(02-07-2016 12:48 PM)McLeansvilleAppFan Wrote:  

(02-07-2016 01:09 AM)T-Dog Wrote:  FYI, about the proposed high school site, it's at the bottom center here, right south of campus. You can see the baseball, softball and track for the old high school. The building itself was demolished to prevent asbestos.

Right next to Kidd-Brewer, you can see a white building, which is the indoor practice facility. The softball field is squeezed in next to it, literally between a rock (mountain) and a hard place (the facility).

What you don't see is that the site is elevated about 100 feet from the road (105).

ya, unless there is a plan B, for buying some other parcel of land, we must get the old high school site if we have any hopes of expanding the stadium.

The current softball field is the location of the previous baseball stadium. The softball field and IPF take up the space of the previous baseball field more or less.

The old high school campus was/is fairly flat it seemed once up the hill off Hwy-105. Why App does not own that piece of land frustrates me on so many levels. If it ever gets developed for something else .... I don't want to think about it to be honest.

(02-07-2016 03:42 PM)AppManDG Wrote:  

(02-07-2016 01:01 PM)MJG Wrote:  Play
Courtesy: UNDsports.com

Trying to figure out the need for a indoor practice facility when they have a domed stadium.

They play in a municipal stadium that host a lot of events.
according to some UND fans the old outdoor stadium will be expanded to twenty five thousand. It sits next to the IPF and serves as the outdoor practice/track facility .

It should be noted that the facility at UL was built during the Bustle years. Sometimes August can be monsoon season in Lafayette. One year it rained for nearly every day of preseaon camp. You can say all you want about the benfits of practicing in the elements, but if you cannot get on the field because it is flooded or it is a big mudhole, this type of facility is needed. Also, it is hard to do a lot of teaching in torrential rainfall. Some schools may not need it, perhaps NMSU for example, but down in Louisiana it is almost a necessity.

In Texas,

UT, A&M, Baylor, TCU, and Houston have an indoor facility;

TXST, UTSA, SMU, UTEP, UNT, Rice, and Tech don't have one.


Weather-wise we really don't need one. Sure, it can be 110 degrees in August but most people around here are acclimated to the heat.

It would be nice to have for recruiting but I'd rather see that money go elsewhere on campus.

The problem for us is during the summer when it gets really hot, you can expect a daily thunderstorm anywhere from 2-7 almost everyday...they contain a lot of lightning which is something you obviously must take serious.

We have some very unpredictable weather in NE AR and have lost a lot of practice days in the past due to not having an IPF. The new facility is really impressive in person and has come in handy for other sports, especially baseball.

So app fans can you give me a dumb down version of what exactly they are planning with this high school land?

(02-09-2016 11:56 AM)Ewglenn Wrote:  So app fans can you give me a dumb down version of what exactly they are planning with this high school land?

The current owners (gov'ment) are trying to extort as much money from the school as it can knowing the school's needs and lack of other viable options. Last I heard it was a Mexican standoff.

There is a long-time practice of the town government doing whatever it can to limit the school's growth and undermine the college town culture.

(02-09-2016 12:23 PM)DrGonzo Wrote:  

(02-09-2016 11:56 AM)Ewglenn Wrote:  So app fans can you give me a dumb down version of what exactly they are planning with this high school land?

The current owners (gov'ment) are trying to extort as much money from the school as it can knowing the school's needs and lack of other viable options. Last I heard it was a Mexican standoff.

It is a long-time practice of the town government of doing whatever it can to limit the school's growth and undermine the college town culture.

So are they wanting it to potentially build a bigger future stadium or moving things there to make room near the current stadium?

(02-09-2016 12:26 PM)Ewglenn Wrote:  

(02-09-2016 12:23 PM)DrGonzo Wrote:  

(02-09-2016 11:56 AM)Ewglenn Wrote:  So app fans can you give me a dumb down version of what exactly they are planning with this high school land?

The current owners (gov'ment) are trying to extort as much money from the school as it can knowing the school's needs and lack of other viable options. Last I heard it was a Mexican standoff.

It is a long-time practice of the town government of doing whatever it can to limit the school's growth and undermine the college town culture.

So are they wanting it to potentially build a bigger future stadium or moving things there to make room near the current stadium?

1. Move track and field, softball, etc to old HS.
2. Remove track at KBS, expand indoor practice facility.

Short version is yes. Before anything can be done the track has to go. That former high school site has existing facilities that can be easily and quickly upgraded to collegiate specs.

(02-09-2016 12:41 PM)AppManDG Wrote:  Short version is yes. Before anything can be done the track has to go. That former high school site has existing facilities that can be easily and quickly upgraded to collegiate specs.

I see well hopefully yall can get it

The Cajuns indoor hitting facility for softball is under construction right now, the new lights are up at the the baseball field, and the new grandstand for the baseball field is scheduled to be started as soon as the team walks off the field for the last game this year.

(02-09-2016 12:23 PM)DrGonzo Wrote:  

(02-09-2016 11:56 AM)Ewglenn Wrote:  So app fans can you give me a dumb down version of what exactly they are planning with this high school land?

The current owners (gov'ment) are trying to extort as much money from the school as it can knowing the school's needs and lack of other viable options. Last I heard it was a Mexican standoff.

There is a long-time practice of the town government doing whatever it can to limit the school's growth and undermine the college town culture.

The story is much longer, but the county owns the land, not the town. Regardless, the county wants 20 million, and that's been a firm number for quite some time. There have been several offers from local land developers, but the town changes the zoning more than their under britches in order to avoid certain companies from buying the land.

Here is the notice of sale http://www.wataugacounty.org/main/App_Pa...operty.pdf

(02-09-2016 04:10 PM)bigCasu_ Wrote:  

(02-09-2016 12:23 PM)DrGonzo Wrote:  

(02-09-2016 11:56 AM)Ewglenn Wrote:  So app fans can you give me a dumb down version of what exactly they are planning with this high school land?

The current owners (gov'ment) are trying to extort as much money from the school as it can knowing the school's needs and lack of other viable options. Last I heard it was a Mexican standoff.

There is a long-time practice of the town government doing whatever it can to limit the school's growth and undermine the college town culture.

The story is much longer, but the county owns the land, not the town. Regardless, the county wants 20 million, and that's been a firm number for quite some time. There have been several offers from local land developers, but the town changes the zoning more than their under britches in order to avoid certain companies from buying the land.

Here is the notice of sale http://www.wataugacounty.org/main/App_Pa...operty.pdf

Yeah that is pretty pricey

well, I believe they originally wanted 30 million, totally unrealistic number, and they had a national building company interested in the land, but it seems the country has made it so tough for them to buy the land, they basically threw their hands up in frustration, told the county what they could do with the land, and walked away. What frustrating is App, under the direction of, then Chancellor Peacock, sold the land to the county that the existing school is on. My understanding is he gave them a great deal, probably in the hopes of creating a stronger bond between the school and the country. I guess he though with all that good will, they would return the favor someday, and help us out when we needed it. Honestly, I have no idea what the fair value of the land is, but, its been sitting there for over 5 years with only a few serious offers, and it seems at this point App is the only serious bidder for the land. That probably tells you, the land is either over priced, the county is making is very difficult for developers, or a combination of both. Unfortunately, Gonzo is right, the county knows we want that land really bad, and they are going to hold out until they get the price their asking for. If we want that land, were probably going to pay what the county wants.

Think of what Watauga County could do with (spit balling a number) $15 million. The town of Boone and Watauga county have constantly tried to hold the growth of the university at bay. Which is counter productive considering without Appalachian State University, Boone would be just a sleepy little community with its chief industries being pretty fall foliage, small family owned ski mountains and a wild west family theme park.

Someone with a better memory than me, how long did it take to rezone and get the new education building built?

twitter.com/DieselOnRadio

(02-09-2016 03:47 PM)CajunAmos Wrote:  The Cajuns indoor hitting facility for softball is under construction right now, the new lights are up at the the baseball field, and the new grandstand for the baseball field is scheduled to be started as soon as the team walks off the field for the last game this year.

You guys must have some boosters that really love softball. Seriously, you've got better softball facilities than most DI schools have baseball facilities.

(02-10-2016 10:55 AM)APPdiesel Wrote:  Think of what Watauga County could do with (spit balling a number) $15 million. The town of Boone and Watauga county have constantly tried to hold the growth of the university at bay. Which is counter productive considering without Appalachian State University, Boone would be just a sleepy little community with its chief industries being pretty fall foliage, small family owned ski mountains and a wild west family theme park.

Someone with a better memory than me, how long did it take to rezone and get the new education building built?

twitter.com/DieselOnRadio

but you got to understand, there is a large group of retirees, and old timers who have lived their all their lives in Watauga, who would love nothing more than to have their sleepy little community back. Honestly, I think the money isn't the biggest hurdle for us to get that land, its the retirees/old timers on the town/county boards whose number one priority is keeping App in check rather than selling the land to us, and putting that money to good use. I also suspect that once a proposed deal is announced, a large contingency of residence will pressure the county not to sell the land to App.

(02-10-2016 11:33 AM)EigenEagle Wrote:  

(02-09-2016 03:47 PM)CajunAmos Wrote:  The Cajuns indoor hitting facility for softball is under construction right now, the new lights are up at the the baseball field, and the new grandstand for the baseball field is scheduled to be started as soon as the team walks off the field for the last game this year.

You guys must have some boosters that really love softball. Seriously, you've got better softball facilities than most DI schools have baseball facilities.

The softball team has a very strong contingent of fans. They really love this program, and the team embraces it too. I don't know if there are any published attendance numbers for softball (nationally); but I'd wager the Cajuns are very high on the list. It really has become a signature sport for the school; with baseball right there as well.