That section looks like it could easily add 15,000 seats. The stadium would be even louder, may cause people to go deaf. How would the new section (south) be any further than the North section?
I long for the old days when visiting fans were guests and had very good seats. I understand why it isn't done anymore, but allowing a couple thousand to sit next to their band in a lower bowl just seemed right.
I am impressed. I wasn't aware that LSU keeps that tradition alive. So many schools want those seats for their own fans and can get premium dollars for those seats. Or is it the other way around, the school wants premium dollars for those seats and home fans will pony up the extra dollars. The atmosphere for a college game should always be different than a pro venue. Visiting fans add to the experience, from tailgating to cheering. I hate it when the block of seats are in the worst seats in the house. Kudos for doing it right.:thumb:
I don't see why they wouldn't build more "Tiger Den" suites and club seating. That would sell and generate revenue. If it makes business sense the school will do it eventually. No one's going to care if there is a spot of empty seats up there during a 40-0 drubbing of Middle Tennessee. The seats will not go unsold, suites will definitely not go unsold, they will make money on yet more concessions, etc... TAF has said it's "looking into it" and it's no secret why the upper decks were built to match and curve together in the south. I'm willing to take anyone's money (or season tickets) that says it won't be built. LSU isn't worried about a few empty seats looking bad on TV (TV rarely ever pans into upper decks or empty areas intentionally anyway) when they're making more money. I don't think we'll see a massive increase in regular bleacher seating up there. I'd guess they'll try to make it smaller (not just an extension of both sideline uppers, in terms of seating arrangement) with mostly boxes, suites, and club seating as opposed to bleachers for the unwashed masses. They'll also have to use some space for jumbotron/scoreboard (maybe one in each corner) so I don't think it will be this huge increase in capacity. There's more money to be made with fewer "premium" seating and accommodations than with dirt cheap seats.
But then we'd have to die to collect. :hihi: I thought red gave a great reason "Business-wise" why it wouldn't- the ones sitting below are the ones who'd be paying for it. I surely wouldn't bet on it one way or another.
We just did that. We demolished an upper deck that was only 20 years old to gain 600 seats. But we also converted 2,500 seats to club seating at $2,750 a seat. People won't pay that kind of surcharge for very high endzone seats that are far from the field. Trust me, LSU did some research. Fat cats will pony up the $$, but they want sideline seats. Indeed. But studies indicate that high endzone upper decks will never pay for themselves, much less generate income. You must take into consideration just how big the lower bowl in Tiger Stadium is already. They would be terrible seats and far from the field. People will watch on HDTV instead, since practically every game is televised. LSU cares very much about empty seats. Concessions will not pay for the addition. Tickets will not pay for the addtion. Only surcharges, and high ones at that, would have any hope of paying for the structure. People won't pay. Source? For symmetry. The west deck has three club levels. The East Deck has two skybox levels. They don't match vertically. A hundred bucks says that it won't be built. When they break ground on a south upper deck, you win. When they break ground on a new stadium, I win. I hope a hundred bucks will pay for a 12-pack in 20 years! :thumb: Empty seats are what it's all about, amigo. LSU is very concerned about empty seats. If you can remember the 90's when LSU had 8 losing seasons . . . there were lots of empty seats and no waiting list for season tickets. LSU will not win 11 games every year. There will be poor years and we can't fill the stadium we have in those years. Even in 2003, there were empty seats in the top corners of the upper decks for many games. Joe Dean conducted a serious study in the 90's about further expansion of Tiger Stadium. Several things were clear. 1. It would be far cheaper to just build a modern 100,000-seat stadium than to build north and south upper decks. 2. The footprint and location of Tiger Stadium make further expansion unlikely. Two important campus roads would have to be closed to make endzone upper decks. Those Photoshopped photos are not realistic. A quick look at the actual site shows that it would completely block South Campus Drive. The West endzone impinges on it already. 3. The lower bowl of Tiger Stadium is between 55 and 83 years old. It will have to be replaced in the next 20 years for structural reasons alone. But even more important, the ramps, concessions, and restrooms in the lower bowl are dark, small, and completely inadequate for a modern crowd. The 67,000 seats in the lowerbowl generates the bulk of the game revenue. Those $500 sideline surcharge ticket holders will have to be kept happy and we will not likely see more high decks being built before the lower bowl must be replaced. 4. It would be far cheaper to build a new stadium than to replace the lower bowl which could not be done without missing two seasons. All-in-all, it will be cheaper, quicker, and more painless to build a giant modern Tiger Stadium on River Road, surrounded by parking lots. Bigger than Neyland!
Heard it from a few people who attended this event. Looks like Dandy Don was there as well, it's on his site from May 11th or 12th. Not saying its a done deal but sounds as if they're seriously looking at it as opposed to having already concluded research that advises against it. Oh well, guess this will just be the one subject I have different opinion about.
Obviously that was before they spent $70 million on the EUD and another $60 million on replacing the WUD. I'm sure spending about $130 million plus on existing Tiger Stadium changes the "far cheaper" dynamic. How much do you think it would cost to build a modern 100,000 seat stadium? $400, $500 million, $1 billion? How many colleges have built a large (80,000 or more), new stadium in the last decade, 2 decades? How would LSU pay for that when existing TAF and Tradition funds are tied up in the existing stadium debt. That's minor on the big picture. Florida had the same problem with their recent expansion and just "bent" the road around it. (see below) If planned correctly, they could rebuild lower sections without interrupting any seasons. Stanford just demolished and built a whole new 50,000 seat stadium between seasons, although it is mostly steel. But, the point is, it could be done with proper planning and engineering. And that is way off in the future, anyway.
I just wish we didn't have to sit next to Florida's student section, of course I'm sure our students would be just as abusive if we could get the visiting fans into the north endzone :hihi:
