Building A Stadium: It's Not Just For The Big Boys Anymore

[UNTflyer]

When UCF finished its Bright House Networks Stadium on campus a year ago, plenty of eyes were upon the Knights.

To see if they could do it. Now, Florida Atlantic is doing it. And if FAU is able to duplicate the effort -- or do better – then other mid-major programs are going to follow suit. Erector-set type stadiums (which by the way, Florida State had for years until the early 1990s) will be the way for schools to compete on a much bigger stage and draw more support for programs.

This is the final result. Also check out the stadium photo galleries.

The topic comes up today because of a meeting in Boca Raton on Tuesday about picking the winning to team build FAU's new stadium. Ted Hutton of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel gathered news, photos and videos for his blog.

FAU, like UCF, likes the Olympic Village concept: You build an athletic complex and in the process build dorms and retails stores to help the financing. UCF's is, well, let's just say some of the retailers aren't as excited about the reality as they were about the possibilities. There's work to be done.

But attendance has improved at almost every sport played on that side of UCF's campus, and if/when FAU gets it stadium built, things will perk up there, too.

But the bigger picture is what can happen around the country if this process works again and proves financially viable. FAU is looking to spend $48 million for a 40,000-seat venue.

UCF spend $54 million for a 45,000-seat venue.

When UCF first started thinking about a stadium a decade ago, the price tag was closer to $100 million. (That's why the Knights were so excited about their stadium; in their minds, they were shopping at a 50-percent-off sale.)

Translate this around the country at schools that don't have on-campus stadiums. San Diego State. Memphis. Even Miami.

The Hurricanes have moved their home games to Dolphin Stadium, and the Orange Bowl is now gone. But the Hurricanes have lacked fan support in years in which they're not dominant, and you wonder how many people they'd draw if they had games in Coral Gables and not in south Broward County.

(We might get an idea when Minnesota opens its on-campus stadium soon. The Gophers are in a similar situation as the Hurricanes, except, well, the 'Canes win more consistently and have five national titles.)

The plug-and-place construction aspect of these stadiums has other long-term implications for other facilities. Baseball, for instance. Athletic directors know that baseball can be a revenue sport at Sun Belt (area, not conference) schools if the team wins and the marketing department does its job. (And, of course, if schools don't overpay for coaches.)

[MDH]

First sketches I've seen of the FAU stadium (not that I've ever gone out of my way to look for them). I like FAU's plans A LOT more than what UCF built....UCFs screams low budget to me and yet it wasn't that cheap. No one would EVER sit in those corner seats for the first few years if we built one that large at UNT and it would also be pretty hard to add on to if need ever be.

[UNTflyer]

First sketches I've seen of the FAU stadium (not that I've ever gone out of my way to look for them). I like FAU's plans A LOT more than what UCF built....UCFs screams low budget to me and yet it wasn't that cheap. No one would EVER sit in those corner seats for the first few years if we built one that large at UNT and it would also be pretty hard to add on to if need ever be.

6 of UCF's top 10 attendance games came last year. And they used to play in the Citrus bowl.