Discussion on WTKA with Sam and Ira

Which is harder to swallow?

Higher priced tickets? $100 each?

or

Advertising in the Big House?

Both. It's not like the athletic department is going broke.

Lotta upgrades going on for some old facilities..........

I was able to get a vision and facility briefing from the Athletic Development Office on Feb 18. With Crisler's reconstruction, PSD's are here to stay and the prices are going up for BBall. They are evaluating the football ticket waiting list as we speak to determine if and when the south end zone will be built. Also, several facilities for other sports are in desperate need of upgrades and centralization. Guess who pays for that? Either football fans, advertisement, or major donors. Expect ticket prices to rise with the success of the football program and a slight/gradual increase in advertising at UM events.

1umgoblue85 wrote:

I was able to get a vision and facility briefing from the Athletic Development Office on Feb 18. With Crisler's reconstruction, PSD's are here to stay and the prices are going up for BBall. They are evaluating the football ticket waiting list as we speak to determine if and when the south end zone will be built. Also, several facilities for other sports are in desperate need of upgrades and centralization. Guess who pays for that? Either football fans, advertisement, or major donors. Expect ticket prices to rise with the success of the football program and a slight/gradual increase in advertising at UM events.

I'm not a fan of starting with one endzone deck, then in the future building a second endzone deck if we liked the first.

They're not going to have any problem selling out both, imho. And I think just one endzone deck will look more than goofy.

I will say this....whoever the visionary of the Big House was back when it was first built, kudos to the 'hole in the ground' design. Because of that, the possibility of decks in the endzones (hell, a second deck around the entire bowl) is completely doable.

They are going to take a slow methodical approach to the stadium. It is almost a done deal that it will be approximately 12,000 south end zone seats. They haven't waivered on this issue in over a year. Now, don't get me wrong. I would like to see them both at the same time too.

I will pay the price to keep any type of advertising out. I despise seeing billboards all over some stadiums. UM has sold out for years and the waiting list for season tickets has been the same for as long as I can remember.

Keep the stadium pure and free of bullshit advertising.

1umgoblue85 wrote:

They are going to take a slow methodical approach to the stadium. It is almost a done deal that it will be approximately 12,000 south end zone seats. They haven't waivered on this issue in over a year. Now, don't get me wrong. I would like to see them both at the same time too.

Should we be expecting decks similar to those of Penn State's? I think a lot of people forgot the endzone decks there were put in over the last decade too.

What bothers me about all of this is they say they need to raise ticket prices in order to renovate facilities. Will ticket prices come down once things are renovated and paid for? No.

In other words, it's a sham.

Admin wrote:

1umgoblue85 wrote:

I was able to get a vision and facility briefing from the Athletic Development Office on Feb 18. With Crisler's reconstruction, PSD's are here to stay and the prices are going up for BBall. They are evaluating the football ticket waiting list as we speak to determine if and when the south end zone will be built. Also, several facilities for other sports are in desperate need of upgrades and centralization. Guess who pays for that? Either football fans, advertisement, or major donors. Expect ticket prices to rise with the success of the football program and a slight/gradual increase in advertising at UM events.

I'm not a fan of starting with one endzone deck, then in the future building a second endzone deck if we liked the first.

They're not going to have any problem selling out both, imho. And I think just one endzone deck will look more than goofy.

I will say this....whoever the visionary of the Big House was back when it was first built, kudos to the 'hole in the ground' design. Because of that, the possibility of decks in the endzones (hell, a second deck around the entire bowl) is completely doable.

Despite the noise they would hold in, I'm not really a fan of end zone decks at all. Especially one at a time. It sounds very Penn State-ish. And Beaver Stadium looks like an ugly erector set to me.

I like the look of the bowl. Even the new luxury boxes don't take away from that classic look. But decks do.

I agree with historian but I don't see any other way around it if they want a major expansion.

Maybe they can offer a rooftop party section on the luxury boxes. That would be a blast!!! ha ha

sandyeggo_blue wrote:

I agree with historian but I don't see any other way around it if they want a major expansion.

Maybe they can offer a rooftop party section on the luxury boxes. That would be a blast!!! ha ha

As a Wrigleyville citizen, I can say there's nothing cooler than partying on the rooftops across Sheffield or Waveland Ave. It's an absolute blast. And if you plan to drink/eat a lot, there's no better deal.

For $125-150 you get all you can eat burgers, brats, pizza, fries, ice cream, you name it. Also all you can drink beer or wine.

Or you can go into Wrigley and pay $7.50 for a freaking Old Style.

But, back to the topic, yes, I would love to be able to preserve the bowl look. But if/when major expansion is needed, there's nothing else to do but add decks. I just wish they'd do it around the whole thing, making the stadium look a lot like Tennessee's.

I hear your concern about adding a second deck in stages but truth be told it is the practical thing to do. And if they did build a complete 2nd-deck all the way around the stadium (or even just both end-zones at the same time) and they didn't sell out the Stadium for a MAC game, which would end the streak, the crying would commense.

Plus, having 2 decks built quickly at once would cost much more than 2 decks built separately.

It seems that the country is coming out of the recession but it wouldn't take much to slip into another one. Not everyone is as OCD about Michigan Football as us and if hard times come again Michigan Football would be one of the first things cut. Build up the Stadium in stages is the way to go.

As for the original question, there is no doubt in my mind that The Big House will eventually be forced to allow some adevertising. I just hope that they keep it small and tasteful (no bill-boards, flashing lights, scrolling messages, bright colors, etc.). I would however, being willing to pay up to $100 a ticket extra to delay advertising another 30 years...

But NEVER, EVER a rename!!

dwoody wrote:

But NEVER, EVER a rename!!

Of course not, not even (for the sake of argument) "M-Den's Michigan Stadium"...

dwoody wrote:

But NEVER, EVER a rename!!

OH MY GOD could you image "Groupon Stadium" or something horrible like that.

That said, I could get on board with Penn St naming their stadium Paterno Stadium. I know the scandal that went down tarnished his name and legacy quite a bit but I don't think we'll ever really know how much he did or didn't know and in America you're presumed innocent until proven guilty.

I got no prob w/Paterno...