Roos Field Renovation

[clawman1]

For everyone knocking the additional parking and I assume the lights etc., do you know if the funds came through the athletic dept., the University, or maybe even the foundation?

The real question is: "why does it matter?" If the money is coming from somewhere, then the money exists. I don't think it makes any sense to play the bureaucrats game of "which budget is taking the hit." If the money is coming from the university, than it is just a matter of re-allocating it. I couldn't possibly imagine the foundation would be kicking in money for a university facilities project.

As everyone knows it does matter. Common sense be damned.

 

[EdubU10]

Also to be considered: EWU is doing a remodel of the PUB and doing a complete replacement of the science building next summer. That's a lot of money going into facilities not named Roos.

 

[ewueagle2010]

Also to be considered: EWU is doing a remodel of the PUB and doing a complete replacement of the science building next summer. That's a lot of money going into facilities not named Roos.

Although I am beyond frustrated that nothing is happening with the stadium, one must understand the difference here. The PUB is being funding through students funds, which they voted to approve a couple years ago (similar to the URC). The science building is an education building, and it's been something talked about since my freshman year on campus. Right or wrong, there is little to no push back from anyone when you talk about remodeling, building an education building. As we know, as soon as a sport is mentioned, people go nuts.

 

[EdubU10]

Appreciate the explanation on that. The frustration part that I know a lot of us share is the fact a stadium renovation/expansion/new build is most likely going to have to come from private donors, which EWU doesn't have a big base of.

Also doesn't look good when Montana can put in new turf in what seems like a week along with a killer new scoreboard and we haven't done squat. We're bush league when it comes to facilities.

 

[ewueagle2010]

Appreciate the explanation on that. The frustration part that I know a lot of us share is the fact a stadium renovation/expansion/new build is most likely going to have to come from private donors, which EWU doesn't have a big base of.

Also doesn't look good when Montana can put in new turf in what seems like a week along with a killer new scoreboard and we haven't done squat. We're bush league when it comes to facilities.

Agree 100%. However, in MT's case, it helps to have a sugar daddy in the Washington family.

 

[Eagledawg]

You bring up a good point about Montana's turf. I read an article about their new turf and it said that the old turf should have had a 10 year life but after 8 years it was worn out. So here's my thought. If EWU needed a private donation from Michael Roos to get artificial turf to begin with and now that that turf will need replacing in the next 2-4 years, it will probably be all that the athletic department can do is to find the funding for turf replacement let alone a stadium upgrade or a new stadium at a new location. When the red turf went in I wonder if they had a dedicated plan in place to set funds aside for its eventual replacement or are they going to worry about it when the time comes?

 

[kalm]

You bring up a good point about Montana's turf. I read an article about their new turf and it said that the old turf should have had a 10 year life but after 8 years it was worn out. So here's my thought. If EWU needed a private donation from Michael Roos to get artificial turf to begin with and now that that turf will need replacing in the next 2-4 years, it will probably be all that the athletic department can do is to find the funding for turf replacement let alone a stadium upgrade or a new stadium at a new location. When the red turf went in I wonder if they had a dedicated plan in place to set funds aside for its eventual replacement or are they going to worry about it when the time comes?

Good question. You would think that falls under a general facilities budget of some sort. Plus you have the savings from not having to maintain the grass (water, fertilizer, wages) which, over the course of a decade could add up to $100,000 if not more.

 

[Obzerver]

General facilities budget of sorts makes sense. The turf has a life/warranty that could be tied into insurance and liability issues. If there is a liability and/or safety issues involved with the turf it will need to be replaced to avoid potential problems and that's one thing the university will attend to with certainty. So, I assume some plan is in place...hmmm.

 

[MLEagle]

You bring up a good point about Montana's turf. I read an article about their new turf and it said that the old turf should have had a 10 year life but after 8 years it was worn out. So here's my thought. If EWU needed a private donation from Michael Roos to get artificial turf to begin with and now that that turf will need replacing in the next 2-4 years, it will probably be all that the athletic department can do is to find the funding for turf replacement let alone a stadium upgrade or a new stadium at a new location. When the red turf went in I wonder if they had a dedicated plan in place to set funds aside for its eventual replacement or are they going to worry about it when the time comes?

I'm sure replacement falls under general facilities maintenance. Also, turf replacement is much cheaper then Changing from grass to turf because all the excavation, base materials, drainage, etc. is all ready done, just putting in new carpet.

 

[EdubU10]

If i remember correctly, when they installed the red turf, the university said it would save about 300,000 gallons a year plus maintenance. Not sure when the ROI is but from a player perspective, it seems turf > grass.

 

[Get'emGriz]

Also to be considered: EWU is doing a remodel of the PUB and doing a complete replacement of the science building next summer. That's a lot of money going into facilities not named Roos.

Although I am beyond frustrated that nothing is happening with the stadium, one must understand the difference here. The PUB is being funding through students funds, which they voted to approve a couple years ago (similar to the URC). The science building is an education building, and it's been something talked about since my freshman year on campus. Right or wrong, there is little to no push back from anyone when you talk about remodeling, building an education building. As we know, as soon as a sport is mentioned, people go nuts.

It's amazing how ignorant people are when it comes to understanding the difference between athletics and academics, and where the money to pay for stuff on both sides comes from. Back when UM's Champions Center was announced to cost $14 million, many people went absolutely nuts over it. A lot of people would complain and say things like, "Of course the University is spending money on athletics when classes and jobs are being cut", or "That money would have been better used for academics to save some of the jobs that are being cut"... :roll: Every time I heard this, I'd beat a dead horse trying to explain it to them... The entire project is being funded by private donations given specifically to athletics, and not only that, but the UM gets more academic donations annually than the athletic department gets, so their complaints really don't hold any merit. It's amazing how people don't understand this stuff, but when something doesn't fit your agenda, facts won't help you.

 

[360Eag]

Although I am beyond frustrated that nothing is happening with the stadium, one must understand the difference here. The PUB is being funding through students funds, which they voted to approve a couple years ago (similar to the URC). The science building is an education building, and it's been something talked about since my freshman year on campus. Right or wrong, there is little to no push back from anyone when you talk about remodeling, building an education building. As we know, as soon as a sport is mentioned, people go nuts.

No complaints from me on the science building getting upgraded. That place needs it.

 

[ewueagle2010]

Although I am beyond frustrated that nothing is happening with the stadium, one must understand the difference here. The PUB is being funding through students funds, which they voted to approve a couple years ago (similar to the URC). The science building is an education building, and it's been something talked about since my freshman year on campus. Right or wrong, there is little to no push back from anyone when you talk about remodeling, building an education building. As we know, as soon as a sport is mentioned, people go nuts.

No complaints from me on the science building getting upgraded. That place needs it.

I have no complaints either. Nor do I have complaints about the PUB remodel. These are both things that will help the University and need to be done. My only point and as Get'emGriz pointed out, theses are separate money pools and don't effect each other.

 

[BLACKFALKIN1]

Also to be considered: EWU is doing a remodel of the PUB and doing a complete replacement of the science building next summer. That's a lot of money going into facilities not named Roos.

Although I am beyond frustrated that nothing is happening with the stadium, one must understand the difference here. The PUB is being funding through students funds, which they voted to approve a couple years ago (similar to the URC). The science building is an education building, and it's been something talked about since my freshman year on campus. Right or wrong, there is little to no push back from anyone when you talk about remodeling, building an education building. As we know, as soon as a sport is mentioned, people go nuts.

It's amazing how ignorant people are when it comes to understanding the difference between athletics and academics, and where the money to pay for stuff on both sides comes from. Back when UM's Champions Center was announced to cost $14 million, many people went absolutely nuts over it. A lot of people would complain and say things like, "Of course the University is spending money on athletics when classes and jobs are being cut", or "That money would have been better used for academics to save some of the jobs that are being cut"... :roll: Every time I heard this, I'd beat a dead horse trying to explain it to them... The entire project is being funded by private donations given specifically to athletics, and not only that, but the UM gets more academic donations annually than the athletic department gets, so their complaints really don't hold any merit. It's amazing how people don't understand this stuff, but when something doesn't fit your agenda, facts won't help you.

Gotta question for ya. What's your perspective/opinion on this EWU stadium expansion/renovation/rebuild ? What's a solution that's feasible? I'm assuming you're somewhat familiar with EWU & BigSky Football.

 

[eaglesfootball]

Also to be considered: EWU is doing a remodel of the PUB and doing a complete replacement of the science building next summer. That's a lot of money going into facilities not named Roos.

Although I am beyond frustrated that nothing is happening with the stadium, one must understand the difference here. The PUB is being funding through students funds, which they voted to approve a couple years ago (similar to the URC). The science building is an education building, and it's been something talked about since my freshman year on campus. Right or wrong, there is little to no push back from anyone when you talk about remodeling, building an education building. As we know, as soon as a sport is mentioned, people go nuts.

It's amazing how ignorant people are when it comes to understanding the difference between athletics and academics, and where the money to pay for stuff on both sides comes from. Back when UM's Champions Center was announced to cost $14 million, many people went absolutely nuts over it. A lot of people would complain and say things like, "Of course the University is spending money on athletics when classes and jobs are being cut", or "That money would have been better used for academics to save some of the jobs that are being cut"... :roll: Every time I heard this, I'd beat a dead horse trying to explain it to them... The entire project is being funded by private donations given specifically to athletics, and not only that, but the UM gets more academic donations annually than the athletic department gets, so their complaints really don't hold any merit. It's amazing how people don't understand this stuff, but when something doesn't fit your agenda, facts won't help you.

amen!

 

[FormerEag]

"Scotty (guest): How 'bout that Gateway Project?

Jim: Sorry, but it's not happening. Rumor is that the school will work with the existing stadium."

-From the football live chat transcript on SR.com. Looks like it's time to put this thread to bed. hno:

 

[scottywashere11]

"Scotty (guest): How 'bout that Gateway Project?

Jim: Sorry, but it's not happening. Rumor is that the school will work with the existing stadium."

-From the football live chat transcript on SR.com. Looks like it's time to put this thread to bed. hno:

Yeah... that response sucked to hear. But hey, we have been quoted on this forum before by the Spokesman Review in regards to stadium renovations. We should continue talking about possible alternatives. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. There is not many other places, other than the EWU TAILGATE! Facebook page, that we can express our dissatisfaction among one another. The only other option is to continue bombarding the administration with emails and letters to prioritize some sort of renovation.

 

[LDopaPDX]

"Scotty (guest): How 'bout that Gateway Project?

Jim: Sorry, but it's not happening. Rumor is that the school will work with the existing stadium."

-From the football live chat transcript on SR.com. Looks like it's time to put this thread to bed. hno:

Yeah... that response sucked to hear. But hey, we have been quoted on this forum before by the Spokesman Review in regards to stadium renovations. We should continue talking about possible alternatives. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. There is not many other places, other than the EWU TAILGATE! Facebook page, that we can express our dissatisfaction among one another. The only other option is to continue bombarding the administration with emails and letters to prioritize some sort of renovation.

Well, I suppose that completely closes the door on the new stadium site that our AD was discussing as recently as a month ago. No real surprise there.

However, does that mean we are going to expand on the current site? Or is that us being told to shut up and forget about it?

With all due respect to Jim, whatever our AD is trying to do ought to be explained to the fanbase. Jim is just a messenger; ultimately, the AD needs to address the issue publicly. It's obviously enough of an issue that it is going to come up again and again, so it would certainly be appreciated if the AD would make some sort of statement to the students, fans, and donors. Honestly, I feel the lack of information on this topic after a rather elaborate press release and money obviously spent on Gateway Project marketing materials is a little low brow and very dismissive of Eastern's core group of supporters.

 

[wrrolling]

Its hard to write a check for something that no one is willing to attempt to define or commit to. Especially when we've heard and seen all of the indecision and unwillingness to commit by the folks in charge of building the plan.

 

[scottywashere11]

"Scotty (guest): How 'bout that Gateway Project?

Jim: Sorry, but it's not happening. Rumor is that the school will work with the existing stadium."

-From the football live chat transcript on SR.com. Looks like it's time to put this thread to bed. hno:

Yeah... that response sucked to hear. But hey, we have been quoted on this forum before by the Spokesman Review in regards to stadium renovations. We should continue talking about possible alternatives. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. There is not many other places, other than the EWU TAILGATE! Facebook page, that we can express our dissatisfaction among one another. The only other option is to continue bombarding the administration with emails and letters to prioritize some sort of renovation.

Well, I suppose that completely closes the door on the new stadium site that our AD was discussing as recently as a month ago. No real surprise there.

However, does that mean we are going to expand on the current site? Or is that us being told to shut up and forget about it?

With all due respect to Jim, whatever our AD is trying to do ought to be explained to the fanbase. Jim is just a messenger; ultimately, the AD needs to address the issue publicly. It's obviously enough of an issue that it is going to come up again and again, so it would certainly be appreciated if the AD would make some sort of statement to the students, fans, and donors. Honestly, I feel the lack of information on this topic after a rather elaborate press release and money obviously spent on Gateway Project marketing materials is a little low brow and very dismissive of Eastern's core group of supporters.

This is certainly the worst deal for our Athletic Director. It's frustrating, and you want to hold someone accountable for publishing and marketing the Gatewy Project, thus inciting expectations of a stadium renovation atleast, and not only not delivering, but not communicating with the students, alumni, and fans on any progress whatsoever. He is a great AD, and he has done so much for EWU, but this is a tough subject to talk about and not want to hold someone accountable. If he could go back in time, I would expect that he wished he would have not ever gone public in the first place with it. Now that we are over half a decade from the 2010 national championship, we do not exactly have the same momentum we once had. We are still plenty relevant, what with playing so hard against PAC-12 teams and always being in the spotlight a few times per year, but we, unfortunately, did not strike while the iron was hot. Soooo... That's fine, but if we court just start getting some small scale material moved around to increase seating, that would be great.

Also, thought it was funny to note that the GWP's "target opening date is September 2016" :lol: .