MaxZIP

Maybe Pluto will come back due to PD cuts?

Looks like they will miss out on 5 catches this year

Might they use those scissor lifts or a cherry picker due to height?

Looks like people can wait 27 more days to commit to this game. Get their money now and sit on it.

http://www.ohio.com/news/51283972.htmlThis article is really dumb for many reasons. 1.) You can see the stadium from 2 major highways. 2.) people coming to the game from another school would most likely have tickets with the name of the stadium on it right along side of important info such as game time and seat number. 2.) Progressive field signs do not read Cleveland Indians Baseball Stadium (Progressive Field) nor do any other pro sporting venues. 3.) ARE FOOTBALL FANS REALLY THAT STUPID? AKRON IS NOT THE LARGEST CITY IN THE WORLD. 4.) Follow the traffic.

I called the Akron ticket office today to ask about single game tickets. They said single game tickets will not go on sale until Aug. 17! That is borderline insane! Season ticket holders can buy single game tickets a week early though.

As stealth as those bomb shelter entrances are, I would still doubt that they would bear any load should additional seating be added above. I would think the seating would be built with similar steel support as the east and west stands -- hey, maybe those columns for the wrought iron fence are strategically placed to be the base for future steel? Never know.Also, looking at the height of the north end zone building and its proximity to the field, if seating were added above, would not virtually all the fans be unable to see the back of the end zone? As nice as it will be to have the grassy knoll behind the south end zone, I think that end actually is more conducive to adding additional permanent seating. The sights lines certainly would be better.They would probably add seating over the berm extending above ground level to about 20-30 feet. The scoreboard could be raised a little like at most other stadiums. Making the horseshoe with an open end anchored by the end zone building complex.

I am with you! Why are single game tickets not on sale yet? Do the math, if they wait until 45 days prior to the opening game 30,000-4500 (season/obligated tickets)-5500 (students)=20,000 remaining tickets 20,000/45=444 tickets a day that would need to be sold in order to sell out the first game. Do they really expect to sell that many tickets for the first game much less the season with a marketing campaign they are using currently? Say they really concentrate on and sell 500 more season tickets prior to the start of the season. That would mean with the visiting school allotment and total season ticket sales about 19,500 tickets would still remain for each home game. 19,500*6=117,000 tickets. Those numbers might be high due to the standing room situation but that is the heart of the situation. Football games are going to be played regardless of the crowd that shows for the event. They should dedicate a huge portion of ticket sales this year to media buys and promotional appearances. It could only help in the long run. Not having single game tickets for sale and not having published ticket prices is unconscionable. It is pretty obvious what ticket prices are going to be:General: 15-$17.50Reserved: $20Priority: either $25 or 40 (depending on if they stick it to the season ticket holders like Toledo did and don’t prorate the z-fund donation for single game tickets)Family: probably $12.50-$15 per ticket but also depends on how they decide to sell them in either 4 packs like the season tickets or individual. I doubt they will be cheaper than general admission if sold individually for obvious reasons.Either way the majority of single game tickets will be general admission.

They should just throw some rubber chips on there as a play on the rubber bowl. Firestone probably has tons of recalled tires around to use.

Field turf wouldn't be that bad of an idea anyways. at least it is green. Puting that unfinished section on national tv won't look good at all.

I don't know but did you notice that they put money towards improving their tailgating areas? The UofA athletic department doesn't even understand why people tailgate much less intend to put any funding into it.

I think we got off easy as well. The Info will be a great place for years to come as Minnesota intended for their stadium. They intended to do it right and they have. Also we like other schools began planning the improvements before the economic downturn but refused to scale back efforts because of the economy. The bottom fell out in October of 2007 and UofA dedicated an additional $6.6 million in December 2007 to do it right with brick facades. In addition, Minnesota like Akron also had to build a new stadium because of the dilapidated metro dome facility. Basically we are a mirror image of what Minnesota did just on a smaller scale. Thus we are a mid-major school trying to gain an advantage in marketability through capital improvements during an economic downturn. That is the basis of the article. The size and potential impact of what the University of Akron is doing dwarfs all other efforts put forth by non BCS schools. 1.6 million on a scoreboard is peanuts and is a loose tie to the purpose of the article. Who cares about new tennis courts and resurfaced tracks. Akron is doing it all and doing it better. ESPN is the number one name in sports journalism. They should have at least mentioned both of the two brand new facilities set to open this year. Will the Louisiana Tech scoreboard, tennis courts, and track look good on tv this year?

This is similar to what you would get if any of us were writing a column on selecting bed linens and the upcoming fall fashions. Too sexist?

Written by Graham Watson, even. It's her job to cover non-BCS schools like Akron. Why couldn't she have used us as the example instead of Minnesota?Akron is exactly what she describes in her article. A mid-major school looking to gain an advantage on some BCS schools by making capital improvements. A $1.6 million new scoreboard is apparently going to get it done for La tech? I guess we really mean business.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=4327190What about Akron dropping $60 Million on a new stadium and over $300 millllion on total improvements? I guess La. Tech is bigger news spending $1.6 million on a new jumbotron. At least this is an article in support of stadium construction.

Walmart in Stow has better Akron gear than the university. I went to school there for 3 years and couldn't find anything to buy that didn't look like some 1980's unlicensed piece of crap. I support the school every chance I get. Being able to wear a decent Zips polo or t-shirt would be nice.

Last time I checked, we were winning the MAC Athletic Facilities arms race by a wide margin.I was referring to a potential facilities/posturing race between and any potential schools that the Big East might consider. Yes we are winning the Mac but we would really have to dominate on all fronts to make such a quantum leap (from MAC to BE).

We should play anybody that is willing to come here. At this point getting some 2 for 1 situations will work but we need to get some 1 for 1 games in the near future. I know that has been said before but I am bored.

I guess it dependents on the expectations of other potential conferences. If they want it expanded first than we will. If they are ok with expansion after being admitted then we will wait. There is no way we would expand early unless the new ad thinks that we could pull some top teams for a 1 and 1 with a larger venue. Even that is a stretch in my opinion. Akron needs to win consistently and fill the stadium to move up in national respect and conference affiliation. I agree that filling a stadium only 75% on good days would not be attractive to the Big East and should be avoided. However if buffalo or some other school makes the move should we get in an arms race with them in a bid for the Big East?

Dude, that was insane. Nice work!

Maybe 15 probably 17.50 because of the price of season tickets being $15 in GA. They claim that a price break was given for season ticket holders.

They reall are moving. I was worried but now it is looking great. Do you think grass will have time to grow if blown in on the berm?

I agree! People tend to give me some strange looks when I talk about the zips. I believe just as much as the next zips nation member that there is a ton of potential here. I graduated less than 3 years ago so I know what the campus has to offer and where the momentum is taking this university. the vast majority of NE Ohioans have no idea what the University is doing. Their perceptions of this area are based on jokes and negativities leveled upon Akron in the past. We know it and now the Marketing department must let everybody know it or all of this progress will lose effectiveness.

You can go with the Direct Mail but that is extremely expensive. One would definately have to pound it into the heads of people to get the point across. In marketing, they do have 3-hit theory which says you need to expose the consumer at least three times in order for it to stick. They need to have a gathering of some sort at the stadium. I know the stadium isn't done yet, but it would still attract some much needed attention.they have had a few gatherings at the stadium. The people who go to those are probably already ticketholders. We would have noticed a huge jump each open house if people were going there and buying tickets as a result of what they have seen. A gathering might pull in 300-1,000 people. We need to sell about 90,000 single game tickets for the season. Basically, direct mail is expensive so just hit the alumni and buy some leads for local football fans.

I think most people within an organization get caught up in the big project because it dominates their reality but they don't realize that people with little invested in the project do not feel the same. The buzz is really prevalent on campus but we have seen little in the way of contacting local alumni and community members. What about mass mailings (postcards) sent to all households in the area or just alumni in the Northeast Ohio area. Basically, time is running out to start marketing. People are not sold on a brand or idea with one exposure. They must be repetitively exposed and contacted to take action. Hell, when do they even plan to put single game tickets on sale? The prices are not even listed yet. Football games like any other entertainment event are going to take place whether the stands are full or not. It would be a shame to save money on advertising just to give it away in ticket revenue. Spend the money people and get this done. They should also be able to get funding from student recruitment funds for this as well. Athletics shouldn’t be funding the entire program as this project has potential to impact the entire university in a very positive or negative way.