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The Future of TU Facilties? A rabidTU2 Suggestion.
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rabidTU2 Offline
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Post: #21
RE: The Future of TU Facilties? A rabidTU2 Suggestion.
Event Parking:

OK, its a touchy subject! A lot of our fans just go bonkers when its brought up. They assume that anyone soooooo lazy they won't walk a half mile or so through our beautiful campus to the stadium, should just stay home and sleep all day in their recliner. OK, fine! But I think most of the rest of us had rather see them in CS or the Don on game day. That should be the goal!

My reply to attendance is always that any stadium should be built with a capacity goal of "one empty". What I mean by this is that the ideal stadium capacity is a stadium with one single empty seat on game day, That means your stadium was built with an exact size where everyone who wanted to attend a game had a seat, yet there is still "room for one more". Well that is the way we should look at parking too. There should be as many game day parking spots as possible that can accomodate the total number of campus "visitors" we get. Again, there is an optimal number and of course campuses aren't generally built with the idea they are parking friendly. But a campus like TU where many events occur, the university has to consider it as a significant factor for both events and student use.

We've discussed the setback before and I'm not sure if a solution was ever arrived at whether that section of land should be used by TU or not. (For those who may read this and don't understand what it is, its a parcel of land along Harvard Ave roughly from 4th street to 11th street - and is basically an open field area unused for any purpose.) Its just vacant TU owned land that has been roped off as an additional barrier between TU and the neighborhood surrounding TU. But with the push for more undergrad students, the setback may now come into play as a parking area for TU students living off campus who will need parking during school hours (on or near campus), yet not need the space during event times in the evening or on weekends when events are usually scheduled. The setback would pretty much meet the future parking space needs of commuter students during school hours and would also meet fan parking needs after school hours. Now of course the setback would have to gain approval from the city and there is always politics involved dealing with those people, but again, what is good for TU is good for the city. Working together is a good thing, especially when we argue the importance of TU to the community.

So how much parking is it? Does it even matter? Well, yyyyyyyyes it obviously does. If the entire vacant area along Harvard is dedicated to commuter and event parking, that should amount to roughly 800-1,000 parking spaces. That is significant for events since on event day, a car holds around 3plus people on average per vehicle going to an event. Thus that is an additional 3,000 fans attending an event next door to the Don and only a short 200 yard walk from CS. And with the shuttles available to pick up folks and shuttling them to the front door of DWR and/or CS on event day, those neighborhood parking problems we have would be greatly reduced. Pickup then deliver and then repeat. Very simple.
05-04-2016 09:39 AM
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rabidTU2 Offline
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Post: #22
RE: The Future of TU Facilties? A rabidTU2 Suggestion.
One more thing that should be a discussion point on the value of parking is what occurred in Stillwater last year at their homecoming event where a gathering of fans near the street led to a horrible car-pedestrian accident that took the lives of several people there. Both TU and especially the city should be aware of the possible danger of having too many people parking in the nearby neighborhoods and forced to walk the streets near campus. More close by event and student parking and having the city allow more of it should be the goal. Safety is a factor too. Neither fans nor students should have to walk the streets in danger of being involved in an accident.
05-04-2016 09:52 AM
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Post: #23
RE: The Future of TU Facilties? A rabidTU2 Suggestion.
The idea that CS needs more premium seating for addtional revenue is the point of the thread. Adding premium seating like the above examples using the links at USM and SMU would add a few thousand extra seats without having to expand any outdoor seating. Adding about 5 premium rows of seats along the east side of CS for most of the length of that section (about 200 seats per row equals about 1,000 addtional cap). But of course a two story facility doubles that - to two thousand seats added. But the configuration could and probably should vary from just seats. I'd really rather have a bottom story of only seats and suites on the top - maybe 1,500 total and then do the same along the south endzone. That gets to about the 3,000 addtional cap.

How far in the future are we talking about? Obviously it would be a decade or more. But I know there has been discussion on the radio when Blankenship was the HC after the Liberty Bowl when we were still in CUSA. But now the conference we are in is a bigger and better league with more visibility. So 33,000 should be a stadium goal over the next decade or so. A 33,000 seat venue by 2025.

Far (very, very far) into the future could be the inevtiable completion of the bowl - connecting the seating bowl on the southeast and southwest. That would add about 3,500 more outdoor seats bringing the cap to about 36,500. And then the ultimate completion of CS would be surrounding the entire stadium with suites and indoor premium seats bringing the stadium cap to about the 40,000 seat capacity we used to have. But of course, the stadium would be extremely fan friendly at that future point.

Now of course this is just an imaginery stadium redo and isn't even on the drawing board right now, but its something that might be a good thing to wonder about and visualize in the long, long, long off season before the first game.
(This post was last modified: 05-05-2016 09:44 AM by rabidTU2.)
05-05-2016 09:40 AM
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Post: #24
RE: The Future of TU Facilties? A rabidTU2 Suggestion.
Since these facilities upgrades are almost all "projected" well into the future, there is one that I'm pretty sure will occur and won't necessarily be a TU facility, but a city of Tulsa facility that allows TU a extra practice and gameday venue that enhances its visibility in the community and region - the development of the Arkansas river for the rowing program.

With the passage of the recent sales tax extension, the river development will continue as planned and I think that is a good thing overall. So in the future, it would serve TU and the city to encourage more activity "on" the river rather than just "beside" the river. TU used to have row practice along the Arkansas before we moved everything to the Verdigris, but with the new push for water along the Arkansas River/downtown, we could see more boating, sailing and other activities there. So in a decade or so, the row team may be having some competitive events "along the river" in downtown Tulsa. A competitive event that is free to the public and is easily watchable from the bank of the river would be another example where both the city and TU could work together as partners. That is always a very good thing. And of course a regatta just 3-4 miles from campus is better than one 15-20 miles away. The idea is to make everything "TU" also about the city and region.
(This post was last modified: 05-19-2016 08:59 AM by rabidTU2.)
05-06-2016 08:31 AM
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Post: #25
RE: The Future of TU Facilties? A rabidTU2 Suggestion.
While watching the recent AAC Softball Tournament which was also televised by ESPN it became clear that TU needs to make a few alterations for televised events at the SB complex. Having several large semi trucks partially blocking the street should be looked at by TU in the future. I'd recommend some type of curb cut that would allow for traffic to pass. The street was cut down to one lane and the large trucks partly obstructed the drivers view when trying to pass those large vehicles. I'd think some alteration to the street would be warranted to widen it at a couple of key points. There seems to be enough curb room to at least give the semis enough parking space that it wouldn't block both lanes of traffic and the sight lines along that street.

This may also present problems at the Case Tennis Center (for the upcoming NCAA Tennis Championships) next door to the SB field. The best alteration would be widening the street at the opposite side of the road (at a couple of key points) to allow room to do the cut-in. I assume TU now owns the land on that side where some housing has been removed so doing this shouldn't create a major problem. But of course, they would have to get city approval. But again, its a safety issue.
(This post was last modified: 05-19-2016 01:45 PM by rabidTU2.)
05-19-2016 08:59 AM
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Post: #26
RE: The Future of TU Facilties? A rabidTU2 Suggestion.
So what should the inevitable goal be for the facilities at TU? IMO the ultimate goal would be the ability to stage every event on a big stage. By that I mean the ability to accomodate any event in any sport the AAC sponsors that would provide a national TV audience that would both look and feel like a big event and have all the infrastructure required. Any facility in any sport such as an AAC football championship. An AAC basketball tournament (at the BOK - men/Civic Center - women). Volleyball. Softball. Tennis. Track. Rowing. Even baseball which we do not play at this time.

That should be the goal. To make Tulsa/TU a hub for any sport sponsored by the AAC and ultimately acceptable to the NCAA as a regional site as well.

BTW, the NCAA MBB rounds 1 and 2 regional will be played at the BOK next season and will be hosted by TU. That is what we should strive for. Big events and the facilities to accomodate them.
(This post was last modified: 06-10-2016 09:17 AM by rabidTU2.)
06-09-2016 11:33 AM
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Post: #27
RE: The Future of TU Facilties? A rabidTU2 Suggestion.
(04-19-2016 11:18 AM)rabidTU2 Wrote:  TU has a multiple number of sports programs and has built or renovated almost all its facilities within the last 20 years. The Case Tennis Center and the Hardesty Complex (Softball, Track, Soccer) along Delaware Ave. didn't exist until the 1990s. That opened up the huge amount of construction on the west side of TU. At about the same time, TU opened the Don for MBB, WBB and WVB. The construction of those athletic venues ensured TU's place in a growing, burdgeoning and brand new conferences of similar universities with academic excellence and great athletic potential - first the WAC, CUSA and now the AAC. So athletic facilities are tremendously important and "MUST" be a focal point of our great school at 11th and Harvard.

So what is next? Well, we've announced the IPF and I assume its on the drawing board to be built even though we haven't heard much lately. TU has announced it and I assume it will be a done deal sooner than later. After that, there has been talk about further developement of Chapman Stadium and specifically building suites/inside seating on the east side of that venue. I'd like to discuss that later in this topic forum.



The City of Tulsa and TU - Sharing Athletic Facilities.

Just as in the past, I believe there needs to be a renewed push for both the city and university to work closely together and use the existing facilities at hand. Right now that isn't really being done as much as in the past. Part of the problem was that TU isn't as dependent as before on city owned venues like the aformentioned Civic Center, Oiler Park and the cities use of Skelly Stadium as an attraction as a pro venue etc.

Right now the city sports teams have evolved and changed. We don't and won't have "major" pro sports at least in the forseeable future. There is no NFL franchise waiting in the wings nor is the NBA breaking down the door of the mayors office to play in the BOK. Even the OKC Thunder won't play more than a single exhibition game here - imo a snub to the city that helped them acquire the franchise in the first place.

Because of the present demographics of the city, soccer has become a major pro sport once again in the metro. We actually have two pro teams - the Roughnecks and Athletics. Neither of those teams have a soccer friendly facility and both play in venues designed and setup for baseball, not soccer. And there is no push to change that as far as I can tell. Actually the Athletics appear to be in jeopardy of losing their venue altogether - the old Driller Park on the fairgrounds which is set to be demolished and transitioned into a BMX facility. So I'm sure that franchise is desperate to find another venue or will move or disband altogether.

Soooo! How about TU's soccer (and Track) facility coming to the rescue. The Roughnecks and Athletics need a complex that is soccer friendly, not too far from the middle of the city and is set up for that sport and not baseball. Some folks might say that there would be too many conflicts, but I investigated that and there really wouldnt be as far as I can tell.

The TU Facility at 6th and Delaware - We use that facility for track AND soccer - both men and women. But track doesn't seem to be a problem since most of the meets are away and only one dual was scheduled this year at the facility. So its mostly a practice venue for that sport. No, the main use as a game venue is for college soccer. TU's mens and womens soccer teams schedule runs from August to September in the fall when pro soccer isn't being played. So there is no conflict during that time of year. The only conflicts would come during the spring. TU's spring schedule fell this year between mid-March to mid-April (6 games) and the womens schedule is similar. The Athletics played their schedule between early May thru July with only 7 home games. The Roughnecks schedule was longer and ran from the last of March thru early September. If you look at a calendar, you can easily see there would be very few schedule conflicts if the matches were played at the TU Hardesty complex.

So why do I advocate taking a look at this? Well it comes down to one word - revenue. TU can make money renting its ready made soccer friendly venue to these pro soccer teams - one or even both if the schedules are compatable for both.

The other reason is that imo we need to nourish the idea of getting more people on campus and forming the habit of encouraging the citizens of Tulsa to make TU its home team.

Now there might have to be a few renovations to our campus venue. We might have to upgrade the seating, parking, amenities and make a small investment in those or even ask the city to help with that. Its been done before. But in the end, whats good for Tulsa is good for TU and vice versa. Oh and one other thing, it certainly can't hurt the TU soccer programs to have a pro soccer team playing on their field and on their campus.

IMO

http://www.tulsaathletics.com/news/athle...open-forum

If you want to see the schedule, click the one at the top and it shows there wouldn't be any schedule conflicts since the Athletics schedule occurs during the summer months when TU isn't in session and the TU teams aren't competing. So renting our facility is a no brainer and the rental money goes to TU.
(This post was last modified: 06-21-2016 12:02 PM by rabidTU2.)
06-21-2016 11:57 AM
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rabidTU2 Offline
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Post: #28
RE: The Future of TU Facilties? A rabidTU2 Suggestion.
(06-21-2016 11:57 AM)rabidTU2 Wrote:  
(04-19-2016 11:18 AM)rabidTU2 Wrote:  TU has a multiple number of sports programs and has built or renovated almost all its facilities within the last 20 years. The Case Tennis Center and the Hardesty Complex (Softball, Track, Soccer) along Delaware Ave. didn't exist until the 1990s. That opened up the huge amount of construction on the west side of TU. At about the same time, TU opened the Don for MBB, WBB and WVB. The construction of those athletic venues ensured TU's place in a growing, burdgeoning and brand new conferences of similar universities with academic excellence and great athletic potential - first the WAC, CUSA and now the AAC. So athletic facilities are tremendously important and "MUST" be a focal point of our great school at 11th and Harvard.

So what is next? Well, we've announced the IPF and I assume its on the drawing board to be built even though we haven't heard much lately. TU has announced it and I assume it will be a done deal sooner than later. After that, there has been talk about further developement of Chapman Stadium and specifically building suites/inside seating on the east side of that venue. I'd like to discuss that later in this topic forum.



The City of Tulsa and TU - Sharing Athletic Facilities.

Just as in the past, I believe there needs to be a renewed push for both the city and university to work closely together and use the existing facilities at hand. Right now that isn't really being done as much as in the past. Part of the problem was that TU isn't as dependent as before on city owned venues like the aformentioned Civic Center, Oiler Park and the cities use of Skelly Stadium as an attraction as a pro venue etc.

Right now the city sports teams have evolved and changed. We don't and won't have "major" pro sports at least in the forseeable future. There is no NFL franchise waiting in the wings nor is the NBA breaking down the door of the mayors office to play in the BOK. Even the OKC Thunder won't play more than a single exhibition game here - imo a snub to the city that helped them acquire the franchise in the first place.

Because of the present demographics of the city, soccer has become a major pro sport once again in the metro. We actually have two pro teams - the Roughnecks and Athletics. Neither of those teams have a soccer friendly facility and both play in venues designed and setup for baseball, not soccer. And there is no push to change that as far as I can tell. Actually the Athletics appear to be in jeopardy of losing their venue altogether - the old Driller Park on the fairgrounds which is set to be demolished and transitioned into a BMX facility. So I'm sure that franchise is desperate to find another venue or will move or disband altogether.

Soooo! How about TU's soccer (and Track) facility coming to the rescue. The Roughnecks and Athletics need a complex that is soccer friendly, not too far from the middle of the city and is set up for that sport and not baseball. Some folks might say that there would be too many conflicts, but I investigated that and there really wouldnt be as far as I can tell.

The TU Facility at 6th and Delaware - We use that facility for track AND soccer - both men and women. But track doesn't seem to be a problem since most of the meets are away and only one dual was scheduled this year at the facility. So its mostly a practice venue for that sport. No, the main use as a game venue is for college soccer. TU's mens and womens soccer teams schedule runs from August to September in the fall when pro soccer isn't being played. So there is no conflict during that time of year. The only conflicts would come during the spring. TU's spring schedule fell this year between mid-March to mid-April (6 games) and the womens schedule is similar. The Athletics played their schedule between early May thru July with only 7 home games. The Roughnecks schedule was longer and ran from the last of March thru early September. If you look at a calendar, you can easily see there would be very few schedule conflicts if the matches were played at the TU Hardesty complex.

So why do I advocate taking a look at this? Well it comes down to one word - revenue. TU can make money renting its ready made soccer friendly venue to these pro soccer teams - one or even both if the schedules are compatable for both.

The other reason is that imo we need to nourish the idea of getting more people on campus and forming the habit of encouraging the citizens of Tulsa to make TU its home team.

Now there might have to be a few renovations to our campus venue. We might have to upgrade the seating, parking, amenities and make a small investment in those or even ask the city to help with that. Its been done before. But in the end, whats good for Tulsa is good for TU and vice versa. Oh and one other thing, it certainly can't hurt the TU soccer programs to have a pro soccer team playing on their field and on their campus.

IMO

http://www.tulsaathletics.com/news/athle...open-forum

If you want to see the schedule, click the one at the top and it shows there wouldn't be any schedule conflicts since the Athletics schedule occurs during the summer months when TU isn't in session and the TU teams aren't competing. So renting our facility is a no brainer and the rental money goes to TU.

The Tulsa Athletics will be playing their last soccer match at Driller Stadium tonight. The stadium will be demolished and the land used to house a BMX facility.

The word now is that the Athletic Soccer team is looking for a new "smaller" soccer home. Again, the facility at TU should be on the table as a possible home venue replacement. I assume the city/county would help fund the venue rental or underwrite it since it provides the Athletic Soccer team with access to Driller Park. Without a suitable replacement, the Athletics may not be able to continue to field a team in the future. So playing pro soccer at TU would make a lot of sense in the summertime when TU isn't playing the sport.

IMO
06-25-2016 06:58 PM
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rabidTU2 Offline
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Post: #29
RE: The Future of TU Facilties? A rabidTU2 Suggestion.
(05-06-2016 08:31 AM)rabidTU2 Wrote:  Since these facilities upgrades are almost all "projected" well into the future, there is one that I'm pretty sure will occur and won't necessarily be a TU facility, but a city of Tulsa facility that allows TU a extra practice and gameday venue that enhances its visibility in the community and region - the development of the Arkansas river for the rowing program.

With the passage of the recent sales tax extension, the river development will continue as planned and I think that is a good thing overall. So in the future, it would serve TU and the city to encourage more activity "on" the river rather than just "beside" the river. TU used to have row practice along the Arkansas before we moved everything to the Verdigris, but with the new push for water along the Arkansas River/downtown, we could see more boating, sailing and other activities there. So in a decade or so, the row team may be having some competitive events "along the river" in downtown Tulsa. A competitive event that is free to the public and is easily watchable from the bank of the river would be another example where both the city and TU could work together as partners. That is always a very good thing. And of course a regatta just 3-4 miles from campus is better than one 15-20 miles away. The idea is to make everything "TU" also about the city and region.

Just saw the announcement that Tulsa will have another "Great Raft Race" again this year and maybe as an annual event. So that is another indication that more activity on the river is good for the area and an opportunity for TU to eventually move rowing back to the Arkansas for at least some of the competitions.
07-09-2016 10:44 AM
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