OT: Elbel parking lot being torn up
The parking lot/asphalt football field next to Elbel is being torn up right now. Roller Hockey enthusiasts and streetballers weep.
Rumor has it that it is to be replaced by Field turf to be used by the MMB. Another rumor has it that pretty soon all of elbel will be turfed and no longer to be open to the public.
Whenever I hear the phrase "When Hell Freezes over" I think of that game. I have never been more miserable in my life.
Who don't remember the infamous Purdue game...
I wish they'd done this years ago... The sole reason I wasn't devastated to leave the band was because my legs and feet didn't really want to deal with another year of pregame show rehearsals on that pavement.
Other pros:
- Halftime show formations can get a little cleaner since the Big House field will be better simulated
- Noise may be dampened some by the rubber, causing the band to have to play louder to hear themselves (as for the neighborhood noise difference.. who knows). This means they might be louder in the stadium as well.
Other cons:
- Gameday parking and tailgating spaces will probably be lost... granted those spaces were expensive as all get out, but it's still a place to put your car and set up shop that's close to the stadium. That is of course unless they don't mind spilled BBQ intermingling with the fieldturf pellets.
- MMB socks will become the permanent home of rubber pellets for the foreseeable future.
Does nobody play roller hockey up on north campus anymore? Granted, it's been more than a decade, but there were a couple pretty large, obstruction-free parking lots up there. Granted, not really good for pickup games and we did generally only play late at night... ok, never mind.
DPS runs off you off these days. One cop coasted right up behind the goalie with all his lights off and then hit the siren to scare us all. We've been channeling Clerks and playing on parking structures at night recently. Well lit with security lighting and you can play a level down in case of rain.
A) Clerks is awesome
B) You should post when/ where you play over on the Elbel sign in. There will be lots of us looking for games. That is, if you are looking for more skaters.
http://www.meganandlars.com/elbel/
Wow, I just got his with a wave of nostalgia seeing the pictures on that site of Al, Dave, Lars, and Scott. It’s a shame they’re tearing up a place where I made countless friendships with locals, students, professors, and the occasional Michigan hockey player when I was there from 2002 to 2006.
If we’re going to be playing MANBALL this fall, can’t the MMB man up as well and march on pavement, their knees be damned?
The backtop truly destroys the legs. We've had so many unnecessary injuries that could have been prevented if turf was in place. This is a great change for MMB members! My sympathy goes out to the roller hockey players though..
I'm worried about parking after morning rehearsal. The MMB normally parks behind the Coliseum for morning rehearsal, then we all have to move our cars to Elbel afterwards or be towed. I wonder if they're going to open another lot for the MMB or just have us stay at the Coliseum.
I broke my foot (stress fracture) practicing on that asphalt back in the day. Field turf will be much better on the feet and joints. It is a bummer for the roller hockey people though.
I don't doubt it. I've come down on that asphalt wrong a couple times myself--one leading to my foot swelling up and keeping me out of the '08 Wisconsin game.
My mangled and broken post-MMB body (seriously) is glad for the future generations of MMB alums who never have to sound like a geriatric when they get out of bed in the morning in their mid-20's.
FWIW, I talked to Bill Martin about this once in the early 00's when he came to Band Week to deliver pizzas for dinner (Pizza House!). Plans were in the works under his watch to do this, with Athletics footing the bill, but the MMB vetoed the plan because it meant lost revenue from gameday parking. About time it finally happened.
Unless you understand what kind of effort goes into an MMB performance, you'll probably ridicule all the current and former band members' stories. In my case, I have some degree of pain in my knees every day, directly related to the priviledge of marching.
When I first arrived at Michigan it was before they went back to grass. The old AstroTurf field after a week of practice on the Elbel asphalt was fantastic.
I marched one OSU game with a rolled ankle and partially tore a ligament in a knee in the Rose Parade and went on to march the game.
Damn, sometimes I get nostalgic for the good old days... I wouldn't change a thing. But I am happy for the MMB. It is fantastic to see that the athletic department is taking some of its financial success over the last half decade and helping the MMB -- this is way better than it was "back in the day."
The talk on Elbel with the lady that keeps bugging us when we play during days where the lot is used for parking is that they were going to put down a new lot. But that lady is devoid of sanity.
This is suprising because the loss of gameday parking fees is going to be epic. The MMB pocketed most, if not all of this.
I'm also wondering if just the lot of Elbel is going to be Field Turfed, or if the entire field is going to get the treatment. My guess is it's just the 100 yards of parking lot, cause it would be monster expensive to field turf Elbel entirely. If that's the case, and the band is ok with losing all that revenue, I'm all for it. This way you still have a baseball diamond and volleyball courts and green fields where undergrads can get in bikini tops for no reason and tan during the summer. Which is really the greatest asset of Elbel anyway.
Any truth to the rumor that the band is going to learn the old Chuck Berry song, "Tore Up Over You" or Freddie King's "I'm Tore Down" in "honor" of the lot?
but tell me this! where will dave winn play roller hockey?! physics 140 will never be the same
And there are guys playing roller hockey on it.
We had one (presumably) last skate out there this evening. Enjoy the turf. I kinda hope they give the field to lacrosse rather than band.
The first week that I was in the MMB I remember looking around and seeing most of the members (especially the older ones) with some kind of ankle brace, knee brace, shin splint wrap, etc. Pain in the band is just one of those things that we've had to deal with. I always joke around that my graduation present will be knee replacement surgery. It's nice to know that people do care about our well-being.
This was marked at trolling til now. I mean, seriously.
August 2nd, 2011 at 12:43 PM ^
the students should speak up so we dont lose the whole elbel facility. i will be pissed if i cant play sand volleyball anymore, or have to go all the way to mitchell to play soccer. the location of elbel is perfect for NARPs (non-athlete regular persons)...all 40,000 of them
Elbel is owned by Rec Sports (the parking area - or former parking area, I guess) is under control of the bands. Elbel is not going away as an area for students any time soon.