Yet another New Stadium Topic

6,084 Views | 23 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by TallTexan
SFASawmillGuy
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So reading the topic on the Southland Football thread that has been brought up countless times on this and the previous board I think deserved its own, fresh topic.

We've discussed many, many times that Homer Bryce Stadium is dated and, for a number of reasons doesn't have the best college football feel to it. But what would be a feasible way to improve our Saturday nights in Nac?

The idea of a new stadium altogether is an interesting one, but the question is where to put it. The idea of building it where our current practice facilities are is a good one. It keeps a very good backdrop of the Piney Woods and there's room to make a very nicely sized stadium. Homer Bryce could even be kept in tact and still used for other things.

If Homer Bryce was renovated in the ways it needs to be, removing the track and moving the stands closer to the field, I believe it would be much more expensive than anyone realizes. It could be done, but would take time and be very expensive.

Doing a complete rebuild of Homer Bryce(demolishing and rebuilding) would be easier than trying to fix the current problems, but how many boosters and alumni who have only ever known Homer Bryce Stadium as there home would really be okay with that? It's easy for us to say we want something new for our football team but there are a ton of people with bigger ties and more money attached to the school who probably would throw a fit if they found out we were demolishing Homer Bryce.

And with the two above options, that means for at minimum one season our Division 1 football program would likely have to share a field with NHS or Lufkin High School.

Realistically we are probably looking at well over a decade before SFA could financially support the construction of a new football stadium, but I do think something needs to be done.

Many FCS schools have beautiful state of the art facilities and I think we should too. It would help the football atmosphere, probably bring in more fans, and attract more recruits.

Or maybe we can just throw a dome over Homer Bryce Stadium and call it the Sawmill 2.0.
TallTexan
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Man, I wish building something like the Northern Iowa's Unidome wasn't so cost prohibitive nowadays.

I think we're atleast 5 years from being able to have the kind of support we would need for a new stadium. Step 1 is having a winning team.

I think a new horseshoe or bowl type stadium is the correct answer if we're going to make a considerable investment into a football stadium. Something like Matt posted yesterday with Mercer's stadium, or Appalachian's state style setup, where the current practice fields are.

That whole side of campus is ripe for long term redevelopment because as our sawmill bard so eloquently put it, Homer Bryce is a "land gobbler". Within the current football footprint, you could realistically put a new "cozier" stadium, a practice bubble, softball & baseball & still have some room leftover.
PurpleOut
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Staff
I agree on pricing. I think the cost and effort to completely re-do Homer Bryce would be just as, if not more expensive then a new stadium. But I think it would depend on several factors, and depending on how much renovation would be needed (I think a ton).

As far as the people that wouldn't want to lose Homer Bryce all together, I get that. And there will definitely be that crowd. But like we've discussed on other athletic subjects, the "old way of doing things" is going to have to be removed. If we want to grow and be a big boy athletic department, then we'll have to act like it. And that includes us as fans. Everyone may not agree on things, but I trust Ivey has a strong vision that we need to go with on his decisions. I mean I loved my first car when I was in high school that I had through college, but that thing was a piece of crap and I needed something better.
sfajack05
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I say turn Homer Bryce into a soccer and track facility then build a new stadium somewhere else.
PurpleOut
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For discussion purposes, I made a quick/rough image, taking the current Homer Bryce and putting it where the practice fields are and part of the Tucker Woods just to see what spacing would look like. Obviously the scale isn't 100% accurate, and I purposely cut the image to be a little larger than what we would probably need. But I don't think we'd have to take out as much of the Tucker Woods as I thought.

TallTexan
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I think you could definitely get away with just the lower sectional part of Homer Bryce too, meaning it would take up even less space.

If we build a new stadium, I don't hink it makes much sense to leave Homer Bryce intact. It's a huge space eater.

I honestly think if you removed the hills & filled in the Ag pond, you could probably fit soccer/track into it's own facility with baseball & softball as well. Just a huge footprint.
PurpleOut
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It definitely takes up too much space. But I don't if it would be worth the effort and cost to remove it/part of it.

I think the best option there might be to see if we could just remove the East side hill and use that for more parking/facilities. Leave the press box side for soccer and track. You wouldn't need the other side for anything at that point.
cboothe09
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TallTexan said:

I think you could definitely get away with just the lower sectional part of Homer Bryce too, meaning it would take up even less space.

If we build a new stadium, I don't hink it makes much sense to leave Homer Bryce intact. It's a huge space eater.

I honestly think if you removed the hills & filled in the Ag pond, you could probably fit soccer/track into it's own facility with baseball & softball as well. Just a huge footprint.
Take out the hills, replace the turf with natural grass, and that is an outstanding track/soccer facility. Leave the scoreboard too....
MasterAxe
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I still long for the day our baseball/softball teams get the stadium(s) they were promised.
PurpleOut
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Staff
Agreed. While football is our biggest revenue sport and while we all want it to be bigger and better, I hope baseball and softball get their facilities first.
cboothe09
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Can you imagine what Cardenas could do with DI facilities? Hell, can you imagine what Cardenas could do with anything other than Little League facilities...
sfajack05
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MasterAxe said:

I still long for the day our baseball/softball teams get the stadium(s) they were promised.
Too bad the athletic department dropped the ball on that one.

People should have been fired. Couldn't even raise $1,000,000.
TallTexan
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PurpleOut said:

Agreed. While football is our biggest revenue sport and while we all want it to be bigger and better, I hope baseball and softball get their facilities first.


We make more off football than hoops?
BigJack85
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Real tragedy that Pilgrim Stadium or Pilgrim Park deal. Could have been a game changer for SFA baseball
Axe 'Em Jacks - Class of 85'
TallTexan
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sfajack05 said:

MasterAxe said:

I still long for the day our baseball/softball teams get the stadium(s) they were promised.
Too bad the athletic department dropped the ball on that one.

People should have been fired. Couldn't even raise $1,000,000.


That was ridiculous. And the location would have been great too.

Giving our fundraising "prowess", I'm concerned for our 100 million for 100 years campaign.
SFASawmillGuy
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TallTexan said:

PurpleOut said:

Agreed. While football is our biggest revenue sport and while we all want it to be bigger and better, I hope baseball and softball get their facilities first.


We make more off football than hoops?


Yes. In total the attendance numbers are greater in football than basketball. Tickets for football are more expensive. And the added people mean more concessions and merchandise revenue.

Also our money games against FBS schools give us SO much more money than any regular season game in basketball.

Really the only big money maker in basketball is the NCAA tournament.
SFASawmillGuy
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That being said, SFA athletics in general does not make money. No college does.
Jacks4460
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TallTexan
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SFA_03 said:

That being said, SFA athletics in general does not make money. No college does.
I'd have guessed that Basketball would be higher than football since football costs so much more.
SFASawmillGuy
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It's true that it does cost so much more but it also brings in so much more. Honestly the money game is what makes it not even close.

Still if you look at all the sports budgets vs the money they bring in, there's not a single athletic team that makes money.

Really if you're not UT or Alabama, you don't make much money from sports. College athletics has always been more of a marketing device than a money maker. It may not seem like SFA playing SUU will get us new students, but it will make some people in Utah google SFA, and any exposure SFA gets is positive exposure.
TallTexan
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SFA_03 said:

Really if you're not UT or Alabama, you don't make much money from sports. College athletics has always been more of a marketing device than a money maker. It may not seem like SFA playing SUU will get us new students, but it will make some people in Utah google SFA, and any exposure SFA gets is positive exposure.


I'm with you there. And Athletics is the best marketer we have by a wide margin.

I would like to see us be more purposeful marketing with athletics though. Get the coach in an interview with the local paper when we play on the road(like we did with Belfast), put an enrollment booth out when Longview vs Lufkin play at Homer Bryce, give out free admission codes at the marching band contests, and schedule games that can bring in people in the surrounding states.

I'm fine with playing SUU,but we'd probably be better off playing Arkansas State or Grambling.

But it's dang good marketing. And facilities definitely help with that. The more you win, the more it adds to our reach for marketing.
65tosspowertrap
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Just window-shopping and pipe-dreaming, but I came across this article from the NCAA website...pick your favorite...my pick is the stadium at Montana...second pick is at McNeese..right up on the field, intimate, and looks like pits visiting teams would not relish visiting...

https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2017-07-23/fcs-football-10-best-stadiums-visit-according-fans

Axe 'Em

C. Martin '87
"Just keep matriculatin' the ball down the field boys!" — Hank Stram

https://youtu.be/MnPr1R_QlTM
BigJack85
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Like it powertrap. I've been to Montana. Back in the 90's I was transferred.... I'd like something like Washington-Grizzly Stadium backed into the Tucker woods or built into a bowl like the intramural fields. That would be cool.
Axe 'Em Jacks - Class of 85'
TallTexan
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If I ever get the chance, catching a game at Montana is on the list.
TallTexan
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Question about the McNeese stadium. It looks to me that if we wanted to match that, we could leave the home side & just add a lot of dirt to give us a cozier bowl around the field.

Basically take the top of the hill on the visitors side & & use it to fill in. Then you'd be looking at adding a visitors side stands, a new addition to the football offices to give you a better looking building & moving the scoreboard.

To me, that should be the most cost-effective option.
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