Does Utep need a new football stadium ?
- Thread starter FiliUTEP
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I've seen renditions of the southside Sun Bowl rebuild, and that will change the game, I know Stull wanted to do that before he left, but couldn't get enough cash from his main donors.
If Senter can somehow pull off that renovation, it would be a game changer, the renditions I saw for the southside of the Sun Bowl look amazing, and I hope one day someone can execute it.
If Senter can somehow pull off that renovation, it would be a game changer, the renditions I saw for the southside of the Sun Bowl look amazing, and I hope one day someone can execute it.
I can tell you from talking with alot of my ex college player and parents, THEY LOVE THE SUN BOWL. One of their favorite places. But it does need upgrades.
Having seen games in about 30 college stadiums, it is my opinion that the Sun Bowl is in the top 5 in appearance.
I. Don't. Get. it?
Why did Bob Stull not put out those plans to the public? You, Life and others have talked about these south side renovations for a few years and Uncle Bob was trying to get more boosters or corporate sponsorship. There were rumors of out of town boosters fighting with in town boosters who got more say or pull. Why not release the plans to the public? Developers titillate the public with their developers to create financial interest. Darn Stull to me had UTEP/El Paso into tiered fan groups:
A) The mega booster. These folks/business's help get brick and mortar capital improvements bought and built and help UTEP try to stay in the FBS/D1 rat race. That 10,000 sf weight room didn't get built by selling cookies and brownies after Sunday mass.
B)Big booster: Buy the $1000 plus luncheon tables. Have season seats for clients. Get to have that big beer bash pachanga or private covered party with near walk up parking in the parking lot for dropping a nice check at the AD's office. Don't wanna see the sales staff and/or their clients staggering across Sun Bowl Drive or North Mesa Drive.
C)Season Ticket holders: That nice, nice old couple that has lived in the Coronado, Vista Hills, El Paso or (former) Santa Teresa Country Club since the mid sixties. Yup, they are the ones that gave you that dirty look, told you to sit down or had you escorted out during UTEP basketball's good seasons when you were a student. Some are still kicking, others are in hospice and get a personal "thank you" letter actually signed by the AD or head coach.
D) The "sales were good this year" occasional season ticket buyer. These are the ones that get the "CUSA Conference rules and policy" handouts on the do's and don't's with college players and recruits. Stull shat on these people and by the time the Kugler (and Floyd) regime had run their gamut, had local TV and radio personalities asking "Please! Come back!".
E) The occasional ticket buyer. Buys tickets when NMSU is playing at the Sun Bowl, sometimes. Buys a ticket to say they saw that "3 star recruit" and talk about how they looked "eh" all year at work after just one game. They tweet how El Paso sucks and UTEP sucks, wear EP Chihuahua and EP Locomotive t shirts in their selfies for "915 blasts" but never really go. Spend their income at T&A joints instead. These are the ones that show up at the backyard fiesta for a Canelo fight night but bring nothing. For the older generations, these are also the ones that said they were there when UTEP beat BYU on 10/26/1985. There was only a few thousand, your parents and grandparents swear they were there (but there are Halloween party photos of you and them that Saturday. Oh well).
Senter reached out to everyone. Why not publish the renovations instead of just butt shaking in the face? Is there something legal, concern or both for not publishing it. FBS have down years and they get more aggressive. When it comes to development it pretty much "if you build it, they will come" type scenario.
I've been following the Sun Bowl renovation saga since it began about 2006. There have been so many starts and stops and donor drama a 500 page book could be written on it. Although there only 10 or 20 people who would read it. To try to summarize a really complicated long story. A huge gulf developed under Stull between El Paso boosters who didnt have much money but insulated Sull and the out of town boosters who have real money. Paul Foster is also a lightening rod he is hated by almost all the big money boosters. Senter has tried to bring alot of money back to the table that walked during the Stull years. As of yet hes not been overly successful as of yet but he has made some inroads. The most complaint you hear about Senter among the money is that they think hes in over his head. If Senter can lay out a plan and sell the big money boosters on how he can make Utep football a perennial winner the project will be funded quickly. If he does what Stull did and says "trust me I know how you dont need to know" it wont get funded anytime soon. If Senter can show the big money boosters strong business acumen and put together a real plan this will get done.
Oh? And you know that Foster is hated how? And you know that the money'd boosters think Senter is over his head how?
I’m sorry but are these the same “big money” boosters that have been ready to fund baseball but nothing else? Or the same “big money” boosters who protected Floyd all these years. “If” these big money donors exist, and that’s a big IF in my book they sound like they’re as big of a problem as any. I can’t tell anyone what to do with their money but it seems to me like they’ve been sitting idly for the last 10 + years. They didn’t buy out Kugler. They didn’t buy out Floyd. And although I have no problem with either Dimmel or Terry they seem to have been withholding big money donations that could have tipped the tables and helped UTEP pay for a bigger coach. So f*ck them....
Any Miner fan that is waiting for a group of zillionaires to come from the sky and bail out the athletic department are fooling themselves. Hasn’t happened, never will happen.
Any Miner fan that is waiting for a group of zillionaires to come from the sky and bail out the athletic department are fooling themselves. Hasn’t happened, never will happen.
I’m sure MinerforLife can explain it much better. It’s my understanding the boosters did want to buy out Kugler/Floyd but Stull wouldn’t pull the trigger because of pride. That ultimately led to the loss of monetary support from the big guns.
This is a subject that I have absolutely no inside knowledge but I find it hard to believe that there are a group of people with big money (willing to give) just sitting on the sidelines as the athletic department consistently fails in large part due to their inability to raise major funds. Seems like a little contradictory to me.
I think the failures are due to the inability of the previous AD to grow some huevos and fire his bff’s. And also the lackadaisical approach our previous President had towards athletics. Despite the shitty results UTEP has remained near the top of the conference in contributions. Mix in positive score lines with a master plan and the money should be there.
Keep the same coaches year after year and tell the donors he knows what he’s doing and you get a Bob Stull led UTEP. Who would want to give money to that man?
There are plenty of boosters who have tried and offered to buy out contracts and increase coaches salaries. Stull didn't want it. He like being able to control a coach. After the 2008 season Stull was asked by a booster why he didnt fire Mike Price and solicit donations for a bigger coaches salary. He said " If I pay big money to a coach I have to fire them if they dont produce." That's not what I want to do" "If you pay a coach well you lose control." That was the beginning of the fracture between Stull and many boosters.
We're not a poor school. There are plenty of people with money who want to help. However, you have to give them a plan on how their donations will make UTEP perennial winners. Not just "trust me".
We're not a poor school. There are plenty of people with money who want to help. However, you have to give them a plan on how their donations will make UTEP perennial winners. Not just "trust me".
I love the Sun Bowl. It's beautifully nestled in the mountains; I love the view, I love the backdrop. All seats give a good view of the field.
With some renovation I think the Sun Bowl would be the best stadium in the conference.
With some renovation I think the Sun Bowl would be the best stadium in the conference.
- Install seat-backs. That's FAU's big bragging right on their stadium, but once we install seat-backs, the Sun Bowl will immediately be more impressive for the fan experience.
- Renovate the locker rooms? I've never been in the Sun Bowl's locker rooms, so I can't comment, but some of you said the locker rooms are in bad shape. Since this is something important to football recruits, and we want to make a good impression on the recruits.
- Renovate the press box? National media personalities have bad-mouthed the Sun Bowl press box, so I guess that needs renovation.
Mike Price has been the most successful UTEP football coach in my lifetime. Sometimes when you fire a Mike Price, you replace him with a Kugler.
After reading Corona, life and Killer there's is really nothing I disagree with.
Let me try with this tweet to point as to where we are, now. I say build the south end up but with crap like this from local sports personalties, you really can't blame Senter when local personalities are pumping stuff like this out on social platforms:
Let me try with this tweet to point as to where we are, now. I say build the south end up but with crap like this from local sports personalties, you really can't blame Senter when local personalities are pumping stuff like this out on social platforms:
By that logic we should move entire University.
The Sun Bowl needs to stay right where it is. It has always been considered one of the more picturesque facilities in all of college football.
Make it nicer and get hotels and other hospitality businesses to invest closer to the Sun Bowl itself. If that involves buy-in from the University or even the state, then they need to get to work to get the approvals needed.
Shittynatti Street is an embarrassment and is considered the 6th street of El Paso. The city can do better.
Make it nicer and get hotels and other hospitality businesses to invest closer to the Sun Bowl itself. If that involves buy-in from the University or even the state, then they need to get to work to get the approvals needed.
Shittynatti Street is an embarrassment and is considered the 6th street of El Paso. The city can do better.
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I wasnt gonna say it. But since you brought it up. Okay sure. I always thought Utep should have a campus on the east side.
And I always thought they should have a Chico's Tacos on the west side.
We aren’t going to win until the Sun Bowl moves from the sacred burial site it’s built on! The spirits are ruthless. Bring Mrs. Cleo, Walter Mercado, and KLAQs Nostradumbass to rid these spirits.
I'll settle for a chicos downtown, next to the new soccer stadium
The visitors locker room is better than home team.
Stadium upgrades
Once fans get into Floyd Stadium, they'll notice a few new upgrades to the facilities, including phone charging stations and a new seat numbering system that will be easier to navigate.
The lights will also be brighter at the stadium and will enhance fan experience thanks to a state-of-the-art lighting system installed this summer by Musco Lighting.
The new lights will help the university with energy savings and will cut the light fixtures around the stadium from 350 to 118 while providing better lighting levels.
"We had a unique opportunity with this lighting system to cut our energy use," Gosha said. "We'll be able to grow our energy savings by 60 percent from what our old system did. It's amazing the difference in technology we'll have … you'll really be able to tell a difference in the stadium and on TV."
Not only will the lights help fans see the action better, but they'll also add to the experience with unique features, including theatrical animations and the ability to turn on and off instantly.
"We feel the experience that brings will set us apart from our peers," Gosha said. "We're one of a select few intercollegiate programs that has a system like this."
This is at Middle Tennessee State University
https://goblueraiders.com/news/2018...-football-game-day-changes.aspx?path=football
cc: @JimSenter2 @UTEPATHLETICS
Hopefully for next season.
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I never went to a UTEP game at the Sun Bowl and had the thought enter my head that there's a problem with the lighting system. It's not a problem that I ever noticed. I mean, if somebody wants to put up the money for a new lighting system, we shouldn't turn him down, but I think there are other priorities that should come first.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new track and field facility on Monday. The new state-of-the-art facility features an eight-lane Mondotrack surface, dual straights with discus, javelin and shot put throwing spaces in the infield, a hammer cage and jump spaces. The facility will host NCAA, conference, and high school events. — UABSports.com
Congrats to @UTEPAthletics for resurfacing the track.
It just needs to be upgraded. Nothing wrong with the location, there is a lot that can be built around the area. The Asarco land? What's the deal with that, turn that into a nice "quarter" or entertainment district... Add a route for the street car.
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