(06-18-2016 01:30 AM)Doots4Dawgs Wrote: Ive only been to Rice and Marshall's stadiums outside of our own. I liked Rice's stadium, very large. New facility should be nice. But the atmosphere wasnt that good. The sound systems were dreadfu, of course they looked temporary. There were like no Rice fans, we had more. I bet it will be way better once the new building and entertainment systems are installed and if more fans show up next season!
The Joan had a good aatmosphere despite the rainy day. Really liked Marshall's band and how they were setup. The movie clips were odd, but I guess if thats what you are mainly known for to the general population of the country you go with it. I liked the stadium, its larger than ours due to your bowl at the end. Im sure on a sunny day vs someone like WKU it'd be pretty electric.
As far as Marshall goes, I think you hit the nail on the head. Thanks for understanding the weather situation, too. That game was a Friday game. It started raining Tuesday and stopped Sunday. At 35 degrees. It was a miserable weather week and really hurt the atmosphere of the 2014 CUSA title game.
Marshall has moved the band for this year in an effort to "tighten up" student seating (they have same number of seats, but are now one section further toward the middle of the endzone). I hope this works out as is hoped.
We haven't really had good weather for a home game in two years, and even 2014 was very cold or raining to the point of street flooding for 5 of the 7 home games. Last year we had two games in 90+ degree weather and the other 4 it rained. It has rained at every spring game since 2010. I don't mean spitting rain, either. Puddling downpours. You can mark your calendar by it.
Hopefully that changes. Marshall is making some minor in-stadium changes this season that should be good for the long haul.
I also agree/understand the previous poster from Rice. That ramp isn't going anywhere but I certainly understand how that can leave a negative impression on someone having to shove an equipment cart up it. And it was barely 35 degrees that day. Cloudless did not help in that regard.
Marshall needs to make some more adjustments within the stadium. One that would be a bit costly but needs to happen is the removal of the endzone metal seats (8,000) or the purchase of the alley behind it (which MU thought it was getting in 2000 when that expansion was built, but the owner decided to up the price by an extreme amount). There is no infrastructure to support those endzone seats (no concessions, restrooms, or entrance gate), so basically the stadium concourse is built to support 30k tops, but when you get 25% more than that for a game, you literally can't move.
I would be extremely happy with expanding the concourse out another 25 feet. Any crowd over 25k makes it almost impossible to walk from one end to the other during halftime without coming to a complete stop.
The Joan is so far ahead of what old Fairfield Stadium was, I am afraid folks in the late 80's/early 90's compared the two more than making JCE all it could've been. That said, little things such as the hedges on top of the bank by the endzone have been done and have helped. Long ago, that endzone was simply a hillside that folks would by general admission tickets for, bring blankets, and sit there and watch the game. The seats have helped comfort, etc. there, but it did lose some character. The facilities building was top of the line when it opened in 1991. Only minor cosmetic changes have been made to the outside since, so it really isn't old enough to look "classic," but it's too old to look shiny and new. Just one of those things.
Sorry for the lengthy nature of this reply. The wheels kept turning longer than I thought they would. I have been to most stadiums from CUSA 2.0 in off-season. Rice Village is very nice around stadium. UTEP's setting is beautiful. Southern Miss is in a college town with a stadium that as is mentioned, looks bigger than it is by design. Has a big time look. UAB needs its own on-campus stadium. I wish the powers that be there would let that happen. Apogee hadn't been built yet when I was at North Texas. I think that covers where I have been in the current league.