i find this extremely interesting
Next Stadium Expansion - The Latest News
August 19th, 2011 at 1:24 PM | 
Part of that might be the
Part of that might be the
August 19th, 2011 at 1:52 PM |
West Lafayette is carved out
West Lafayette is carved out
West Lafayette is carved out of the Lafayette area which is actually almost 200,000. The difference is the easy access to the interstate and 23, which you noted. I am always amazed at how well traffic flows in Ann Arbor, although I didn't feel that way after the MSU game last year when I spent two hours going three blocks on Hill Street.
August 19th, 2011 at 12:43 PM |
Revelation 7:4
Revelation 7:4
Sooner or later we'll hit the prophesied 144,000!!!!
August 19th, 2011 at 12:48 PM |
Good and Bad
Good and Bad
I love the idea of expansion and am glad that the season ticket waiting list shows statistics that all Brandon to believe that we can support this expansion. However, can we? Its not exactly difficult to get on the season ticket waiting list. You pay $10 one time and then you sit there and wait. I am hopeful that they take this into consideration and not automatically count anyone who has not signed up over the past 4-5 years. I would assume that the percentage of people that signed up 10 years ago and would still purchase tickets is pretty low. Although, I could certainly be wrong on this.
Another bad thing is that I personally love how difficult Michigan Season tickets and some tickets in general are to obtain. The game, the tailgating and the complete overall experience are what make Michigan games great but bottled into this experience is the fact that "I have a ticket to a Michigan football game". As a season ticket holder nothing would change for me however, I wonder if it would become "easy" to get season tickets or tickets in general.
August 21st, 2011 at 1:06 PM |
It's actually not that hard
It's actually not that hard
It's actually not that hard any more to get season tickets. Details have been discussed on the board here, here, here, or a variety of other posts that you can find by searching the board. As an alum, I was able to get an offer for 2 season tickets after only being on the waiting list for a year and making a $150 donation.
'M-Burns', I'll never have better facial hair than this...
August 19th, 2011 at 1:31 PM |
Parking
Parking
Hope they are considering additional parking somewhere with any new expansion. I would be willing to pay a premium to park in the biggest tailgate lot next to the biggest stadium in the country.
August 19th, 2011 at 3:12 PM |
Ugh! Parking
Ugh! Parking
I know at the medical campus they're removing many of the staff parking spots to make room for patient parking at the new Mott children's hospital.
On game day, we always park on one of the structures on South U and enjoy the walk through campus. It really sucks walking back to the car after a loss though.
August 19th, 2011 at 1:53 PM |
Parking
Parking
Pave over one of the golf courses. Install people movers and chairlifts to the stadium. Allow beer sales enroute. Yes.
August 19th, 2011 at 2:16 PM |
Everybody talks about making the Stadium bigger.
Everybody talks about making the Stadium bigger.
But nobody ever talks about more and better parking.
We need much better parking for the entire athletic campus.
And there are at least a couple of obvious choices. One is the Ann Arbor Golf & Outing Club. There is nothing significant about the club, or its golf course. But it is already a virtual parking lot for football.
Then there is the University of Michigan Golf Course. And there is about as much of a chance of anybody "paving over" that, as there is of bulldozing Michigan Stadium and playing all home games in the Silverdome. The Michigan Golf Course is a 1930's Alister McKenzie-Perry Maxwell design. As such, it is like a Rembrandt in the world of golf course architecture. But one of the dirty little secrets in golf is that thanks to ball-and equipment technology, classic golf courses all over the world are rapidly being made obsolete by modern players. The Michigan Golf Course is dangerously close to being too short for modern intercollegiate golf. And the design is one in which it is really hard to adjust. There's no more rooom to move the tees on most of the holes, and it is really too bad that the property doesn't have more acreage to allow for that. The USGA has to do something about equipment standards.
Now back to parking. I've always been mystified how it is that the commercial businesses that line the railroad tracks to the east of the stadium have kept their places. I figured that they must have had either some personal dirt on the Regents, or else somebody with the wherewithal to hold out for a zillion dollars to hang on to those parcels.
It is just so completely obvious, that somethig needs to be done, to build a world-class parking structure with a pedestrian bridge back over to the Yost/Ray Fisher/Oosterbaan/Glick side of the tracks. But you never hear Martin, or Brandon, or anybody else ever talk about it.
August 19th, 2011 at 2:36 PM |
Bingo on parking. That's the
Bingo on parking. That's the
Bingo on parking. That's the HUGE issue here. And seems nowhere close to being resolved.
I've long advocated for a multi-story parking structure at the back of the Blue Lot near the walls to the practice fields. It just makes sense, and opens up the Blue Lot to everyone who (by rights of Victors Club membership level) should be in the Blue Lot. And eases the burden on the Gray Lot and elsewhere. As it is, there's already planned to be a huge shakeup of Blue Lot parking after this season, with more and more people being bounced out after parking there for decades. Always someone who wants to give more, no accounting for decades of loyalty. And less spots than ever before in that lot.
I mean, you go to places like Penn State and even to a certain degree Michigan State, and their parking organization and availability is miles above what it is here. It's almost embarrassing. Now, granted, those are two different campuses with a lot more open space, but it's a pretty ridiculous fact of life in Ann Arbor that we've gone all-in on stadium expansion, and have in fact -reduced- our parking availability. Remember, there's no more parking on Elbel this year, and a huge chunk of the Blue Lot got eaten up by the basketball facilities expansion. Not to mention the probably extraneous allotment of parking spaces in the Blue Lot and Buffalo Lot for suite and club seating folks.
As for the businesses by the railroad tracks, especially Fingerle, it's my understanding those buildings are built on some kind of former stream or riverbed, and there's limits on what can be built there. There were rumors three or four years ago that Fingerle had sold off to the AD and there was going to be some kind of athletics facility (outdoor swimming pool seems to come to mind) put in its place, but nothing ever came of it.
August 19th, 2011 at 3:18 PM |
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
And yes.
I am always surprised at how the University gets people to go to hockey games at Yost at all; the parking is so shitty. Basketball parking is a bitch, too, whenever we sell out games, like we did in, say, 1993. A whole gneration has grown up since then. And we have actually reduced the available Blue Lot parking with the new basketball player development center. (Inevitably, "the Martin Center," right? Or the Cazzie Russell Center?) And they are expanding handicapped parking all the time, thanks to ADA compliance and related concerns.
Anyway, Bando is totally on the money here. There are lots of Victors Club members who are rightfully hacked off about Michigan's crummy parking situation.
August 19th, 2011 at 5:20 PM |
I have gone to hockey games
I have gone to hockey games
I have gone to hockey games at Yost for over a decade (not counting as a student) and NEVER had a problem parking.
Also, I didn't see the link to the FREEP supporting the removal of parking spaces in A2. I just assume you forgot to link it? jk, man.
Harvard: The MICHIGAN of the East
We're not arrogant, we're just better.
August 19th, 2011 at 5:34 PM |
Do tell...
Do tell...
...where do you park at Yost? I'm honestly curious. And how early do you get there?
August 19th, 2011 at 6:00 PM |
On White one block over from
On White one block over from
On White one block over from Yost. I do get there early b/c sitting in Yost watching warm ups about an hour before the game while eating BTB is pretty much my favorite thing to do.*
Either that or at a meter up State St north of Yost.
* besides spending QT with the fam, of course.
Harvard: The MICHIGAN of the East
We're not arrogant, we're just better.
August 19th, 2011 at 7:04 PM |
Most games, if you get there
Most games, if you get there
Most games, if you get there a half hour before game time, you can pay five bucks and park in the Yost lot. If you don't, you can park in one of the neighborhoods (which are normally pretty clear to park in on a Friday or Saturday evening), you can park at a meter anywhere around there (no fee post-6PM), you can park in one of the University lots nearby (post-5PM on Friday/all day on the weekends), etc. etc.
There really isn't a problem for parking at Yost for your average hockey game. At all. Lots of options, minimal walking.
August 19th, 2011 at 9:30 PM |
Okay.
Okay.
I meant University/Athletic Department lots. Like what is the Gray Lot for football. You guys no doubt go to more hockey games than I do. I have always tried to park inside the general Ferry Field environs first, and then just panic in a rage when I find it all filled. More recently, I go have cocktails downtown, and then just take a cab from there.
August 19th, 2011 at 9:22 PM |
The game I attended last season...
The game I attended last season...
...my brother and I parked on State St. right by the ticket office about 40 min before the puck dropped. Don't know if that was pakring karma at work, but it was sweet nonetheless.
LSA '89 - MBB Natl Champions, Big 10/Rose Bowl Champions | @MGoShoe
August 19th, 2011 at 3:18 PM |
I walk, so I don't really get a vote
I walk, so I don't really get a vote
But being at the top of a parking structure after a Michigan Football game sounds like one of the 7 levels of Hell to me. But then, if the alternative is parking on Central Campus when you can't walk so well, I can see the desire.
As long as it's only open during football Saturday's...they're already paranoid enough to patrol the bridge to keep people from looking in on practice, they don't need to be scouting the higher levels of a structure. ;-)
"I love him, he's a great coach, he's a great mentor, he's a great friend. He's every single thing you want a college coach to be, and he does it flawlessly." -David Molk
August 19th, 2011 at 2:34 PM |
It Isn't Green/Cleantech
It Isn't Green/Cleantech
A certain community subset will actively oppose on environmental grounds any permanent parking facility that scales to meet peak demand. So too on revenue grounds will the folks who rent their yards and like private space on game day. Many vested interests entrenched over the decades; we were having identical discussions under Bo, Canham and Shapiro back in the day and look where we are now.
August 19th, 2011 at 3:20 PM |
Well, we're getting that new parking structure
Well, we're getting that new parking structure
Over by the downtown Library. That'll fix everything. When it's done. In 2047*.
(*completely made up estimate based on progress to date)
"I love him, he's a great coach, he's a great mentor, he's a great friend. He's every single thing you want a college coach to be, and he does it flawlessly." -David Molk
August 19th, 2011 at 2:44 PM |
I like the way David Brandon thinks
I like the way David Brandon thinks
This is a perfect place to put the opposing team fans. The further away from the field the better. But, I think this expansion should put us in the "untouchable" range of stadium size in the college football arms race. And in this arms race, there's no prize for 2nd place.
"You owe it to every man, woman, and child in the State of Michigan to beat the Buckeyes and silence their fans! Now go out there and make it happen!"
- Bo Schembechler (Result: U-M 22 OSU 0)
August 19th, 2011 at 3:10 PM |
I Mostly Concur
I Mostly Concur
Somewhat troubled though by Brandon's plan to exhume and bronze Bo holding a football over head and gesturing with the other hand "you want a piece of THIS" and situating him over south scoreboard as our own version of Touchdown Jesus. That's good marketing in the pizza world but a questionable play in the college football business.
August 19th, 2011 at 9:44 PM |
We have been number 1
We have been number 1
For attendance the past decade but we are outspent by rutgers in the arms race. I am not sure mire seats does it.
2013 resolution - make it onto the 2014 favorite MGoPosters post, not ironically
August 20th, 2011 at 11:01 PM |
It won't hurt, I mean Texas
It won't hurt, I mean Texas
It won't hurt, I mean Texas wants to fill in their stadium to make it complete, and that would probably put them over our current stadium as is
If you're doing nothing, how do you know when you're finished?
August 19th, 2011 at 3:23 PM |
I hope the end conclusion isn't an assumption
I hope the end conclusion isn't an assumption
Because I'm really not going to like the look of the Stadium when it's a...horseshoe. Even beyond looking like someone else, I've never particularly like offset Stadiums, and the perfection of the bowl with expansions has been great. They managed to make it look beautiful still with the new boxes, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. And it'll be nice when the endzones of the Stadium are bricked in and the last of that ugly metal work and siding will be covered up. Preferably buried wherever the halo went.
"I love him, he's a great coach, he's a great mentor, he's a great friend. He's every single thing you want a college coach to be, and he does it flawlessly." -David Molk
August 19th, 2011 at 3:33 PM |
Ivy Walls
Ivy Walls
I would like to see ivy strung up the stadium walls. Ivy says "academy" to me. It should soften the brick to metal transitions. That might be a maintenance nightmare however.
August 19th, 2011 at 4:17 PM |
I don't
I don't
want to see anything that reminds me of the Cubs. I like the way the stadium looks. I am not a credible source though, last time I was there it was when I was on the sidelines at the Michigan BSU game when Hart made, like his only fumble ever (it was ruled a safety.) I guess when I think ivy I think Wrigley, and I hate the Cubs, so my opinion shouldn't matter.
Coach Hoke once told me that a moral victory is still a (expletive deleted) loss.
August 19th, 2011 at 5:15 PM |
Step 1: Expansion
Step 2:
Step 1: Expansion
Step 2:
Step 1: Expansion
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Profit
August 19th, 2011 at 6:17 PM |
Step 2: ???
Step 2: ???
I think it is rather likely that step 2 would be "sell more tickets."
August 19th, 2011 at 8:37 PM |
I like it
I like it
I don't agree with a lot of what Brandon does, but I'm all for this. I don't think you have to sell out every game to justify any stadium's capicity, and would like to see it reach 140,000 in the next ten years.
August 19th, 2011 at 8:49 PM |
There's absolutely no way the
There's absolutely no way the
There's absolutely no way the infrastructure exists around Michigan Stadium to sustain 140,000 people without some serious, serious changes. That includes traffic, the concourse, and parking. Not to mention with the two colossal structures, there's no way you'd be able to do these row expansions in the endzones AND do decks over the top. 140k simply will not happen. At some point, we're going to reach the maximum, and it seems to me that's going to be when the endzones are fully enclosed.
August 19th, 2011 at 9:14 PM |
Yeah, think about it:
Yeah, think about it:
140,000 would be equal to a (current) football game, a sellout basketball game at Crisler, a sellout hockey game at Yost, a selllout baseball game at Ray L. Fisher, and more all at the same time.
110,000 + 14,000 + 6000 + 4000 = 134,000
August 19th, 2011 at 9:08 PM |
Bronze Statues
Bronze Statues
Need parking structures somewhere. One thing The Big House NEEDS around the concourse are bronze statues of Yost,Crisler, and Bo. Put one at each gate and rename Varsity Plaza to Schembechler Plaza and etc. The fourth statue for the fourth gate is one I'm having trouble with thinking of. Maybe Ufer?
August 19th, 2011 at 10:44 PM |
I find statues of sports
I find statues of sports
I find statues of sports figures to be cheesy. Besides, it violates our dictum: No man is bigger than the team.
August 19th, 2011 at 11:03 PM |
Tend to agree. Plus, once
Tend to agree. Plus, once
Tend to agree. Plus, once you start down that path you don't know where it will end. Just not our thing.
August 20th, 2011 at 11:04 PM |
Spot on. I mean you could say
Spot on. I mean you could say
Spot on. I mean you could say only Heisman winners; but as great as Harmon, Howard, and Woodson are, there is a LOT more to Michigan football than just the guys who won the Heisman
If you're doing nothing, how do you know when you're finished?
August 19th, 2011 at 9:43 PM |
Sky tram from the golf course...
Sky tram from the golf course...
Sounds like a great idea. Check the tickets as you load the tram and get dropped inside of the stadium grounds. Perfect!
Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you. -Satchel Paige
August 19th, 2011 at 11:00 PM |
The structure/seats
The structure/seats
The structure/seats surrounding the scoreboards will look awesome. Good post, and description.
I don't mind them doing it incrementally. It is important that every seat be sold and filled. Empty seats around the scoreboards just wouldn't look right.
August 21st, 2011 at 5:42 AM |
So for gameday that will put
So for gameday that will put
So for gameday that will put it at what, 125, 000+? 126 for OSU? Wow.
I'm going to treat you all the same. Like dogs. - Bo
August 21st, 2011 at 7:45 AM |
This is really cool
This is really cool
I love that we're expanding again. Saying that this has nothing to do with season ticket demand is stupid. It has everything to do with season ticket demand. Brandon realizes that these seats will instantly be filled, and that's money we're losing right now.
Wishing they will widen the seats in the Big House is also dumb. Yeah, everyone would love some more space, but that would lose money for the University. They are going in the other direction, and they won't sacrifice thousands of seats for comfort. Think about it like it's your business and the lightbulb might flick on.
August 21st, 2011 at 2:06 PM |
They're going to widen the
They're going to widen the
They're going to widen the seats. That's a given. You'd better believe that as ticket prices have increased, the AD has heard a lot of grumbling from fans complaining that they don't have enough space. Taking care of the people who already are buying tickets (as opposed to hypothetical future purchasers) is their top priority, as it should be.
August 21st, 2011 at 10:20 AM |
Waitlist is irrelevant
Waitlist is irrelevant
They could have sold more season tickets this year, but you don't get off the waitlist unless you donate. DB got greedy and saw a way to make more money selling 4 game packs and jacking up the fee associated with each pack purchase. We only have three games sold out at this point and you can get the games not sold out for below face on the secondary market so I doubt they will sell out with the exception of Purdue because it's homecoming.
For someone so concerned about branding the four game packs idea was not all that smart IMHO. DB could have offerred those who had non renewable (yes I was one) season tickets the last two years the same opportunity before offering the four game packs and there would be fewer "little game" seats available.
August 22nd, 2011 at 1:14 AM |
The + 1
The + 1
Is the 1 for Yost?
August 22nd, 2011 at 8:32 AM |
yup
"...when the ole' season is over, you and I know, it's going to be Michigan again; Michigan!"
August 22nd, 2011 at 8:32 AM |
yup
"...when the ole' season is over, you and I know, it's going to be Michigan again; Michigan!"
August 22nd, 2011 at 12:37 PM |
No. The extra "1"
No. The extra "1"
No. The extra seat is in honor of Fritz Crisler.
From http://www.umich.edu/stadium/history/
"Dedicated on Sept. 22, 1956, the press box and the additional seating constructed along with it increased the capacity of Michigan Stadium to 101,001. This began a tradition of ending all Michigan Stadium capacity numbers with the digit “1,” the extra seat being in honor of Fritz Crisler, the director of athletics at the time."
A proud first member of the Hoke Pointed at Me Club since 1/12/11.
August 22nd, 2011 at 9:32 AM |
Yep, nothing significant
Yep, nothing significant
Yep, nothing significant about a golf course which has been in operation since 1890..
Nevermind the fact that it is a relatively low-cost "locals" golf course, unlike Barton Hills..
A better plan would be to take over the land of Ann Arbor Pioneer.. (Which I recall as to actually still being held by the University of Michigan, which is why it is compulsory for the school to allow football parking.) As there isfalling enrollments in the Ann Arbor Public Schools after City Council and the Granholm administration ran out Pfizer, there is no need for four public high schools in the city.
Part of that might be the town itself. First of all, Ann Arbor has freeways going in 4 directions, so you have people heading north and south on Main and east and west on Stadium leaving the game - they aren't all heading to the same on-ramp. Also, West Lafayette and State College are far smaller towns, so not only are more people making a longer drive home (Chicago and Indy for PU and Pittsburgh and Philly for PSU) and therefore need to get going, but there is less to stay and do in the town.
Not to mention a lot of the people at UM games are people from in and around AA who either walk from their homes or park at their offices downtown and walk. Just they way AA and UM are, the traffic will never be as bad as some of the other Big Ten schools, including the ones you're mentioning.