Roos Field Renovation

[Vic E. Wallace]

EWUSigep447,
Hate to be this blunt. After all this different talk, I have given up on the Project. If it comes I will be happy, if not I will continue to support our Eagles. Vic Wallace

 

[LDopaPDX]

Looks like Bill Chavez is backing down from the original ambitious Gateway Project plans. Here's a podcast from this last week where he speaks about different paths and options rather than the original schematics.

http://static.psbin.com/e/u/nvfpjbdbxg5kdt/0114ad2.mp3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Great posting, thank you for that.

I know Mark Hughes is the point-man trying to get this off the ground, so it would have been nice to hear his input.

I think Chaves passive-aggressively called out the VP on the topic during the interview. If this is a mixed-use project, as the original plan called for, why the hell would the university not be kicking in a bunch of money? When the East Side multi-use was originally approved back in the late 90s (before the university leadership dropped the project for other facilities projects), it included a lot of state money allocated to build a child care facility inside the complex.

If this is going to be strictly based off donations, then I fully support scaling down the project to a football-only finished project. 6,000 fixed seats and a few more luxury boxes on the top is perfectly sufficient for us and would put us into the correct type of stadium. The bottom line is what we have now is not level-appropriate and immediate steps are required to rectify the situation.

Lastly, I'm TOTALLY OPPOSED* to Eastern moving to FBS. I could give a thousand reasons, but there is no way it makes sense for our university. The asterisk involves the breaking out of a middle tier of lower FBS teams and better FCS teams to a new level. In that case, it would make sense to re-align with the Idaho's, New Mexico State's and San Jose State's of the World. I doubt all Big Sky teams could be a part of that transition, which would suck, but frankly I'm not sure UNC and Southern Utah were great fits to begin with.... But a move up just to be a move up is a horrible idea.

 

[LDopaPDX]

EWUSigep447,
Hate to be this blunt. After all this different talk, I have given up on the Project. If it comes I will be happy, if not I will continue to support our Eagles. Vic Wallace

I get what you're saying Vic, but I have the utmost confidence that SOMETHING will get built. It might not look anything like the schematic, but I think everyone at the university understands they throw revenue away at every home game by not being able to accommodate a larger capacity. While it would be a disappointment, I think the worst case scenario is an East grandstand that looks like a much larger version of the endzone grandstand to the tune of 5,000 seats.

Frankly, I'm not quite sure why Eastern didn't put those down when they renovated the last time instead of the much smaller erector set bleacher in there now.

 

[Vic E. Wallace]

LDopaPDX,
Thanks for the input, and your confidence. I've had my hopes up for years, and my hopes have been zapped to a point, it doesn't bother me anymore if "The Gateway Project" comes or not. We are not getting any younger . Again thanks for your confidence, honestly, this gives me some hope, because you are familiar with what is going on at EWU. "I will keep the faith Bro" :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Vic Wallace

 

[JoinTheEAF]

Here's a little distraction from the east coast. Whoever came up with this red turf idea was a genius.


http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2/news/news.aspx?id=795209" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The turf project has a budget of $1.2 million.

"When the decision to install an artificial turf field was made, it only made sense that the turf be teal," Coastal Carolina interim director of athletics Matt Hogue said. "In addition to our winning tradition, we are known nationally for our distinctive color scheme. And it's not just the color our teams wear, but a campus-wide identity. We felt this would be a great opportunity to further build that brand."

Coastal Carolina's football program has taken on national prominence in recent seasons. The Chanticleers have reached the FCS national quarterfinals in each of the past two years, and they finished fifth in the final Top 25 poll earlier this month.

 

[Seattle Eagle]

EWUSigep447,
Hate to be this blunt. After all this different talk, I have given up on the Project. If it comes I will be happy, if not I will continue to support our Eagles. Vic Wallace

I get what you're saying Vic, but I have the utmost confidence that SOMETHING will get built. It might not look anything like the schematic, but I think everyone at the university understands they throw revenue away at every home game by not being able to accommodate a larger capacity. While it would be a disappointment, I think the worst case scenario is an East grandstand that looks like a much larger version of the endzone grandstand to the tune of 5,000 seats.

Frankly, I'm not quite sure why Eastern didn't put those down when they renovated the last time instead of the much smaller erector set bleacher in there now.

The multi-use concept is a great idea that can be funded later on in the future. I think the priority should be laying the foundation for that project. So, removing the track and adding about 7,000 seats on that side. I think everyone is in agreement that the magic number should be over 15,000,000 seats. Anything less than that is not worth doing because we'll be stuck with that configuration in the long-term.

 

[Eaglefanatical]

My understand is that the President is getting involved with this in order to identify the way ahead. I don't know whether that means they are going to try to stick with the original plan or otherwise.

 

[InferNoMercy]

The multi-use concept is a great idea that can be funded later on in the future. I think the priority should be laying the foundation for that project. So, removing the track and adding about 7,000 seats on that side. I think everyone is in agreement that the magic number should be over 15,000,000 seats. Anything less than that is not worth doing because we'll be stuck with that configuration in the long-term.

15 million is a touch ambitious :lol:

 

[GROUND&POUND]

I don't know what it's about, or which idea it is exactly but did hear that the current idea being pushied to the front is the Horseshoe plan to add to the stadium. For whatever that is worth.

 

[Rafter_Reese]

Whatever direction the university decides to go in, one thing is essential: The track needs to go. Bringing the fans closer to the field will enhance the whole football experience for both the fans and the players. This is a no brainer and I hope EWU has that figured out.

from the Rafters....
go Eags!

 

[GROUND&POUND]

Whatever direction the university decides to go in, one thing is essential: The track needs to go. Bringing the fans closer to the field will enhance the whole football experience for both the fans and the players. This is a no brainer and I hope EWU has that figured out.

from the Rafters....
go Eags!

I sure like that idea. It could get really loud if we do it.

 

[clawman1]

I have no idea what dimension the current layout is or what amount of room there needs to be. If the field was lowered and seating was added in the edges of the hole so to speak, how many seats could that add? This would add a level of fans closer to the field and this work would be necessary in the next phase which would be a new grand stand on the east side.
It appears any expansions and improvements will have to be the piecemeal type since the "major" donor is either phantom or bailed on the Gateway.
I guess instead of a gateway into the University there will be a cattle gate!
Will the new president look back on this as her legacy?

 

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Whatever direction the university decides to go in, one thing is essential: The track needs to go. Bringing the fans closer to the field will enhance the whole football experience for both the fans and the players. This is a no brainer and I hope EWU has that figured out.

from the Rafters....
go Eags!

I agree. I don't know how much it would cost, but move the track, lower the field, extend the seating to bridge the gap on the home side, and build a permanent base on the East side that holds at least the equivalent of the current home side, but that can be expanded/built upon like the Griz did with WA-Griz. That would bump up the seating to around 15,600.

Home = 6,000 + 1,000ish (when extended to lowered field).
Away = 7,000 new, expandable structure.
Endzone = Leave as is for now (1,600).

 

[EWUSigep447]

Quote from the Oregon Live- "Adams asked for and received from Eastern Washington his permission to speak with other programs and visited Oregon's campus the last weekend of January. The facilities were a selling point -- the barbershop in the locker room was particularly eye-catching, he said"

I know Oregon has one of the best facilities in the nation, but maybe they would look at least less appealing if they weren't fifty TIMES better than Eastern's concrete-bench stadium without a basic visitor's area. Our facilities require our opposing team to walk through drunk EWU fans and students for god sake! We've already seen how that turned out a million times, including when Sam Houston came to town this last season. Those poor kids travelled all the way from Texas to play in Cheney (regardless if they have become a new rival). This needs to change. Our facilities are outrageous and maintain very little to be proud of. :thumbdown: :thumbdown: :thumbdown:


Edit: URL to the Oregon Live's article- http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2015/02/why_vernon_adams_is_coming_to.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[air045]

Quote from the Oregon Live- "Adams asked for and received from Eastern Washington his permission to speak with other programs and visited Oregon's campus the last weekend of January. The facilities were a selling point -- the barbershop in the locker room was particularly eye-catching, he said"

I know Oregon has one of the best facilities in the nation, but maybe they would look at least less appealing if they weren't fifty TIMES better than Eastern's concrete-bench stadium without a basic visitor's area. Our facilities require our opposing team to walk through drunk EWU fans and students for god sake! We've already seen how that turned out a million times, including when Sam Houston came to town this last season. Those poor kids travelled all the way from Texas to play in Cheney (regardless if they have become a new rival). This needs to change. Our facilities are outrageous and maintain very little to be proud of. :thumbdown: :thumbdown: :thumbdown:


Edit: URL to the Oregon Live's article- http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2015/02/why_vernon_adams_is_coming_to.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I think this comment seem to be going under the radar, for the most part. I'll be glad when the page is turned and we focus on the real story- the facilities.

 

[air045]

I wanted to ask for feedback and interest on the possibility of a grass root season ticket drive to show support would have any effect on the decision to take that first step in improvements by adding stands on the eye sore side of the stadium? Or maybe some type of petition of support? I would pledge to buy two and I'm sure there's plenty more who would. Just a thought and wanted to see how everyone else felt about it- Thanks

 

[LDopaPDX]

All due respect, but I don't think petitions are going to do a damn thing. Season ticket purchases help, but what the university really needs is hard donations to the project. The most effective grass roots project would be acting as a bundler and getting checks earmarked for contribution to stadium expansion upon the beginning of construction.

 

[air045]

All due respect, but I don't think petitions are going to do a damn thing. Season ticket purchases help, but what the university really needs is hard donations to the project. The most effective grass roots project would be acting as a bundler and getting checks earmarked for contribution to stadium expansion upon the beginning of construction.

Thank for reply. Ok that makes sense. Is it out of question that a grass root project can be formed at EWU to do exactly that? I'm not from this area, originally, but do I sense with all the current momentum, it may not be entirely out of question and it would be another great example on how the program is growing. In addition, as WSU continue to alienate themselves by consistently recruiting out of state and noticeably absent in the Spokane community, I think Spokane area businesses may be ready to jump in. I would guess that maybe EWU has a professional fundraising agency, but grass root efforts seem to always gets everyone's attention because it's consumers behind it and driving it, not just just business stakeholders. Just my two cents and I'm just asking the question "why not". Thanks for your patience.

 

[EWU98]

Totally agree with WSU and the alienating part...that NLI group was a joke..kids want to go to UW then to EWU for football or out of state WSU is not relevant in Washington Recruiting wwith the Pirate at the helm.

 

[EWUeag]

Ranger, why don't you start a GoFundMe drive? As the more stable of our two mods ( :lol: ), I nominate you as our representative.