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Has anyone ever opened and closed an on-campus stadium on the same day?

Hurracanes said:
Most of the people that are against this stadium are the ones who do not want to drive to Miami because HRS is closer to their home. They are only looking at their inconvenience and looking for petty reasons, such as traffic, to argue against the stadium. They are legit cheering against a family that has given this program so many resources to make us competitive. It’s mind boggling. Thankfully, IF it happens, the smarter people in charge will be thrilled about this amazing gift and opportunity for the entire Athletic Department.

Btw, expect some designs in 3-4 months. I hear it’s going to be Ray J, cray, cray.
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If those northern fans don't want to drive to Miami, will enough tickets be sold to justify the move? People are upset at the giant Golden Canes sections looking empty now.
 
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Hard Rock can currently seat 65K for football. We are 33rd in college football.

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A 60,000 seat stadium would put us at 47th, equal with West Virginia, and just behind schools like Mississippi State, North Carolina, Cal, Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois and Oklahoma State (all "state schools").

A 55,000 seat stadium would put us at 52nd, equal with GaTech and Louisville, and just behind schools like Ole Miss, NC State, Arizona, and Arizona State.

Finally, a 50,000 seat stadium would put us at 63rd, equal with K-State and Stanford, and just behind schools like Maryland, Oregon, Colorado, and Indiana.



There are 34 schools bunched between 50K and 65K for seating capacity, including many state schools in large states. We need to give some consideration to the current trends in attendance (declining) and acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, we aren't going to be putting 80K in the stands anymore. This isn't the 1980s. Or 1990s. Or even the "2017 Notre Dame game" any longer.

I'd love to be cheering for my alma mater with 70 or 80 thousand other fans, but I don't think it's gonna happen that way anymore, and I don't think it's an argument for "staying in Hard Rock forever and ever".

Miami is a private school, not a state school. And if we need to rent Hard Rock twice a decade for the UiF game, so be it.
 
TheOriginalCane said:
What's really bad (and misguided) about the poster who said "why not allocate those funds towards NIL" ...
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Just for the record, I didn't "say" why not allocate those funds towards NIL...

I "asked" ... because I'm not familiar with all the dynamics in play with an on- or near-campus stadium

Or to quote myself (and notice the question mark at the end): "would it really elevate recruiting or increase interest in the three-county region where most of our in-state fans reside?"

🤷‍♂️
 
TheOriginalCane said:
Why do you choose to invent impediments and fantasies that make your "conclusion" self-fulfilling?

You can couch it in conditional language ("if"), but it's the same bullcrap arguments people have been making for years.

Meanwhile...Hard Rock seating capacity has declined, Hard Rock parking capacity has declined, and UM will have even less negotiating leverage for the next lease than we had when the Orange Bowl was still standing.
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Don’t disagree things at hrs have declined. Hate the new parking situation

I’m not inventing anything. As someone that commutes to coral gables 3-5x a week, I can tell you the traffic situation anywhere near campus is horrid. I would not want to be leaving a sold out game and stuck in the car for 2 hours trying to get out.

Hrs has highway access from north south and west. None of the locations I have seen proposed can match that.
 
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Hold My Beer said:
Just for the record, I didn't "say" why not allocate those funds towards NIL...

I "asked" ... because I'm not familiar with all the dynamics in play with an on- or near-campus stadium

Or to quote myself (and notice the question mark at the end): "would it really elevate recruiting or increase interest in the three-county region where most of our in-state fans reside?"

🤷‍♂️
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Fair enough. I just think we need to distinguish. The pile of cash required for a stadium would have strings. Mainly "name on building" strings.

So if the Ruiz family can pull it off, I'm just gonna sit back, watch, and eat popcorn.
 
404Usernamenotfound said:
Don’t disagree things at hrs have declined. Hate the new parking situation

I’m not inventing anything. As someone that commutes to coral gables 3-5x a week, I can tell you the traffic situation anywhere near campus is horrid. I would not want to be leaving a sold out game and stuck in the car for 2 hours trying to get out.

Hrs has highway access from north south and west. None of the locations I have seen proposed can match that.
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Fair points. I'm just saying that "150-250 morning/evening work commutes" and "6-7 Saturday gamedays" would not necessarily be equal traffic jams.

Even a 35-year-on-campus-stadium-proponent like myself can acknowledge that "on-campus" isn't happening. I'd prefer anything in a 5-10 mile half-circle-radius-north-of-campus.

Figure it out, Ruiz family:
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Ok, I'll allow the financial argument, although it's all speculative, but my guess is Ruiz and Co. will do/have done their due diligence.
What is totally false is it will increase attendance, only one thing will do that...and traffic will be a ****-show. Miami traffic is a ****-show now w/o a stadium in a more congested area.
I would be curious to see what percentage of fans come south to games vs north, my guess is it's pretty equal and I have a hard time believing it won't impact the southern travelers, and you can't just say "****'em" that's bad business.
Don't misunderstand me, I would love for them to have their own stadium, but I no longer live in the area and I travel to games so one over the other doesn't affect me.
 
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TheOriginalCane said:
Fair points. I'm just saying that "150-250 morning/evening work commutes" and "6-7 Saturday gamedays" would not necessarily be equal traffic jams.

Even a 35-year-on-campus-stadium-proponent like myself can acknowledge that "on-campus" isn't happening. I'd prefer anything in a 5-10 mile half-circle-radius-north-of-campus.

Figure it out, Ruiz family:
View attachment 179370
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You circled FIU campus! Perfect!
 
QuattroCane said:
Ok, I'll allow the financial argument, although it's all speculative, but my guess is Ruiz and Co. will do/have done their due diligence.
What is totally false is it will increase attendance, only one thing will do that...and traffic will be a ****-show. Miami traffic is a ****-show now w/o a stadium in a more congested area.
I would be curious to see what percentage of fans come south to games vs north, my guess is it's pretty equal and I have a hard time believing it won't impact the southern travelers, and you can't just say "****'em" that's bad business.
Don't misunderstand me, I would love for them to have their own stadium, but I no longer live in the area and I travel to games so one over the other doesn't affect me.
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more people that are from Miami are leaving to move north than they are staying imo. Building something in a centrally located area is key.
 
QuattroCane said:
Ok, I'll allow the financial argument, although it's all speculative, but my guess is Ruiz and Co. will do/have done their due diligence.
What is totally false is it will increase attendance, only one thing will do that...and traffic will be a ****-show. Miami traffic is a ****-show now w/o a stadium in a more congested area.
I would be curious to see what percentage of fans come south to games vs north, my guess is it's pretty equal and I have a hard time believing it won't impact the southern travelers, and you can't just say "****'em" that's bad business.
Don't misunderstand me, I would love for them to have their own stadium, but I no longer live in the area and I travel to games so one over the other doesn't affect me.
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Quite honestly, the naming rights and other revenue is the only reason to do it. Everything is either a downgrade or lateral change.
 
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JD08 said:
Quite honestly, the naming rights and other revenue is the only reason to do it. Everything is either a downgrade or lateral change.
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The naming rights and "other revenue" are 50x more important than the top 100 reasons not to leave. You need to be able to compete as a program with your opponents. The end.

Ok, fine, I'll give you another one that's 1000x more important...

Control. UM has no control over our venue. And I don't mean whether they serve coke or Pepsi or what the color of the **** chips they use in the urinals are (Dolphin blue). I'm talking about our right to even play games there. To exist. What if kooky old Ross, knowing he's the only option in town, decides to squeeze us? Or worse, decides they don't want a college tenant one day. He's already trying to be a tennis center and a F1 course. He's like 109 years old and an ****hole. What if the next owner is a wild card? What if he's a fan/alumni of another program that's had their lunch eaten by Mario & Co. and decides to do what it takes to end us? What if 20 years from now FIU has decided to pump hundreds of millions into their program and some rich alumni offers twice the deal for them to take over Saturdays? So we either lose it, or have to take a deal that sets us back 20 years. This is just off the top of my head with a tequila in my hand while watching basketball. Let a consultancy workshop it for eight weeks and you won't be able to sleep at night.

And your reply is going to be that none of that makes sense because it would cost the new owner money, or FIU would never blah blah blah. I get it.

But yeah, the world makes so much sense most of the time, right? Not owning, controlling and being the back up tenant at your own stadium is playing with fire. It's inevitable it will eventually blow up in our face. It might be five years from now, it might be 50 years from now, but eventually there will be a catastrophic event. And until that day, we will be at a financially competitive disadvantage to everyone we compete against every time we play.

We have to get our own place if we can.
 
JD08 said:
If those northern fans don't want to drive to Miami, will enough tickets be sold to justify the move? People are upset at the giant Golden Canes sections looking empty now.
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The GC seats are all sold. There is a waiting list in fact. They are empty because the owners are in NY, LA, Europe, or in the club socializing behind the seats. Same thing happens with all luxury sections in sports. This boogeyman idea that attendance will drop if we move south is strictly a self-serving myth put forth by the suburban crowd. The nerve of having the gaul to say the stadium shouldn't be near the school and students. Laughable. A new UM college stadium vibe, especially when we're winning, will be the hottest ticket in town. If the Weston gramps don't love UM enough to actually drive to UM, that's their loss. For every UM fan that it becomes a little less easy to get to, there's another who it will be easier for. Especially since it would actually be where people live. Thousands of people will be able to walk or bike to the games instead of it being in the middle of an industrial soulless wasteland.
 
Cryptical Envelopment said:
The naming rights and "other revenue" are 50x more important than the top 100 reasons not to leave. You need to be able to compete as a program with your opponents. The end.

Ok, fine, I'll give you another one that's 1000x more important...

Control. UM has no control over our venue. And I don't mean whether they serve coke or Pepsi or what the color of the **** chips they use in the urinals are (Dolphin blue). I'm talking about our right to even play games there. To exist. What if kooky old Ross, knowing he's the only option in town, decides to squeeze us? Or worse, decides they don't want a college tenant one day. He's already trying to be a tennis center and a F1 course. He's like 109 years old and an ****hole. What if the next owner is a wild card? What if he's a fan/alumni of another program that's had their lunch eaten by Mario & Co. and decides to do what it takes to end us? What if 20 years from now FIU has decided to pump hundreds of millions into their program and some rich alumni offers twice the deal for them to take over Saturdays? So we either lose it, or have to take a deal that sets us back 20 years. This is just off the top of my head with a tequila in my hand while watching basketball. Let a consultancy workshop it for eight weeks and you won't be able to sleep at night.

And your reply is going to be that none of that makes sense because it would cost the new owner money, or FIU would never blah blah blah. I get it.

But yeah, the world makes so much sense most of the time, right? Not owning, controlling and being the back up tenant at your own stadium is playing with fire. It's inevitable it will eventually blow up in our face. It might be five years from now, it might be 50 years from now, but eventually there will be a catastrophic event. And until that day, we will be at a financially competitive disadvantage to everyone we compete against every time we play.

We have to get our own place if we can.
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Cryptical Envelopment said:
The GC seats are all sold. There is a waiting list in fact. They are empty because the owners are in NY, LA, Europe, or in the club socializing behind the seats. Same thing happens with all luxury sections in sports. This boogeyman idea that attendance will drop if we move south is strictly a self-serving myth put forth by the suburban crowd. The nerve of having the gaul to say the stadium shouldn't be near the school and students. Laughable. A new UM college stadium vibe, especially when we're winning, will be the hottest ticket in town. If the Weston gramps don't love UM enough to actually drive to UM, that's their loss. For every UM fan that it becomes a little less easy to get to, there's another who it will be easier for. Especially since it would actually be where people live. Thousands of people will be able to walk or bike to the games instead of it being in the middle of an industrial soulless wasteland.
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With control comes headaches and expenses. It's a tradeoff, not a giant advantage. If they do it, it will be for revenue.

You're very cavalier about alienating fans. The university isn't. If you think they care more about the casual fan who will be able to walk to the stadium over a donating alumnus, you're mistaken. The fans care about football, the alumni care about the university and provide more funding as a result. Football exists because of the university, not the other way around.

In the end, this is all about money. If the university thinks the new location will increase revenue, and I'd imagine they'll investigate thoroughly, they'll gladly move.
 
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JD08 said:
With control comes headaches and expenses. It's a tradeoff, not a giant advantage. If they do it, it will be for revenue.

You're very cavalier about alienating fans. The university isn't. If you think they care more about the casual fan who will be able to walk to the stadium over a donating alumnus, you're mistaken. The fans care about football, the alumni care about the university and provide more funding as a result. Football exists because of the university, not the other way around.

In the end, this is all about money. If the university thinks the new location will increase revenue, and I'd imagine they'll investigate thoroughly, they'll gladly move.
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Not only is the construction a massive undertaking - even moreso in Miami - but so will be operating the stadium. Variable costs are astronomical and one of the reasons the City of Miami bit hook, line, and sinker when an alternative was presented to rid themselves of that expense of the OB.

A new stadium can not sustain itself with only football revenue. Impossible. That’s why we saw concerts at the OB. That’s why Ross is expanding into other areas. He’s probably losing his *** relying on just Dolphin and Hurricane revenue.
 
423Hurricane said:
Not only is the construction a massive undertaking - even moreso in Miami - but so will be operating the stadium. Variable costs are astronomical and one of the reasons the City of Miami bit hook, line, and sinker when an alternative was presented to rid themselves of that expense of the OB.
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If anyone here knows how much work it is keeping a stadium running, it's you.
 
JD08 said:
If anyone here knows how much work it is keeping a stadium running, it's you.
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And that was in the 60’s and 70’s. I can’t imagine the operating costs these days especially with these massive stadiums being built with much stricter regulations and liability concerns. There’s a plethora of considerations in building and operating a football stadium.
 
JD08 said:
With control comes headaches and expenses. It's a tradeoff, not a giant advantage. If they do it, it will be for revenue.

You're very cavalier about alienating fans. The university isn't. If you think they care more about the casual fan who will be able to walk to the stadium over a donating alumnus, you're mistaken. The fans care about football, the alumni care about the university and provide more funding as a result. Football exists because of the university, not the other way around.

In the end, this is all about money. If the university thinks the new location will increase revenue, and I'd imagine they'll investigate thoroughly, they'll gladly move.
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You think owning your own stadium, ensuring stability of venue, and maximizing revenue vs. being a second tier tenant who pays rent and loses a lot of game-day revenue is a... trade(off)?:) Then I really don't know what to say.

Oh wait... but "headaches" lol. Come on, mang. Call me crazy but I'm pretty sure that a world-class 18,000 student and 16,000 employee university with a $3B+ annual budget and three campuses spread across 400 acres with four hospitals and housing for thousands and an on-campus arena can figure out a way to operate a stadium like the other 100+ D1 universities do lol. You simply hire a stadium operations team and make lots of bank deposits. Life isn't that hard.

As far as being "cavalier about alienating fans" I am doing nothing of the sort. If I were advocating building a stadium farther away from campus to serve my desires, there would be a conversation to be had because that would indicate bias. But bringing the stadium home, close to campus, where the students are, where the players are, where we practice, where the faculty is, WHERE THE UNIVERSITY IS, only makes sense. It's natural. It's the goal of every U. It helps build a stronger connection between the university community and the game day experience. It enhances the student experience.

There are plenty of UM fans, wealthy donors, and alumni from Brickell on down too, you know. They are just as important as the fans that live up north. It's not binary, it's zero sum. Some benefit, others will actually have to visit the U for the first time in ages. When you make assumptions that imply that fans located close to the U are somehow automatically "casual" and those up in Broward and PBC are all "donating alumni," it's hard to take your position seriously.

And if it's "all about money" like you say, and I mostly agree, then they we will do whatever we can to get our own revenue-producing home. But as I mentioned, having program security is just as important. As is playing University of Miami football games as close to the University of Miami as we can.

So... Pembroke Pines? Delray? Where do you live? :)
 
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