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It's time to find a new house.
But Danny White has a plan, we can renovate. It may cost 45 million and take many many years,(estimating 4 million for Kunz, 4 million for stadium lowering and 1 million for sideline patio) but it will work.
Another UB AD, another game of Love it or List it.
Even with the impressive pieces of Danny White's master plan, (the field house, the dedicated football facility) when put together with UB Stadium, the positives are weighed down by the flaws of our dear old quasi-Olympic track venue.
After seeing years of plans, I'm more sure than ever that any plan that tries to salvage UB Stadium is a bad plan.
UB Stadium is a money pit, our own White Elephant courtesy of the World University Games. We tried to make it work for 20 years, but like fetch, we need to stop trying to make UB Stadium a football facility, it's not going to happen.
We could renovate UB Stadium, but there are two other options: build a new stadium, or lease a pro stadium.
If the cost of this plan for football is 45 Million, then we'd be 65% of the way to a brand new stadium. Tulane is building a 70 million dollar stadium with 50 million in hand and for 61 million in 2008, Akron got:
- a stadium
- a football HQ
- a team shop
- a video board (that is twice the size of UB's)
- 522 Club Seats
- 38 luxury boxes
- two bar areas
- upscale concessions
- Seventeen Suites, and
- a sloped, grassy hill in the end zone.
Conrad the Skeptical Buyer: Why are the coaches offices 100+ yards from the practice facility?
Realtor Danny White: "All the coaches will walk to practice together as a united front, it will promote synergy."
CSB: Why are we investing in the East Side, the amenities are non existent on that side of the stadium
RDW: "But that grandstand has good bones, look beyond what's there now and imagine what could be there"
CSB: Where is tribute to UB legends, the gift shop, enhanced lighting for those MAC night games?
RDW: "Hey, you get what you pay, for this price, UB Stadium is very competitive. And you get this wonderful Lanai"
CSB: What Lanai?
RDW: "Well sideline patio, but Lanai sounds more festive, it's like watching Hawaii football..."
We deserve better. UB never had a shot with UB Stadium, but our fans and our football team have proven resilient, especially since 2007, where UB has a 21-19 record at UB stadium and has finished .500 or better at home in 5 of the last 7 seasons. We deserve a cohesive and attractive place to be proud of, a home to defend, and not a Frankenstein of functional buildings strewn about the athletic footprint. We need something that will address competing in the MAC, but also something that will lay the groundwork to compete at higher levels.
Also what's the deal with "BULLS" in the end zone. You go out of your way to put New York on everything but you put Bulls in the end zone. Put New York in the end zone, put Buffalo in the end zone, put SUNY, but don't put Bulls, it looks like Bills and that rubs me all kinds the wrong way.
