to issue additional bonds increasing it's debt further which has already led to a debt rating that was recently downgraded from 10 years of construction. Everyone loves construction and new things, but these are not free and we do eventually have to pay off this debt. Unfortunately, everyone in this country believes it is their right to have nice new stuff...sorry folks, it isn't, that's one of the reasons why the economy is such a mess right now. I think the path that Proenza has taken over the past decade was necessary to breath new life into UofA. Akron is now turning heads, and this is the time to be responsible. We don't sellout the JAR and though a new arena would help increase the number of fans, it would only do so for a few years and then we'll be asking for another new arena. In addition, the BIG schools make a LOT of money with their athletic programs and Akron does not. We cannot expect to compete with these programs on a facilities basis if we aren't making money and don't win. The JAR is fine, a winning team will continue to bring in fans. When it starts to sellout, increase prices and THEN start thinking about a new arena.The big schools do NOT base their decision on if they are going to play us or not based on if we have an in-house X-ray facility or a close hospital. The big schools know that we need the money games and that we will get the crap kicked out of us for some cash. If we offered OSU $100 million they would play us at the RB. Money talks, Bull$#!+ walks and THAT is why they don't come to play in Akron. They will play us in Cleveland, but that is if WE get a "Home Game" and THEY get a big cut of the revenue! Again, we were at the point in FB where we either put $50 million into the RB or $50 million into a new stadium. Either way, $50 million was going to be spent and seeing that the RB is what, 7 miles from Campus, it was a no brainer. We'll get some "big" schools into Infocision early on because a brand new stadium is not something that happens all the time in College FB. The stadium itself will get some press, that is enticing. Lets see how many "big" schools come to town when that place is 5 years old??Winning will improve things. Winning HAS improved things. I myself have gone to more Akron BB games this season than in the past 10 years combined because they are winning. Call me a fair weather fan, but I really didn't get excited about BB until Akron started to stir things up. If you are frustrated becasue after 2 solid seasons, we aren't selling out the JAR, give it more time. We are not going to get more attention in Ohio when OSU is going to National Championships (or any championship) and we can't win our own confrence. OSU has done an done an absolutely amazing job of entrenching itself as THE ONLY College that matters in the State, that it is an uphill battle for everyone else. We will need to keep winning, win the confrence, and also beat teams like UMASS to get noticed. For some reason, Zip fans feel it is necessary to increase a coach's salary after each win and then ask for his firing after each loss. KD has done a great job. He is building a solid program but has yet to take us to the NCAA's. Give him incentives that, when he brings us championships and NCAA births, will be a big payoff. In the end, if a big schools comes for him, we aren't going to be able to out bid them. What we have on our side is that KD is an Alum, and hopefully that keeps him here if he's proves to be a consistent winner. As for JD, everyone was saying that he was as good as gone when he beat NCState and guess what, this year, he's gonna be on the hot seat. I for one feel it is important to give a coach time to develop their program and JD has had time to do that. Right now, I'm not very excited about the upcoming season and JD needs to earn his money.

ZW, excellent job. I don't know how many moderators would have taken the time to research, post restrictions, and block posts so that we don't cross the line.

Yea, good point on the website. It hasn't changed in years! I agree, something more exciting should be put there, like an intro video or something. Then, if you want to skip that intro, just link to the next page.

How about this, I'll take a good Can't State IF we pound their heads into the hardwood every time we see them!

If they are behind schedule, wouldn't you expect them to be working on the weekends? I figure this will cost additional cash, and the weather is not the best right now, but wouldn't it suck if we missed opening day by 2 weeks, and weren't working weekends now! Lets get Crackin!

I guess I never put much thought into LP being on camera, but now that you mention it, he is the center of every commercial. I can't say if it is his ego or if it is the producers, but at least he is well spoken. I too think the Roo Town banner is awesome, but for it's size, it's not in a good location.