AU trying to go All IN on Athletic facility upgrades across the board

[logan adams 333]

53 minutes ago, The Plainsman said:

This thing looks somewhat like a standalone building adjacent to the Stadium?  Is that correct?  It looks nice, but is somewhat awkward seeing as how it just sits in a corner.   I am interested to see what it looks like from inside the stadium...

i like moving the press boxes... I like that a lot,. But the stadium is off balance now IMO... I hope the plan to do something similar on the other side of the south endzone.   

 

I highly doubt they will be adding anything to the other side of the scoreboard. 

[logan adams 333]

Also, would like to add, it would have been more convenient had this been announced AND approved earlier in the year, or even towards the end of the season. It would've been a huge recruiting tool for this upcoming class.

[The Plainsman 948]

38 minutes ago, logan adams said:

I highly doubt they will be adding anything to the other side of the scoreboard. 

Strange to me,.  It is somewhat out of place in my opinion but that is just my immediate thought based on only three rendering pics.  I am sure it will be top of the line,.  But just to build out one corner will bother people like me. Lol.  

I am kind of wierd like that.  I like balance.  

 

For example when a player wears those black stickers under just one eye...   Etc...  

 

[Randman5000 4,229]

8 hours ago, aufan57 said:

 

http://auburn.247sports.com/ContentGallery/Look-Artists-renderings-of-28-million-facility-at-Auburns-Jordan-50809839

How is this related to the North side renovation? I thought we were supposed to have locker rooms there and players lounge, etc to help with recruiting.

This looks like an appendage, lots of unused roof as well

[Randman5000 4,229]

6 hours ago, lionheartkc said:

I bet that's an architectural nightmare. That beam structure probably vibrates like crazy with a combination of wind on the screen and the speakers from the sound system. My guess is any skinning structure will have to provide plenty of clearance for motion or it would have structural issues pretty quickly.  In other words, it's probably not as simple as "brick it up".

Can easily wrap that in a perforated metal skin. 

[AU13HSV 13]

I think it is safe to assume Jacobs was told no on the 150+ million north endzone renovation, and this is a compromise to get the recruiting facilities needed to compete in the SEC. The design is decent nothing ground breaking. I just hope this is part of an overall plan and not something we will have to "fit in" to the next renovation. 

 

I don't know if the recruits walk with the team for tiger walk, but it would be cool to have them watch from the roof area as the fans swarm the team.

[logan adams 333]

1 hour ago, AU13HSV said:

I think it is safe to assume Jacobs was told no on the 150+ million north endzone renovation, and this is a compromise to get the recruiting facilities needed to compete in the SEC. The design is decent nothing ground breaking. I just hope this is part of an overall plan and not something we will have to "fit in" to the next renovation. 

 

I don't know if the recruits walk with the team for tiger walk, but it would be cool to have them watch from the roof area as the fans swarm the team.

If told no, then they have still yet to answer the enhancement of the fan's gameday experience. Based on the quote in the AL.com article, I don't think that it has died out completely. 

[keesler 5,924]

11 hours ago, The Plainsman said:

Strange to me,.  It is somewhat out of place in my opinion but that is just my immediate thought based on only three rendering pics.  I am sure it will be top of the line,.  But just to build out one corner will bother people like me. Lol.  

I am kind of wierd like that.  I like balance.  

 

For example when a player wears those black stickers under just one eye...   Etc...  

 

I agree, I'm not a fan of piece-mill type work as I like a balanced/cohesive design that looks like Auburn University does things first class.

But honestly at this point, I'm just hopeful that the BOT will approve this little corner piece that's needed even if it doesn't flow visually.

[WarDamnEagleWDE 12,737]

1 hour ago, AU13HSV said:

I think it is safe to assume Jacobs was told no on the 150+ million north endzone renovation, and this is a compromise to get the recruiting facilities needed to compete in the SEC. The design is decent nothing ground breaking. I just hope this is part of an overall plan and not something we will have to "fit in" to the next renovation. 

 

I don't know if the recruits walk with the team for tiger walk, but it would be cool to have them watch from the roof area as the fans swarm the team.

The project will be done at some point. Just won't be headed by Jay. But right now it's DOA. If I were to guess, I'd say starting in late 2019 or 2020. 

This upgrade needs to be done, but all of the upgrades should be done at one time. Would be a lot more functional and look 10x better. Oh well. 

[AU13HSV 13]

23 minutes ago, logan adams said:

If told no, then they have still yet to answer the enhancement of the fan's gameday experience. Based on the quote in the AL.com article, I don't think that it has died out completely. 

I agree its not dead completely. Like you pointed out earlier the timing of this announcement is off. I think that shows Jacobs has been fighting for the endzone renovation and has realized its not going to happen anytime soon, so on to plan B. 

Part of the "This is Auburn" campaign has the athletics department's goal at $237 million. That money has to be going somewhere, unless they substantially missed their goal.

[ellitor 33,107]

Link

 

Quote

 

New athletic facility will help recruiting

If you haven’t seen, Auburn has plans for a nifty new facility at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Facilities are all the rage in the college football and recruiting world nowadays. It’s weight rooms one day. It’s locker rooms the next. It’s dining halls after that. Then, it’s indoor practice facilities and dorm rooms and game rooms.

Now, it’s time for the game day facility enhancements. My colleague, Justin Ferguson, outlined many of the plans for the facility that is expected to be finished by the 2018 football season. It includes a locker room upgrade and a press box change.

But perhaps the most notable addition is the recruiting aspect, which will be another place for recruits to mingle and enjoy the Plains. There’s no telling what Auburn’s recruiting facility will include (If the new game room is any sign, the Tigers have some brilliant ideas,), but these things are almost a must-have in the recruiting market today.

 

 

[IronMan70 3,277]

12 hours ago, The Plainsman said:

Strange to me,.  It is somewhat out of place in my opinion but that is just my immediate thought based on only three rendering pics.  I am sure it will be top of the line,.  But just to build out one corner will bother people like me. Lol.  

I am kind of wierd like that.  I like balance.  

 

For example when a player wears those black stickers under just one eye...   Etc...  

 

I hear you. Like the main support structure for the jumbo-tron being off center, lol ? Well hopefully there are plans to add a matching exterior structure to the opposite corner or it will look out of place. 

[logan adams 333]

42 minutes ago, AU13HSV said:

I agree its not dead completely. Like you pointed out earlier the timing of this announcement is off. I think that shows Jacobs has been fighting for the endzone renovation and has realized its not going to happen anytime soon, so on to plan B. 

Part of the "This is Auburn" campaign has the athletics department's goal at $237 million. That money has to be going somewhere, unless they substantially missed their goal.

The selfish side of me wishes to have the north endzone work done first, but hopefully we won't have to wait too long. I think with this rendition of the updated locker room, etc. will save money for the north endzone construction. All of this was supposed to be moved to the north endzone. Unfortunately, this may require them going back to the drawing board, but not much should be tweaked. 

[logan adams 333]

Also, I saw in the AL.com's comment section that someone said "$28 million only goes so far"... Well, let's look at Clemson's new football facility.

http://www.postandcourier.com/sports/clemson-coaches-moving-into-new--million-football-facility/article_55eb91e6-e33e-11e6-8954-4754a32acd00.html

Granted it is almost double the price of what our new facility will cost ($55 million), but it is 140,000 square feet, whereas ours is 44,000 square feet plus the 16,000 square feet for the locker-room. 

Should plans continue on with our facility attached to the stadium, it will be state-of-the-art, and just as nice as anyone's in the country.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

12 hours ago, Randman5000 said:

Can easily wrap that in a perforated metal skin. 

I'm not familiar with that, so I'll take your word for it. 

[meh130 1,043]

A couple of thoughts:

This is a "redux" of the North End Zone project. That would have included a new home locker room and a relocated press box, in addition to the other stuff.

Maybe this is not so bad, in that a future north end zone expansion can focus on seating, etc. I could also see a future north end zone relocating the press box again, the southeast corner press box being converted to suites. But the idea of ground level club seats adjacent to the home locker room is probably gone for good.

As for "balancing" the stadium, I agree aesthetically this is a good idea. But the problem for that is the southeast corner is in the middle of the fenced-off student section. A building behind the seating for some purpose might be feasible. I am not sure what a top corner box or seating would be. A few suites might work, but how would they be accessed?

[logan adams 333]

48 minutes ago, meh130 said:

A couple of thoughts:

This is a "redux" of the North End Zone project. That would have included a new home locker room and a relocated press box, in addition to the other stuff.

Maybe this is not so bad, in that a future north end zone expansion can focus on seating, etc. I could also see a future north end zone relocating the press box again, the southeast corner press box being converted to suites. But the idea of ground level club seats adjacent to the home locker room is probably gone for good.

As for "balancing" the stadium, I agree aesthetically this is a good idea. But the problem for that is the southeast corner is in the middle of the fenced-off student section. A building behind the seating for some purpose might be feasible. I am not sure what a top corner box or seating would be. A few suites might work, but how would they be accessed?

This exactly. This probably saved several millions of dollars just renovating the current locker room. 

I for one don't really have much of an issue with the stadium being unbalanced. It will be a unique look. 

[lionheartkc 6,150]

3 minutes ago, logan adams said:

This exactly. This probably saved several millions of dollars just renovating the current locker room. 

I for one don't really have much of an issue with the stadium being unbalanced. It will be a unique look. 

Let's face it... the players don't give a crap about what it looks like on the outside, and that's what these renovations are all about... recruiting.

[GBAU83 212]

1 hour ago, meh130 said:

As for "balancing" the stadium, I agree aesthetically this is a good idea. But the problem for that is the southeast corner is in the middle of the fenced-off student section. A building behind the seating for some purpose might be feasible. I am not sure what a top corner box or seating would be. A few suites might work, but how would they be accessed?

The fenced off student section is being looked at - possible changes to how students and the student section is handled.  One concern about the student section is the inability to go completely around the stadium because of the student section being fenced.  This project possibly incorporates something to address that, which therefore might also include access to suites if they were built.

[AUApostle 7,651]

7 hours ago, WarDamnEagleWDE said:

...but all of the upgrades should be done at one time. Would be a lot more functional and look 10x better. Oh well. 

And be much cheaper.  Mobilization costs, especially at a University, are a huge percent of overall cost.  Additionally, construction costs are only going to rise the longer we wait.

[AUApostle 7,651]

4 hours ago, lionheartkc said:

Let's face it... the players don't give a crap about what it looks like on the outside, and that's what these renovations are all about... recruiting.

Recruits care about the outside appearance.  FSU's massive brick stadium is a big recruiting tool.  It has an impressive appearance which wows recruits. Their facilities on the inside are blah...but the look on the outside gives a wow factor.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

10 minutes ago, AUDevil said:

Recruits care about the outside appearance.  FSU's massive brick stadium is a big recruiting tool.  It has an impressive appearance which wows recruits. Their facilities on the inside are blah...but the look on the outside gives a wow factor.

I guarantee you that if you show a player facilities like Clemson is building or Oregon has to pamper their team and then you show them a pretty stadium... they are going for the pampering. After all, their preferred view from the stadium is on the inside.  I doubt you can find one FSU player who sites the pretty stadium as a reason they chose to go there.

[AUApostle 7,651]

16 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

  I doubt you can find one FSU player who sites the pretty stadium as a reason they chose to go there.

I've only master planned 500,000 sf of space for FSU athletics where I interviewed players, alumni, and the coaching/leadership staff of 35 sports/programs.  What do I know?

 

Don't think about what would impress you...think about what would impress a 17 year old driving up to a campus for the first time.  That first first impression is big.  The "wow" moment is king.

 

I personally think their stadium is overblown and not a great design...but the shear size and setting is jaw dropping to athletes.  It's got bling that communicates "athletics is THE most important thing here and you will be treated like a God b/c you play for FSU".

[lionheartkc 6,150]

28 minutes ago, AUDevil said:

I've only master planned 500,000 sf of space for FSU athletics where I interviewed players, alumni, and the coaching/leadership staff of 35 sports/programs.  What do I know?

 

Don't think about what would impress you...think about what would impress a 17 year old driving up to a campus for the first time.  That first first impression is big.  The "wow" moment is king.

 

I personally think their stadium is overblown and not a great design...but the shear size and setting is jaw dropping to athletes.  It's got bling that communicates "athletics is THE most important thing here and you will be treated like a God b/c you play for FSU".

I get it... great first impression, but how much impact does that first impression have 6-months, a year, even 2 years into the recruiting process when they've been on campus several times? What they want to know is that they are going to have fun, have the best food, the best training facilities, the best coaching, the hottest girls, as many rings as they can get their hands on, and to get to make an impression on the NFL by playing on national TV in big games... all while being treated like kings. As long as Auburn can offer them all of the above, the external appearance of Jordan Hare could never change and the players wouldn't care. We learned that the hard way with the Aubietron.  Jacobs thought it would have that "wow" factor, but once they've seen their picture on it, or played a round of Madden... the new is gone and the wow with it. 

The fans, on the other hand... they want the stadium that they can be proud to show their friends pictures of because we don't get to play with all of the athlete's toys anyway.

If you want to throw around credentials... I'm a creative director for marketing for an international company.  My job is to sell people without actually having any personal contact with them. 

[Randman5000 4,229]

10 hours ago, lionheartkc said:

I'm not familiar with that, so I'll take your word for it. 

Think University of Cincinnati s new buildings around their stadium, or some of University of Oregon's football facilities.