I didn't say that we need it to win. We need it because the fans, the players and coaches deserve the best stadium in the nation. Simple as that to me. When I went to Bama and saw what they had, I was pissed. We need a better stadium and it was in the works well before Skip left. The stadium's got nothing to do with our record. On that, we agree.
I should have said this the first time around, the location of the box is fine and shouldn't be moved, however the bleachers should all be moved out and updated. I've always thought that the stadium should look like the stands behind homeplate. I have not one problem with updating the Box where it is right now. So to renovate it, I think is a grand idea. They're really wanting that location for the parking money that would come out of football, that's why i'm ticked off. Figure in few hundred parking spots X the $1000 or whatever it would be, and that's every year coming in. They're sacrificing the location,which is what makes the stadium. You get a certain feeling when you can see the maravich center and tiger stad. all at what time. When they move it down the street and it loses that feeling, they better be winning to make it up. And if they don't, then they'll say they're losing money and then the football tickets will be raised again. Watch and see. you can only go to the money cow so many times.
You keep repeating this like it is some kind of conspiracy. Parking money is peanuts compared to baseball revenues. There are a lot of factors that were considered. 1. There is no room at the present site to build a top-flight baseball stadium. 2. Campus is growing, parking is needed more for the daily university arrival of 30,000 students than for 7 football games. 3. The athletic facility footprint is getting bigger as it must, this tiny cluster of the football stadium, the PMAC, Alex Box, the track stadium, and the field house all together inhibits campus growth and athletic department growth. 4. There is a campus Master Plan for future growth of LSU, not just LSU athletics. Expansion, new steets, new buildings, are all part of it. In the long range it involves rerouting Nicholson drive alongside the railroad right through the Alex Box site. Link 5. The remaining old Alex Box site will not be very big for a parking lot. But if you will look at the map in the master plan you will see that it isn't even being planned to be a parking lot!The site is the pale blue color showing it is being held for future plans. The parking lots are gray with stripes and the planned new parking garages are the large white rectangles. 6. Alex Box got first pick of the new locations, its a great spot. See the map. 7. Even if they do use the space either temporaily or permanently for LSU game day parking . . . what the hell is wrong with that. LSU athletics makes money that it needs. There is a waiting list for parking permits and it ain't only fat cats--they already have better parking. Average fans can afford parking passes and there is plenty of free parking anyway. Being nostalgic about Alex Box is fine, but you are years behind the curve on this. The plan is far beyond any thoughts of renovating Alex Box any further. Skip plans to stay until the new stadium is ready and it is happening within a few years.
Red, I'm curious....what is the structure, currently the track stadium, supposed to be??? I see in the Master Plan map, that it appears to be a new track stadium located in the bottom left corner of the map (down the street from the football practice fields). Also, where the new site for the baseball field is, I take it that's the softball field as well (located between the baseball field and the football practice fields).
It's one of several planned large classroom/lab/office buildings designed around a small quadrangle. Central campus is going to become more of a pedestrian-oriented place. They plan to reduce the number of small independent buildings and make more efficient integrated complexes with large courtyards. Hopefully they wil end up with more green grass space, too. Much of the old grassy park-like campus I knew in the 70's has been paved over or developed. The master plan will expand the campus and enable more green space. The new baseball/softball complex has a baseball stadium and a softball stadium that share parking lots and support buildings. I believe there is a baseball practice field, too.
