Stadium News

[Alan1]

dearest alan: I like your self reference . " butts" in the seats.

I liked too, but it bigskyconf's line.

 

[Alan1]

Per OLive's Ken Goe: "...if the Vikings can’t raise the funding, isn’t that in itself a statement about the program’s viability?"

Interesting point, then. If the Vikings can't raise the funding,that is a statement about "viability". But if they do, then it has nothing to do with "viability" (only butts in the seats)? Is that what you're saying?

bigskyconf: A viable D1 football program draws more that the 3,000+ we had at each our first two home games and the 3,800 we averaged last year. No one is going to fork over $65 million to satisfy the football craving of just a few thousand die-hards. If PSU can demonstrate to potential donors that it has a program that draws close to capacity, it is possible that the required money to have a downtown facility could be raised. If not, Goe is right. For the for coming decade I expect we will be playing before very small crowds out in the ‘burbs, if we are playing football at all.

 

[bigskyconf]

Per OLive's Ken Goe: "...if the Vikings can’t raise the funding, isn’t that in itself a statement about the program’s viability?"

Interesting point, then. If the Vikings can't raise the funding,that is a statement about "viability". But if they do, then it has nothing to do with "viability" (only butts in the seats)? Is that what you're saying?

bigskyconf: A viable D1 football program draws more that the 3,000+ we had at each our first two home games and the 3,800 we averaged last year. No one is going to fork over $65 million to satisfy the football craving of just a few thousand die-hards. If PSU can demonstrate to potential donors that it has a program that draws close to capacity, it is possible that the required money to have a downtown facility could be raised. If not, Goe is right. For the for coming decade I expect we will be playing before very small crowds out in the ‘burbs, if we are playing football at all.

If you build it, they will come.

 

[Alan1]

Per OLive's Ken Goe: "...if the Vikings can’t raise the funding, isn’t that in itself a statement about the program’s viability?"

Interesting point, then. If the Vikings can't raise the funding,that is a statement about "viability". But if they do, then it has nothing to do with "viability" (only butts in the seats)? Is that what you're saying?

bigskyconf: A viable D1 football program draws more that the 3,000+ we had at each our first two home games and the 3,800 we averaged last year. No one is going to fork over $65 million to satisfy the football craving of just a few thousand die-hards. If PSU can demonstrate to potential donors that it has a program that draws close to capacity, it is possible that the required money to have a downtown facility could be raised. If not, Goe is right. For the for coming decade I expect we will be playing before very small crowds out in the ‘burbs, if we are playing football at all.

If you build it, they will come.

All we need now to prove you are correct is $65 million in non-university funds.

 

[bigskyconf]

Per OLive's Ken Goe: "...if the Vikings can’t raise the funding, isn’t that in itself a statement about the program’s viability?"

Interesting point, then. If the Vikings can't raise the funding,that is a statement about "viability". But if they do, then it has nothing to do with "viability" (only butts in the seats)? Is that what you're saying?

bigskyconf: A viable D1 football program draws more that the 3,000+ we had at each our first two home games and the 3,800 we averaged last year. No one is going to fork over $65 million to satisfy the football craving of just a few thousand die-hards. If PSU can demonstrate to potential donors that it has a program that draws close to capacity, it is possible that the required money to have a downtown facility could be raised. If not, Goe is right. For the for coming decade I expect we will be playing before very small crowds out in the ‘burbs, if we are playing football at all.

If you build it, they will come.

All we need now to prove you are correct is $65 million in non-university funds.

And your WOU season tickets. :lol:

 

[Pounder]

I should not have been surprised by this. I'm surprised.

https://www.oregonlive.com/timbers/2019/10/hillsboro-hops-to-oversee-business-operations-for-portland-timbers-usl-championship-club-t2-moving-forward.html

I don't think this affects Portland State football in terms of scheduling for the near term. T2 home games are generally scheduled to not interfere with the Timbers or Thorns, and while the USL season now goes on two weeks past the MLS season, it's easy to schedule that on a Friday or Sunday. T2 is used to that.

I'm curious to see how Portland State soccer schedules to that.

I should note: the equivalent team in Seattle has a very similar arrangement with the Tacoma Rainiers that T2 will have with the Hops, so "Sounders 2" renamed to "Tacoma Defiance" last year and played in the ballpark in Tacoma while talks continue to build a 5,000-seat soccer stadium in Tacoma.

One thing for sure; the turf needed changing eons ago. For whatever time Portland State football remains in Hillsboro, that probably helps. Maybe... not sure I want to get into the intricacies of which sports prefer which types of turf.

I do wonder what happens to, say, Central Catholic football in there. There's also rec users of the stadium field questioning what happens next. Shrug.

 

[martymoose]

I should not have been surprised by this. I'm surprised.

https://www.oregonlive.com/timbers/2019/10/hillsboro-hops-to-oversee-business-operations-for-portland-timbers-usl-championship-club-t2-moving-forward.html

I don't think this affects Portland State football in terms of scheduling for the near term. T2 home games are generally scheduled to not interfere with the Timbers or Thorns, and while the USL season now goes on two weeks past the MLS season, it's easy to schedule that on a Friday or Sunday. T2 is used to that.

I'm curious to see how Portland State soccer schedules to that.

I should note: the equivalent team in Seattle has a very similar arrangement with the Tacoma Rainiers that T2 will have with the Hops, so "Sounders 2" renamed to "Tacoma Defiance" last year and played in the ballpark in Tacoma while talks continue to build a 5,000-seat soccer stadium in Tacoma.

One thing for sure; the turf needed changing eons ago. For whatever time Portland State football remains in Hillsboro, that probably helps. Maybe... not sure I want to get into the intricacies of which sports prefer which types of turf.

I do wonder what happens to, say, Central Catholic football in there. There's also rec users of the stadium field questioning what happens next. Shrug.

I read this earlier and had the same thoughts on PSU football, and didn't really think that it would have an impact on our scheduling.

Now PSU women's soccer like you mentioned, that's an issue. It's Friday/Sunday for home conference games, so it'll be interesting to see what happens with a scheduling conflict, which in looking at both the PSU and the T2 past schedules, seems imminent.

 

[Alan1]

I should not have been surprised by this. I'm surprised.

https://www.oregonlive.com/timbers/2019/10/hillsboro-hops-to-oversee-business-operations-for-portland-timbers-usl-championship-club-t2-moving-forward.html

I don't think this affects Portland State football in terms of scheduling for the near term. T2 home games are generally scheduled to not interfere with the Timbers or Thorns, and while the USL season now goes on two weeks past the MLS season, it's easy to schedule that on a Friday or Sunday. T2 is used to that.

I'm curious to see how Portland State soccer schedules to that.

I should note: the equivalent team in Seattle has a very similar arrangement with the Tacoma Rainiers that T2 will have with the Hops, so "Sounders 2" renamed to "Tacoma Defiance" last year and played in the ballpark in Tacoma while talks continue to build a 5,000-seat soccer stadium in Tacoma.

One thing for sure; the turf needed changing eons ago. For whatever time Portland State football remains in Hillsboro, that probably helps. Maybe... not sure I want to get into the intricacies of which sports prefer which types of turf.

I do wonder what happens to, say, Central Catholic football in there. There's also rec users of the stadium field questioning what happens next. Shrug.

I read this earlier and had the same thoughts on PSU football, and didn't really think that it would have an impact on our scheduling.

Now PSU women's soccer like you mentioned, that's an issue. It's Friday/Sunday for home conference games, so it'll be interesting to see what happens with a scheduling conflict, which in looking at both the PSU and the T2 past schedules, seems imminent.

So, let me get this straight. Merritt Paulson kicked us off his soccer pitch (located in a city owned stadium) 20 miles out of town to play our football games on Century High School's home field (aka Hillsboro Stadium); where for some bizzare reason we also play our soccer matches and, on adjacent fields, our softball games. Now, the Portland soccer impresario cuts deals with the City of Hillsboro and the Hillsboro Hops to play his T2 soccer team guess where? The Stadium that hosts Viking football and soccer. Start getting PSU football and soccer played on dates that don't conflict with T2 practices and matches.

 

[Pounder]

So, let me get this straight. Merritt Paulson kicked us off his soccer pitch (located in a city owned stadium) 20 miles out of town to play our football games on Century High School's home field (aka Hillsboro Stadium); where for some bizzare reason we also play our soccer matches and, on adjacent fields, our softball games. Now, the Portland soccer impresario cuts deals with the City of Hillsboro and the Hillsboro Hops to play his T2 soccer team guess where? The Stadium that hosts Viking football and soccer. Start getting PSU football and soccer played on dates that don't conflict with T2 practices and matches.

T2 shares a Beaverton practice facility with Timbers and Thorns. That's not an issue.

There is something I should mention about college schedules. Up at the Bluff, UP and the WCC have changed their soccer scheduling model to what the Big West has been using: Wednesdays and Saturdays instead of Fridays and Sundays. That scheduling makes prime sense from a fatigue standpoint. The Big West has bumped average attendance; whether that's from this or from the rivalry between UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly (which fills Spanos Stadium more than the football program does, and provides similar crowds at UCSB)... hard to say. I'm not about to deep dive into that league's attendance numbers. Of course, in the current alignment, this makes no sense for the Big Sky simply due to the geography. Considering there's an article every other month out of Billings or Bozeman decrying the size of the Big Sky, eh, who knows.

 

[bigskyconf]

From what I've been able to gather, we have an agreement with the City of Hillsboro for use of the stadium through 2023. Big Sky Conference football schedules have been set through 2023 and those dates are reserved for PSU football at Hillsboro Stadium. I believe this agreement also covers the soccer and softball teams through 2023 as well.

We entered into this with the understanding from everyone that Hillsboro is "temporary". Therefore, it is our best interest to have this stadium fiasco figured out by 2024.

 

[Alan1]

Stott is our football future. Figure out how many seats you can cram around it (maybe 1,000?) and televise games back to the Pavilion and all over campus. We can promote it as the future of the football fan experience! :nod:

 

[Pounder]

I'll put it this way...

EWU has a sort of scoreboard on their website documenting their stadium improvement fundraising progress. Scroll to the bottom of the first text box.

https://www.ewu.edu/stadium/

When you consider $5 million of this happened right off the bat in a single record-setting donation, it becomes a little more underwhelming than it should be. They've been doing this for several weeks now.

Even more curious... EWU is upfront about trying to add value to the experience, to pay for this with the expectation of some raised ticket prices and some luxury accommodations. What they are NOT doing is proposing to raise capacity.

My cursory perusal of the Portland State website... there's nothing I can find in the expected locations.

Maybe my conclusion is harsh... there is no intent to partner with PPS at Lincoln. There most certainly isn't any demonstrated effort. EWU can at least raise funds for several years. The timetable with Lincoln is anything but forgiving.

 

[Alan1]

I'll put it this way...

EWU has a sort of scoreboard on their website documenting their stadium improvement fundraising progress. Scroll to the bottom of the first text box.

https://www.ewu.edu/stadium/

When you consider $5 million of this happened right off the bat in a single record-setting donation, it becomes a little more underwhelming than it should be. They've been doing this for several weeks now.

Even more curious... EWU is upfront about trying to add value to the experience, to pay for this with the expectation of some raised ticket prices and some luxury accommodations. What they are NOT doing is proposing to raise capacity.

My cursory perusal of the Portland State website... there's nothing I can find in the expected locations.

Maybe my conclusion is harsh... there is no intent to partner with PPS at Lincoln. There most certainly isn't any demonstrated effort. EWU can at least raise funds for several years. The timetable with Lincoln is anything but forgiving.

I suppose it is possible that some time in the somewhat distant future we will be playing our home games in the vicinity of our campus. However, I believe there is little probability of that happening. It is much more likely that Hillsboro will be our football home for the duration.