New Stadium Article

[GP1]

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/spor...es/12958812.htm

Guys,

This article was in the ABJ this morning. At no point in this article does this board member say, "We will have a new stadium on campus." This worries me. He talks about repairs to the Rubber Bowl. Why? The place is falling down.

He gets the question about what if the Rubber Bowl has to be closed as a safety hazard and he says, "Let's not go there." No, let's go there. Answer the question. It is a real possibility. Maybe it is the only way to force the University into real action. How embarrassing would it be to have to play games in Canton or worse yet, Can't? Really, let's not go THERE. I've heard that getting the Rubber Bowl condemned is one of the strategies they are considering to force action. Maybe they should just do it.

I've always told you guys we are a loooooong way off from getting a new stadium. This article reinforced my opinion. A MAC Championship will not be enough to move the idiots on the Board. We will not have a new stadium this decade. How sad......

[Sloopy]

Public posturing. The U is still trying to buy land so they are keeping things on the down low. No reason to pop up land prices with talk until all funding is secured. From what I hear they are very close.

[GP1]

The land is bought. My understanding is the sewer and water system around the area they want to build on can not support a stadium and they will have to pay to have that redone prior to buildiing a stadium. It would take over a year and a half to do that. That would put us into 2008 before they could start the new stadium. No way is there a stadium this decade.

I would like to hear what the mayor has to say about this. If they build a stadium with bars around the stadium, it could hurt the businesses on Main Street. I wonder if they mayor does not want that to happen. One consideration has been having a bar IN the stadium that can be entered from the outside. That would be real nice.

I would bet the University does not make an official statement about a new stadium until next fall. Still a long way to go.

[RACER]

the city of akron needs to step up also. does not seem like this is happening.the downtown economy (city of akron)will benifit from a new stadium. the whole thing should not fall entirely on the university.

[GP1]

I think the University would like to keep the City out of it if they can. If the City gives money, they can have more of a say over where, what the stadium will be.

If called upon, I do think the City will respond favorably.

The economic boost to the city would be good if they would use the stadium more than just for football. For example, how about some of the summer concerts that go to Blossom? Blossom really does not like to host many of the concerts they do and UA could benefit from it. Big stadium=big crowd=more money=big acts wanting to play the venue to make more money. The University must use a stadium to make money with higher education funding now being what it is.

[UA Fan]

There was no need to buy land for the stadium itself, it was already UA property. The VP of Planning has already said it will be built next to the fieldhouse which is currently UA student housing and parking lots. Yet the article makes it sound like they don't have a clue about location or funding even 2 years after starting the feasibility study. Maybe MT was doing less than we thought as AD I don't buy it, I agree they're keeping it down low with the ABJ for now. Getting state funding for a stadium by including dorms or classrooms is probably pretty delicate politically (although OSU apparently did it?).

Plusquellic knows it would be good for UA and in turn for the city so you know he's interested but I doubt if using city taxpayer money is an option so I don't know how he would get UA to move the site downtown. State lawmakers are also protective of existing concert venues by preventing new ones from opening in the same area.

Fink said sonograms of the RB concrete looked good. It will last until the new stadium is built. There are stadiums older than the RB still in use...look no further than columbus.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Fink said sonograms of the RB concrete looked good. It will last until the new stadium is built. There are stadiums older than the RB still in use...look no further than columbus.

Sonogram, schmonogram...the Rubber Bowl is decaying rapidly. The seats in the endzone are shot, and the ones in the adjacent sections are cracked and shattered. My kid will slice his hand open on one of those fiberglass machete seats sometime soon.

Also - To compare the Rubber Bowl to the Horseshoe is insane.

[Buckzip]

The horseshoe was just redone a few years back.

It is a beautiful place for football.

Don't use the Horseshoe, and the outhouse bowl in the same sentence.

[UA Fan]

OSU lowered their field and built permanent endzone stands but they didn't replace all the old concrete in the stadium which is older than the RB...does that mean Ohio Stadium is about to collapse? If the RB seats are getting busted up that's a different issue but doesn't mean we can't get a few more years of use out of it...we have to. We may have light poles in the way but the Shoe had seats where you couldn't see the other end of the field, let alone the scoreboard.

[GP1]

The Horseshoe was contracted by the University and built by qualified contractors. The Rubber Bowl was a WPA project during the 1930's built by a bunch of guys who were wondering what to do with the hillside they created from the dirt from building the runway. Private employees build the horseshoe, public employees built the Rubber Bowl. I'm surprised the Rubber Bowl has lasted this long.

Wrecking ball please.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Please also keep in mind this was a very short column in the ABJ. If you think the University is going to open up and tell a schelp Beacon reporter the actual plans for the stadium in such a column you're crazy. Until you see the actual announcement from the University, feel free to ignore stuff in the Beacon. People on this board have better sources than the ABJ. Trust me on that.

[grice]

From the Beacon story let me jump back to an article that was printed in the August 29th issue of The Buchtelite which featured an interview with Proenza. On the topic of the new stadium the following was printed: A business plan for the stadium should be in place by the end of September, Proenza believes. As for the blueprints, the administration has been kicking around designs for the past several months.

[Wally B]

The horseshoe was just redone a few years back.

It is a beautiful place for football.

Don't use the Horseshoe, and the outhouse bowl in the same sentence.

Lets play 6degrees of Seperation

1) When the Horseshoe was redone, tOSU chose a contractor from Akron, OH to remove damaged portions of concrete and replace with new materials. 2) The company (whose name eludes me) was chosen because they did such a good job repairing damage to the Rubber Bowl after the earth washed out from underneath the south side.

OK 2 degrees of seperation

However, even then they knew the Rubber Bowls' lifespan was limited!

[Z-Pouch]

Best part of the article is the last two sentences......

Akron needs to continue progressing

By Terry Pluto

A new stadium should be next.

That's the word from Mike Thomas, the University of Akron athletic director who will be leaving in December to take that same job with the University of Cincinnati.

Thomas has spent five years running Zips athletics. He made some people angry by firing coaches such as Lee Owens (football) and Dan Hipsher (basketball).

But most Zips fans have praised him for their replacements. Keith Dambrot led the Zips to 19 victories last year, the most since 1989. The football team was 6-2 last year in the Mid-American Conference. Ken Lolla's soccer team has been ranked No. 1 in the country this season.

Thomas helped oversee the new $18 million athletic fieldhouse, adding a practice field on campus and upgrading other athletic facilities.

The 45-year-old Thomas is proud of the overall program's academic progress, too.

``When we came, the overall GPA for the athletic department was 2.75, which was last in the MAC,'' he said. ``We're up to 3.1, and that has put us second in the MAC in the last two years.''

Thomas departs having done more right than wrong. He leaves having raised the expectations around the program. He also is proud of the fact that Akron has done more with less than about any other school in the MAC.

``We have the smallest staff and smallest budget in the conference,'' he said. ``We do need to increase that over time. But we also need to keep pushing forward.''

That includes a new football stadium to replace the aging Rubber Bowl.

In the plans

The $18 million fieldhouse came from a combination of corporate and private donations, along with student fees. The facility includes a recreation center that can be used by every student.

``We can't count on any state money or student fees for the stadium,'' he said. ``So far, we've done some studies on what kind of stadium to build, and how we can raise the funds.''

Thomas said a campus survey revealed that about 70 percent of the students favored a stadium on campus, or at least in downtown Akron.

``To us, downtown is really part of our campus because it's so close,'' he said. ``We should be looking at a 30,000-seat facility that can be expanded. You want a couple of dozen luxury boxes. And the key is to either build it in connection to a downtown convention center, or some other facility that can be used for a variety of things. It has to be about more than just five or six football games. Louisville uses its stadium for 150 events each year.''

Thomas talked about playing important high school football games at the facility, hosting concerts, and making the stadium available to both the city and university. He stresses it's time for Akron to be creative.

He estimates the cost would be in the area of $55 million.

``You probably need to raise about one-third of that in cash,'' he said. ``You can fund the rest through tickets sales, luxury box sales and other revenue areas. The idea would be to not use student fees.''

The next step

The immediate reaction is: Why a new football stadium? The Zips have averaged about 13,000 fans per game over the past five years. It's not uncommon for them to have crowds of fewer than 10,000.

That's why I'd push for a 20,000-seat stadium that can be expanded. Make it smaller, but also very attractive -- much as Canal Park is to local baseball fans.

It might be hard to imagine adding a new stadium to downtown, but consider what has happened at the university and downtown during the past 10 years.

Walk through the campus, and it seems like another place, thanks to the new student center, the fieldhouse. Some streets have been transformed into areas for walking.

Much of Akron's old urban university grit is gone. It actually feels like a college campus.

The area around Main Street near Canal Park has been transformed and upgraded. It used to be a ghost town at night. Now there are restaurants, nightclubs and other venues that bring people downtown in the evening.

The Rubber Bowl was opened in 1940.

It has a wonderful feel of old football to it. The new playing surface looks great. But it's 65 years old, and in many parts of the facility, the age is showing.

If a new stadium can be built without raising taxes or student fees, then it should be done. It's not a necessity, but it will be a real asset to the community.

More of same needed

With so many good things happening, why is Thomas leaving?

``Cincinnati is moving into the Big East,'' he said. ``They have many of their facilities already built. It's just a tremendous opportunity.''

He also inherits a mess in the men's basketball program, where Bob Huggins was fired as coach and Andy Kennedy has been named in the interim. Thomas will have to deal with constant questions about the coaching situation and the state of the school's most popular athletic program.

``I know that,'' he said. ``But I also know that Cincinnati has so much going for it. I don't see that job as a stepping stone.''

In some ways, Akron was an interim career stop for Thomas.

Early on, it was obvious Thomas would throw his heart into building up the Zips' athletic department, but he also had higher aspirations than the MAC.

He came here from Virginia, where he was assistant athletic director. He had interviewed for athletic director jobs at Pittsburgh and other universities.

That has happened to Akron before. Successful athletic director Mike Bobinski was hired away by Xavier before Thomas arrived.

The key is for Akron to find another athletic director with the vision and skills of Thomas and Bobinski. The Zips have been through several athletic directors over the years, and not all have been able to handle the challenges presented by Akron.

``I really think this job should attract some quality people,'' Thomas said. ``The program is in good shape. We have made so much progress. I would not be surprised if there is a hole in the ground for a football stadium within two years. This can be a great situation for the right person.''

[GP1]

I feel much better about this issue today.

The only thing I disagree with Pluto about is the size of the new stadium. We have to be able to fit at least 25,000 into the field for games such as Can't. Maybe 20,000 seats with a hillside like Virginia or even OU would be a nice thing to have.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I feel much better about this issue today.

The only thing I disagree with Pluto about is the size of the new stadium. We have to be able to fit at least 25,000 into the field for games such as Can't. Maybe 20,000 seats with a hillside like Virginia or even OU would be a nice thing to have.

I felt good about it before, and slightly better now.

I took zero stock in the column where the Beacon writer interviewed the janitor in the Physical Plant. That was a joke.

I hate Pluto, but he has his legion of sheep in the Akron area of whom he controlls their opinions. If Pluto backs the stadium, then the Beacon will...then the sheep will...and it will only help our cause.

20K...yeah, that's a sweet Division 1 Stadium. Dude's been spending too much time at Mount Union games.

[Z-Pouch]

Something seems to be going on here. It's kinda like in politics when some upcoming information is purposely leaked to test the waters. This is in the Local News section and comes a day after the Pluto article. I'd say someone is trying to finish selling some ideas to corporate partners by showing community support for the stadium.

On the other hand, Thomas leaving and no AD named yet would seem to slow down anything that was in the works, especially if it were in the final stages and about to go public.

Timing right to build new UA stadium

By David Giffels

The first conversation I had about the possibility of a new University of Akron football stadium took place a year ago in the school's student center. In the Starbucks, to be specific. Next to the grand piano.

If you are a UA alumnus circa, oh, about forever to about two years ago, the very presence of a grand piano and a Starbucks says anything is possible.

Quicker than you can say, ``Meet me in the Chuckery,'' Hilltop High has changed -- almost completely and forever. It is a campus now, in ways it never was before.

Just ask anyone descending the rock-climbing wall in the fitness and recreation center. They'll tell you.

So the growing discussion of a downtown, on-campus football stadium is more than wishful thinking. It will complete UA's transformation. And that's just as important for the community as it is for the university.

Not long after I looked out the Starbucks window and imagined a football stadium there, I returned to campus for a lecture by Richard Florida.

Florida, the ``creative class'' guru, is a thought leader on the vitality of American cities. His talk was at E.J. Thomas Hall, which prompted him to remark how fortunate Akron is to have its college in the city's center.

Cities with their own universities have their own built-in brain trust, which is an important catalyst for lots of things. But in many cases, the university is ill-placed -- away from downtown, or in a community of its own -- and city leaders fret about how to link the energy of the campus with the city as a whole.

Sometimes it's impossible.

Akron's case is somewhat different. For most of the 20th century, the campus meshed awkwardly with the growing, changing city, so that art majors went to class in a former Cadillac dealership and students dodged downtown traffic right in the heart of campus.

Over the last two decades -- first gradually, then suddenly -- our quirky ``Action U'' has become a more coherent institution within a resurgent downtown.

When a set of private developers said earlier this year it will build owner-occupied townhouses near campus, the logic of how the creative energy of the university could flow into the city (and vice versa) became clearer. The Spicer Village housing project is expected to attract professors and graduate students, to give a greater sense of permanence to academics in transition, and to make ``university life'' a more civic concept.

What does any of this have to do with a football stadium?

Well, for all the university's improvements, the Rubber Bowl is an embarrassment. The only upside to its inconvenient location seven miles from campus is that it's not a downtown eyesore.

(Seeing the Rubber Bowl on ESPN2 last year during the nationally televised game against Marshall was like realizing only after the dinner guests had arrived how grungy your dining room rug has become.)

The need for a proper stadium is evident. But adding a new stadium to campus would do far more than shore up a weakness in the university infrastructure. It would inject a new kind of vitality to the city and the campus, more than any other recent improvement.

Like it or not, that's what big college sports do.

Last year, Zips quarterback Charlie Frye started the season as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate. He played himself into the waiting arms of the Cleveland Browns, who drafted him in the third round. (If you believe the sports talk shows, he could be starting Sunday.)

Frye's final season in Akron should have resonated in local lore the way LeBron James' story did. Instead, hardly anybody went to see him play. Imagine how different that season would have been for all of us if it were played in a stadium downtown.

The university bought the Rubber Bowl from Akron in 1970 for $1. It has gotten its money's worth. A new stadium would pay even greater dividends.

David Giffels' column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. He can be reached at 330-996-3572 or at dgiffels@thebeaconjournal.com.

[Dr Z]

Something seems to be going on here. It's kinda like in politics when some upcoming information is purposely leaked to test the waters. This is in the Local News section and comes a day after the Pluto article. I'd say someone is trying to finish selling some ideas to corporate partners by showing community support for the stadium.

My thoughts exactly.

[Buckzip]

I don't think it's a secret anymore...

[Hilltopper]

I think the ABJ may have finally got the message. They have heard quite alot from people like us who are demanding more coverage of LOCAL NEWS! If the paper gets on the bandwagon about a new stadium it will go a long way in making it happen.

[Buckzip]

I think the ABJ may have finally got the message. They have heard quite alot from people like us who are demanding more coverage of LOCAL NEWS! If the paper gets on the bandwagon about a new stadium it will go a long way in making it happen.

Maybe they will help financially.

Could you imagine

The University of Akron Beacon Journal Stadium?

[GP1]

The University of Akron Beacon Journal Stadium?

Terry Pluto Field - It's only 50 yards long, but that's OK as long as everyone feels good.

[Captain Kangaroo]

The University of Akron Beacon Journal Stadium?

Terry Pluto Field - It's only 50 yards long, but that's OK as long as everyone feels good.

Then I agree that a 20K seat stadium makes sense.

[Buckzip]

The University of Akron Beacon Journal Stadium?

Terry Pluto Field - It's only 50 yards long, but that's OK as long as everyone feels good.

Then I agree that a 20K seat stadium makes sense.

Actually if that was it maybe they could play in the JAR.

[zipboy]

I still like the idea of a stadium on campus and not downtown. Seems from MT's comments and those above, it will be downtown.

Going with Terry Pluto's logic, Jacobs Field should have been built with about 20K as well.