Stadium Expansion for 2012

[taxpayer]

Wally B - It's the Akron way! Look how everyone at the JAR enjoys people walking the track while sitting on bleachers do the bob and weave while bending down to see under the railing....innovative way to exercise while spectating! The trend continues.....

[RootforRoo44]

Taking a good thing and screwing it up with unnecessary changes. THAT is the "Akron Way".

The closing off of the west stands to reserved seating is one of the most foolish decisions UA athletics has ever made.

[fknbuflobo]

Taking a good thing and screwing it up with unnecessary changes. THAT is the "Akron Way".

The closing off of the west stands to reserved seating is one of the most foolish decisions UA athletics has ever made.

It may have been the Akron Way in the past, but the half-baked incompetence of yester-year is no longer acceptable at UA. Caleb Porter (among others) has taught us to expect better from ourselves and from our university.

[bobbyake]

With the money this program makes from tickets, merchandise, sponsorships, and summer camps (where the big $$ is made), I find our current stadium situation unacceptable.

If Akron ever built a club level similar to Creighton, it would sell out every year.

Season Tickets:

Upper Level Grandstand

Adult $220

Youth $130

Lower Level Grandstand

$110

$70

[bobbyake]

Expanding the main grandstand should be a high priority.

[fknbuflobo]

With the money this program makes from tickets, merchandise, sponsorships, and summer camps (where the big $$ is made), I find our current stadium situation unacceptable.

If Akron ever built a club level similar to Creighton, it would sell out every year.

Season Tickets:

Upper Level Grandstand

Adult $220

Youth $130

Lower Level Grandstand

$110

$70

First Energy/Cub Cadet is really nice, way better than we had, but...

Morrison @ Creighton is the bomb!

[akzipper]

Expanding the main grandstand should be a high priority.

Agreed. The next "phase" should have it expanded to take up the entire south sideline and finally build a real pressbox.

It's funny when you compare our facilities...

InfoCision Stadium...amazing facility, no fan atmosphere.

First Energy Stadium...poor facility, amazing fan atmosphere

Rhodes Arena...poor facility, poor fan atmosphere

[MaxZIP]

Agreed. The next "phase" should have it expanded to take up the entire south sideline and finally build a real pressbox.

It's funny when you compare our facilities...

InfoCision Stadium...amazing facility, no fan atmosphere.

First Energy Stadium...poor facility, amazing fan atmosphere

Rhodes Arena...poor facility, poor fan atmosphere

I wound not call first energy a poor facility. Being a bit dramatic here guys.

[bobbyake]

Agreed. The next "phase" should have it expanded to take up the entire south sideline and finally build a real pressbox.

It's funny when you compare our facilities...

InfoCision Stadium...amazing facility, no fan atmosphere.

First Energy Stadium...poor facility, amazing fan atmosphere

Rhodes Arena...poor facility, poor fan atmosphere

The university is to blame for the poor fan atmosphere at basketball games.

[MaxZIP]

This can all be summed up with...win games that matter and you could play in a farm field and people would show up to watch. Same rule applies to Football, baseball, basketball, soccer, or thumb wrestling matches.

[fknbuflobo]

I wound not call first energy a poor facility. Being a bit dramatic here guys.

First Energy is a good stadium, much much better than the comparative slum that was venerable Lee Jackson. I think we are suffering from a bit of stadium envy having witnessed Morrison Stadium at Creighton. Now we know why College Soccer News named it #1. Yes, First Energy should be steadily improved over time. An eventual roof would be just great.

Having the west end zone as reserved seating is an enormously stupid idea. Whose decision was this? I would like to speak with that party(s). Those seats will not sell except General Admission. Remember that walking around the stadium is a massive commercial for the stadium itself (and an alternative path to the restrooms). That is now impossible for the average fan. Misguided and stupid it is! If the program needs more money, just raise the season tix pricing a bit. I will pay.

There should always be plenty of seating available for casual fans. That is how you grow your product. Holy $$$$! Do we still have a Marketing program at UA? Brand Identification will not increase if 95% of available seating is either students or season tix holders. The math will not work. There is not now seating room enough for a family going to an occasional match.

[bobbyake]

First Energy is a good stadium, much much better than the comparative slum that was venerable Lee Jackson. I think we are suffering from a bit of stadium envy having witnessed Morrison Stadium at Creighton. Now we know why College Soccer News named it #1. Yes, First Energy should be steadily improved over time. An eventual roof would be just great.

Having the west end zone as reserved seating is an enormously stupid idea. Whose decision was this? I would like to speak with that party(s). Those seats will not sell except General Admission. Remember that walking around the stadium is a massive commercial for the stadium itself (and an alternative path to the restrooms). That is now impossible for the average fan. Misguided and stupid it is! If the program needs more money, just raise the season tix pricing a bit. I will pay.

There should always be plenty of seating available for casual fans. That is how you grow your product. Holy $$$$! Do we still have a Marketing program at UA? Brand Identification will not increase if 95% of available seating is either students or season tix holders. The math will not work. There is not now seating room enough for a family going to an occasional match.

I've noticed this is becoming an issue. I witnessed several families attending games last year have trouble with seating in the general admission area. These families looked new to Akron soccer. If they Find it inconvienient to find seats, they may never return to another game. The National Championship brought a lot of new faces to Akron Soccer, would hate to see people turned off by the lack of convienience.

The main grandstand no longer has tickets available this year and sold out before the season started last year. This is a huge problem because that's where the casual fans need to be sitting.

It has been hard for me to justify buying season tickets for the main grandstand because I like to bring or meet up with people at the game and would not be able to have them sit in the main grandstand with me unless I buy extra seats. I'm sure there are others that experience this same dilemma and resort to buying GA tickets instead.

Making the west end reserved is an awful solution for resolving this problem.

[ndzeigler]

Seating is very frustrating if you aren't a student or lucky enough to get a grandstand ticket. My wife and I would have loved season tickets in the grandstand, but to be put higher on the waiting list we were told we would have to buy season tickets for the new west side reserved section, then have the chance to upgrade if grandstand tickets became available. I thought that was garbage, I would rather just get a general admission ticket and sit over on the side hill or something than pay more to have an equally crappy seat. The problem is, if you really want a good view of the game, without kids running around or students standing in front of you, the only good spot is the grandstand. As mentioned before, the lack of good seating can be a big turnoff for the casual fan. I really wish they would have built the grandstand larger initially and maybe made the outside section general admission or something. It sucks when you pay to get into the game and can't even get a good view of it!

[bobbyake]

Option A.

Move the tennis court: cost less than $100,000.

Move the west end bleachers to the north end: cost less than $20,000.

Option B.

See picture below:

[fknbuflobo]

Seating is very frustrating if you aren't a student or lucky enough to get a grandstand ticket. My wife and I would have loved season tickets in the grandstand, but to be put higher on the waiting list we were told we would have to buy season tickets for the new west side reserved section, then have the chance to upgrade if grandstand tickets became available. I thought that was garbage, I would rather just get a general admission ticket and sit over on the side hill or something than pay more to have an equally crappy seat. The problem is, if you really want a good view of the game, without kids running around or students standing in front of you, the only good spot is the grandstand. As mentioned before, the lack of good seating can be a big turnoff for the casual fan. I really wish they would have built the grandstand larger initially and maybe made the outside section general admission or something. It sucks when you pay to get into the game and can't even get a good view of it!

The grandstands need expanding, even only for reserved seating. Fine.

There is no way the west end zone should be season tix. The proof will be in the pudding; just see how the west end zone is empty come next match.

This is obvious. It is incomprehensible that someone thought this was a good idea. If ZNO agrees with me, give me a name. I will relentlessly pursue that individual.

[bobbyake]

The grandstands need expanding, even only for reserved seating. Fine.

There is no way the west end zone should be season tix. The proof will be in the pudding; just see how the west end zone is empty come next match.

This is obvious. It is incomprehensible that someone thought this was a good idea. If ZNO agrees with me, give me a name. I will relentlessly pursue that individual.

My best guess is one of these guys. Staff Directory

Tom Wistrcill Director of Athletics (330) 972-7080 krex@uakron.edu

Mike Rodriguez Associate Athletics Director for Business (330) 972-6280 mrodriguez@uakron.edu

Paul Hammond Associate Athletics Director for Facilities and Operations (330) 972-8102 phammon@uakron.edu

Adam O'Connell Director of Ticket Operations (330) 972-8291 adamoco@uakron.edu

[Jalapeño Zippy]

My best guess is one of these guys. Staff Directory

Tom Wistrcill Director of Athletics (330) 972-7080 krex@uakron.edu

Mike Rodriguez Associate Athletics Director for Business (330) 972-6280 mrodriguez@uakron.edu

Paul Hammond Associate Athletics Director for Facilities and Operations (330) 972-8102 phammon@uakron.edu

Adam O'Connell Director of Ticket Operations (330) 972-8291 adamoco@uakron.edu

Forget the bottom 3. Wistrcill, Satter, Van Horne. Those should be your targets.

[RootforRoo44]

Forget the bottom 3. Wistrcill, Satter, Van Horne. Those should be your targets.

agreed.

Still, I've seen plenty of poor decisions here in my many years of following, and this one still blows me away. It's just mind-mindbogglingly stupid.

[bobbyake]

for the first time in awhile, the west end reserved section was decently occupied during the Buffalo game. I'm wondering if they're giving the reserved tickets to the people buying group packages so that the area doesn't look empty like it has for the other home games.

[bobbyake]

It doesn't look like they check tickets anymore for the west end reserve section. It was such a bad idea to make it reserved.