What is your opinion on KBS expansion?

[Dmanuhone]

So no one knows how much we pay to lease the temp bleachers?

[EastHallApp]

This is a long building project. We're on track, with our coaches and players, to be very good in the coming years. It's going to take a year or two to physically upgrade the stadium. We have an ACC home game in two years as well.

Waiting to see if/when we start getting 30,000+ again would be more prudent if we could snap our fingers to instantly upgrade the stadium. Building the program to a big winner is on the same time frame as literally building stadium additions.

Break ground ASAP, IMO.

Worst case of expanding too late: Increasing demand for tickets drives increased YC donations and season ticket sales as fans pay a premium to ensure they get a seat, then willingly contribute to expansion drive as the need becomes apparent.

Worst case of expanding too soon isn't nearly so pretty.

Plan now, yes. But prove the demand is there before paying for new supply.

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

The HPU model is doomed. Their debt load is tragic, and their President has mortgaged their future to increase enrollment now. I wouldn't hire graduates from their nor would I want my child to go to school their. It's a paper house.

I can't speak on the debt load. I do know they are looking for students that can pay tuition so they don't have tons to give away as some privates do to bring the cost down. And that might be tied to the debt load.

I do think they produce a quality graduate that would be worth hiring based on what interaction I have had with some of the faculty and to a lesser extant some of the undergrads.

[Gonzo]

This is a long building project. We're on track, with our coaches and players, to be very good in the coming years. It's going to take a year or two to physically upgrade the stadium. We have an ACC home game in two years as well.

Waiting to see if/when we start getting 30,000+ again would be more prudent if we could snap our fingers to instantly upgrade the stadium. Building the program to a big winner is on the same time frame as literally building stadium additions.

Break ground ASAP, IMO.

Worst case of expanding too late: Increasing demand for tickets drives increased YC donations and season ticket sales as fans pay a premium to ensure they get a seat, then willingly contribute to expansion drive as the need becomes apparent.

Worst case of expanding too soon isn't nearly so pretty.

Plan now, yes. But prove the demand is there before paying for new supply.

Demand was there two years ago. I see your point and I think it's prudent to do it in phases and in a cost effective way, but there's not mystery as to our potential to draw crowds of 30k when the team is winning.

I'm not saying expand to 40k seats, but adding the endzone section, removing the track, ect so that we have 30k real seats isn't really rolling the dice. We have the requisite fans when we're not coming off a four-win FCS season; playing in terrible weather; and playing thanksgiving games.

[mtnjax]

KBS expansion, attendance is down a bit? I guess it could be worse....

I will just leave this here... http://nineronline.com/2014/11/student- ... ueen-city/

That is some pie-in-the-sky dreaming from UNCC. Based on what I have seen, those 2500 student seats will be empty regardless. No one cares about 49er football, especially when they are a doormat.

it''s pretty pathetic honestly. i went with some JMU friends a couple of weeks to their game at UNCC and it's a joke. the stadium is nice, but it was almost half empty until almost the 2nd quarter. then it was like 3/4 filled up. no atmosphere and their student section is weak. and i don't buy the whole "college students can't get up early enough to tailgate" line. we have 3:30 kicks and our students are out tailgating in Raley by 9am. UNCC's tailgating was a joke too

[NewApp]

When we see 30k crowds consistantly then we can expand. We have bitten off a big chunk with the move to FBS. The only way to pay for it now would be more fees and we've maxed out there for a while.

RP.

[MAD Doctor]

We raise money by selling naming rights to Samaritan's Purse and call it "The Shoebox."
J/K

[SayYesToTheRock]

Per a meeting I attended with Rick Beasley yesterday:

The debt incurred from the recent KBS expansion is being taken on with 25 year bonds. These bonds still have about 20 years left on them.

Waiting until 2034 when the debt is paid off isn't the best option. At this point, Butts In Seats is the only important metric for determining when to expand.

[Boone Goon]

I'm not a geologist, but since we're on a mountain, I'm assuming the ground underneath the football field is rock and not dirt. Which effectively eliminates the option of digging down the field level. If I'm correct, then let's just turf over the track, work out a shared use agreement with Watauga HS for their track and call it a day.

[manonabuffalo]

I'm not a geologist, but since we're on a mountain, I'm assuming the ground underneath the football field is rock and not dirt. Which effectively eliminates the option of digging down the field level. If I'm correct, then let's just turf over the track, work out a shared use agreement with Watauga HS for their track and call it a day.

Yes, it is rock and also has subterranean water systems if you go down far enough. The extra expenses that broke the budget on the App Athletics Center construction were incurred during the "dig down" process. There were numerous delays and expenses with environmental protections and rock drilling.

However, the construction of that building taught the school a lot of what is under the stadium. They likely would be on target with the next budget should we eventually dig down and remove the track. The dig also would not be as deep as the AAC.

[WataugaMan]

Yes, that is one reason KBS is called The Rock.

[JTApps1]

speaking of possible new locations for the track, has anyone bought the old high school land yet?

I hear the school is finally looking into the possibility of buying that property from the county. The idea is to put track, soccer, and softball at that location. Softball would move to make room for expanding the indoor facility to make it a full sized field. Seems like plenty of posts were made here about doing this years ago, but for some reason the school missed out.

If that happens we can finally make KBS a dedicated football venue like it should be. I know we don't need more seats right at this moment but we will in the not so distant future. Imagine how loud it could be at 40,000?

[JTApps1]

Am I the only one who hates the idea of student housing being integrated into stadium expansion plans?

I'm right there with ya.

[bigdaddyg]

Lots of great ideas. Looking forward to attending a game against a P5 school and sitting among 35-40K in attendance, in a stadium void of a track with permanent seats on both endzones. Until the day when everything can be afforded and the upgrades are done isn't it easy and affordable to put the temporary bleachers in the field house endzone like we have done? What is the amount of seating that can be put in that area as temporary? Not the look we want but it seems to work.

[EastHallApp]

I posted this in a previous discussion a few months back, but one idea I'd like to see would be to keep the hill as grass seating but further develop the walkway behind it to include terrace seating. (For example, see the Durham Bulls' park: http://www.milb.com/content/page.jsp?si ... ey=tickets).

[JTApps1]

There's something like 50 million set aside for a future stadium project in 2018 according to UNC budget reports. Hopefully it looks very little like the picture that's been floated around.

Agreed on hoping it looks different. That massive building takes so much away from the look of KBS. Plus I hope we will slide the field over closer to the West side then extend the East Side Upper deck down toward the field. We could build end zone seats to match the lower half of that East Side deck. At least three side would be uniform that way.

[clayton]

If you're going to go with the track removal, sliding the field towards the west-side stands makes the most sense. Then, rebuild the east stands and leave more room for expansion/another deck.

[BeauFoster]

If you're going to go with the track removal, sliding the field towards the west-side stands makes the most sense. Then, rebuild the east stands and leave more room for expansion/another deck.

This is what makes the most sense from every angle. At some point we will have to replace the existing concrete stands, might as well do it this way. Lowering the field would be cool if money is no object (as well as time concerns) but those aren't luxuries we have.

[97grad]

Maybe I just missed the traditional threads, but I haven't seen a lot of discussion of attendance on here this year. What's the consensus there? From eyeballing the 3 games I attended I'd say attendance is down by a fair margin. Even though we're coming off a rough season as people have said, I would have thought our first FBS season would have drawn more. We definitely should not expand until those numbers come back up consistently, so we can afford to do it right. We did the last expansion on the cheap and while it's better to have it than not, I'm not a fan of the aluminum and chain link fence, and I don't think I'm alone.

[Saint3333]

The bandwagon will fill back up as quick as it emptied.

The fans you saw this year given record of 2013 and early 2015 combined with the worst gameday weather for a season I can remember should provide a reasonable baseline for minimum attendance.

For those that jumped off, might want to jump back on next season or you'll be sitting further away from the 50 yardline in the coming years.