What about..

(03-07-2013 03:59 PM)UHCougar Wrote:  This is nothing. Watch the video. Mack has been saying the same thing for months. Majority, but maybe not all, of the games at Reliant. A couple of games at BBVA Stadium, which still holds 22,000, and maybe a game at Rice Stadium. This is noise by a new Houston Chronicle reporter on a slow news day.

This ^^^.

(03-07-2013 06:06 PM)UHCougar Wrote:  BBVA would be fine for Southern (Friday). We'll be lucky to draw 22,000 against Southern, which is capacity.

Against USF (Thursday, Oct. 31), I wouldn't mind having ESPN repeatedly say the stadium was "sold out" or "standing room only" or "a ticket was impossible to find" when USF is in town. If ESPiN is going to help us (which I don't believe for a moment), they will repeat over and over that we are only at BBVA because our new 40,000 seat stadium is under construction. With the right marketing in the downtown young professional community, it could be an opportunity to introduce a lot of ex-patriots from Florida and other states to the University of Houston who never have watched a UH game before. Also, with it being Halloween night, the atmosphere could be awesome . . .

Also, if the game is at Reliant, the stadium will be half empty even if we put 35,000 or 40,000 people in the place. . . it won't look good on ESPN.

I think you sell our fanbase short and its borderline idiotic to play at BBVA

(03-07-2013 08:37 PM)AirRaid Wrote:  

(03-07-2013 06:06 PM)UHCougar Wrote:  BBVA would be fine for Southern (Friday). We'll be lucky to draw 22,000 against Southern, which is capacity.

Against USF (Thursday, Oct. 31), I wouldn't mind having ESPN repeatedly say the stadium was "sold out" or "standing room only" or "a ticket was impossible to find" when USF is in town. If ESPiN is going to help us (which I don't believe for a moment), they will repeat over and over that we are only at BBVA because our new 40,000 seat stadium is under construction. With the right marketing in the downtown young professional community, it could be an opportunity to introduce a lot of ex-patriots from Florida and other states to the University of Houston who never have watched a UH game before. Also, with it being Halloween night, the atmosphere could be awesome . . .

Also, if the game is at Reliant, the stadium will be half empty even if we put 35,000 or 40,000 people in the place. . . it won't look good on ESPN.

I think you sell our fanbase short and its borderline idiotic to play at BBVA

Right, because I'm not one of the biggest UH homers on this board.

(03-07-2013 08:50 PM)UHCougar Wrote:  

(03-07-2013 08:37 PM)AirRaid Wrote:  

(03-07-2013 06:06 PM)UHCougar Wrote:  BBVA would be fine for Southern (Friday). We'll be lucky to draw 22,000 against Southern, which is capacity.

Against USF (Thursday, Oct. 31), I wouldn't mind having ESPN repeatedly say the stadium was "sold out" or "standing room only" or "a ticket was impossible to find" when USF is in town. If ESPiN is going to help us (which I don't believe for a moment), they will repeat over and over that we are only at BBVA because our new 40,000 seat stadium is under construction. With the right marketing in the downtown young professional community, it could be an opportunity to introduce a lot of ex-patriots from Florida and other states to the University of Houston who never have watched a UH game before. Also, with it being Halloween night, the atmosphere could be awesome . . .

Also, if the game is at Reliant, the stadium will be half empty even if we put 35,000 or 40,000 people in the place. . . it won't look good on ESPN.

I think you sell our fanbase short and its borderline idiotic to play at BBVA

Right, because I'm not one of the biggest UH homers on this board.

Does not matter what you are. Playing at BBVA compass is major fail.

(03-07-2013 08:37 PM)AirRaid Wrote:  

(03-07-2013 06:06 PM)UHCougar Wrote:  BBVA would be fine for Southern (Friday). We'll be lucky to draw 22,000 against Southern, which is capacity.

Against USF (Thursday, Oct. 31), I wouldn't mind having ESPN repeatedly say the stadium was "sold out" or "standing room only" or "a ticket was impossible to find" when USF is in town. If ESPiN is going to help us (which I don't believe for a moment), they will repeat over and over that we are only at BBVA because our new 40,000 seat stadium is under construction. With the right marketing in the downtown young professional community, it could be an opportunity to introduce a lot of ex-patriots from Florida and other states to the University of Houston who never have watched a UH game before. Also, with it being Halloween night, the atmosphere could be awesome . . .

Also, if the game is at Reliant, the stadium will be half empty even if we put 35,000 or 40,000 people in the place. . . it won't look good on ESPN.

I think you sell our fanbase short.

Nope, he's pretty much spot on. A Friday game against a SWAC opponent, at an unfamiliar venue, even if it is the season opener, will be lucky to draw 22K. The last time we played a no-name team to open the year was Northwestern State in 2009, which was on a Saturday afternoon at Robertson, and we barely hit 22K. Even the year before that we played Southern to open the year and drew 26K, and that was coming off a good year. So, factor in coming off a crap season as well, and things don't look good.

I'm all for playing every game except the BYU game (which will legitimately draw 40-45K) at BBVA. It's a terrific venue and quite close to campus. Yes, a couple thousand fans will be left out for the Memphis, Cinci, and SMU games (depending on our record, of course). But a packed BBVA is a hell of a lot better than a cavernous Reliant. The thought of playing CUSA games there makes me preemptively facepalm.

The Dynamo schedule doesn't conflict with ours, but TSU plays their season opener at BBVA the day after ours (August 30th and 31st, respectively). So, that would be the only snag. Otherwise, BBVA is the way to go from both a logistics, cost, and fan experience standpoint. The only x-factor in all of this, of course, is what a full season in Reliant might do to impress recruits.

I think we're going to end up with a mish-mash schedule, honestly. Some games at Reliant, some at Rice, and some at BBVA. But better times await us in 2014. It'll be worth the hassle.

Edit: Forgot the Rice game was a home game for us this year. That should be at Reliant.

(03-07-2013 08:54 PM)AirRaid Wrote:  

(03-07-2013 08:50 PM)UHCougar Wrote:  

(03-07-2013 08:37 PM)AirRaid Wrote:  

(03-07-2013 06:06 PM)UHCougar Wrote:  BBVA would be fine for Southern (Friday). We'll be lucky to draw 22,000 against Southern, which is capacity.

Against USF (Thursday, Oct. 31), I wouldn't mind having ESPN repeatedly say the stadium was "sold out" or "standing room only" or "a ticket was impossible to find" when USF is in town. If ESPiN is going to help us (which I don't believe for a moment), they will repeat over and over that we are only at BBVA because our new 40,000 seat stadium is under construction. With the right marketing in the downtown young professional community, it could be an opportunity to introduce a lot of ex-patriots from Florida and other states to the University of Houston who never have watched a UH game before. Also, with it being Halloween night, the atmosphere could be awesome . . .

Also, if the game is at Reliant, the stadium will be half empty even if we put 35,000 or 40,000 people in the place. . . it won't look good on ESPN.

I think you sell our fanbase short and its borderline idiotic to play at BBVA

Right, because I'm not one of the biggest UH homers on this board.

Does not matter what you are. Playing at BBVA compass is major fail.

And playing on ESPN on a Halloween night on a Thursday in Reliant won't be . . . are you even old enough to remember playing Miami? That game alone did more to set back UH football than any single game in the history of the program. Wake up. We will be lucky to get 30,000 at Reliant on a Thursday night when it's Halloween night. . . and 30,000 will look like 15,000 on TV . . . and ESPN will drone on and on about the low turnout . . .

I think it may end up being a mixed bag of sites...

08/30 | Southern | BBVA Compass Stadium
09/21 | Rice | Reliant Stadium
10/12 | Memphis | Rice Stadium
10/19 | BYU | Minute Maid Park
10/31 | South Florida | Reliant Stadium
11/23 | Cincinnati | Minute Maid Park
11/29 | SMU | Reliant Stadium

(03-07-2013 08:56 PM)UHCougar Wrote:  

(03-07-2013 08:54 PM)AirRaid Wrote:  

(03-07-2013 08:50 PM)UHCougar Wrote:  

(03-07-2013 08:37 PM)AirRaid Wrote:  

(03-07-2013 06:06 PM)UHCougar Wrote:  BBVA would be fine for Southern (Friday). We'll be lucky to draw 22,000 against Southern, which is capacity.

Against USF (Thursday, Oct. 31), I wouldn't mind having ESPN repeatedly say the stadium was "sold out" or "standing room only" or "a ticket was impossible to find" when USF is in town. If ESPiN is going to help us (which I don't believe for a moment), they will repeat over and over that we are only at BBVA because our new 40,000 seat stadium is under construction. With the right marketing in the downtown young professional community, it could be an opportunity to introduce a lot of ex-patriots from Florida and other states to the University of Houston who never have watched a UH game before. Also, with it being Halloween night, the atmosphere could be awesome . . .

Also, if the game is at Reliant, the stadium will be half empty even if we put 35,000 or 40,000 people in the place. . . it won't look good on ESPN.

I think you sell our fanbase short and its borderline idiotic to play at BBVA

Right, because I'm not one of the biggest UH homers on this board.

Does not matter what you are. Playing at BBVA compass is major fail.

And playing on ESPN on a Halloween night on a Thursday in Reliant won't be . . . are you even old enough to remember playing Miami? That game alone did more to set back UH football than any single game in the history of the program. Wake up. We will be lucky to get 30,000 at Reliant on a Thursday night when it's Halloween night. . . and 30,000 will look like 15,000 on TV . . . and ESPN will drone on and on about the low turnout . . .

The Miami game was actually decently attended. 36K. The Oregon game in 2005 is what really killed us. 19K. Yikes. It was abysmal. We need to avoid Reliant at all costs except for games that are a guaranteed 30K+.

I can't believe what i'm hearing from some of our fans. If you want to ponder about our TV contract situation, just look at the attitudes of some of our own. We expect to get paid like teams drawing 40-50k on a consistent basis, yet turn right back around and admit that we are content with playing home games at a 22k-seat soccer venue. But no, it's all Marianatto, Aresco, Deloss Dodds, (insert name)'s fault that we don't get our due respect, or a phat TV contract. Play as many as possible at Reliant, and if we have to move any games, for goodness sake let's work something out with the Astros and MMP. But not a damn soccer field....

(03-07-2013 09:35 PM)Texas2Step Wrote:  I can't believe what i'm hearing from some of our fans. If you want to ponder about our TV contract situation, just look at the attitudes of some of our own. We expect to get paid like teams drawing 40-50k on a consistent basis, yet turn right back around and admit that we are content with playing home games at a 22k-seat soccer venue. But no, it's all Marianatto, Aresco, Deloss Dodds, (insert name)'s fault that we don't get our due respect, or a phat TV contract. Play as many as possible at Reliant, and if we have to move any games, for goodness sake let's work something out with the Astros and MMP. But not a damn soccer field....

Really, do you read and think before you write? I'm one of the biggest, unabashed homers on this board. I believe Houston can and will achieve greatest. . .

But this is a transition year in many respects. . . moving up in competition and tougher schedule, etc. Who knows what our record will be when USF comes to town.

Yet, we also have been given a chance to play on ESPN against one of the returning Big East team that has some strong national/regional following, with a new dynamic head coach, who will be the darling of the media. ESPN wants USF to succeed in my opinion.

However, the game is on a Thursday night on Halloween . . . practically, Houston will be fortunate to draw 35,000 for this game because of the opponent and weekday game time . . .

Sure, go ahead and play it at Reliant with 35,000 in the stands and listen to ESPN drone on and on about how the stadium is half-full, the cameras will show nothing but empty end zone shots, ec. . . if you don't believe this, then you have been living under a rock . . . if Houston puts a great crowd of 45,000 in Reliant, the stadium will still look half empty and ESPN will make it look/sound like its only 15,000.

Put this ONE, SINGLE game in BBVA Stadium and it could be a packed-house crowd with a great atmosphere . . . ESPN couldn't really say anything about the crowd, will run stories about the new 40,000-seat stadium being built on campus, and the TV cameras won't have a single empty seat at BBVA Stadium to broadcast on national television.

Think I"m crazy, bookmark this post and let's revisit it on November 1, 2013.

BBVA may be small but would be a great experience. It's only for one year for crying out loud.

(03-07-2013 09:53 PM)Pony94 Wrote:  BBVA may be small but would be a great experience. It's only for one year for crying out loud.

Exactly!

I've heard Delmar Stadium is available. Let's sell out whole season!

Everybody knows I'm one of the most rabid UH fans around period and even I say that we should at the VERY LEAST see how the Southern game at BBVA turns out before making a final judgement.

Wouldn't playing Texas southern at bbva be like playing an away game against an FCS opponent since southern uses bbva as their home field?

(03-08-2013 12:22 AM)mufanatehc Wrote:  Wouldn't playing Texas southern at bbva be like playing an away game against an FCS opponent since southern uses bbva as their home field?

Southern =/= Texas Southern

I sincerely doubt we'll play any games at BBVA.

I'd be all for a mixed bag of Rice, Reliant, and Minute Maid. That'd be fun.

(03-07-2013 09:35 PM)Texas2Step Wrote:  I can't believe what i'm hearing from some of our fans. If you want to ponder about our TV contract situation, just look at the attitudes of some of our own. We expect to get paid like teams drawing 40-50k on a consistent basis, yet turn right back around and admit that we are content with playing home games at a 22k-seat soccer venue. But no, it's all Marianatto, Aresco, Deloss Dodds, (insert name)'s fault that we don't get our due respect, or a phat TV contract. Play as many as possible at Reliant, and if we have to move any games, for goodness sake let's work something out with the Astros and MMP. But not a damn soccer field....

Attitudes? You think stating the facts about our attendance has ANY effect on our TV contract? Talk about putting cart before the horse. Hello, our attendance makes up our TV contract, not the other way around.

Playing at Reliant does not increase our TV revenue OR exposure. So, other than keeping people like you from feeling butthurt about having to face the reality that we're not going to pull more than 24-25K for teams like Southern, Memphis, USF, Cinci, and SMU next year, what good does playing there do?

If you have something against BBVA stadium, that only speaks to your insecurity about our program and sheer state of denial you live in about our attendance figures. It's a great venue with much more appropriate accommodation for those 4 games, and would absolutely be a more lucrative financial deal for us.

(03-08-2013 12:34 AM)Kronke Wrote:  I sincerely doubt we'll play any games at BBVA.

I'd be all for a mixed bag of Rice, Reliant, and Minute Maid. That'd be fun.

I don't think Minute Maid can logistically fit a football field in it. The actual field of play does not have a lot of square footage compared to a place like Yankee Stadium, which can barely fit a football field in there.