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New Baylor Football Stadium


lockmat

  

31 members have voted

  1. 1. If built, will this new stadium help recruiting?



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  • 2 weeks later...
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Looks great. If I didn't know what the Brazos looked like it would excite me even more. All waterways besides the gulf can be deciving kind of like the Bridge in Dallas over the creek/Trinity river. When I first moved to Dallas I kept looking for the trinity and then I saw the sign and I laughed.

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  • 1 month later...

story: http://goo.gl/omIam

Baylor University will announce today that former Astros owner Drayton McLane is making the largest financial gift in school history. That gift will be earmarked for the new 50,000-seat, on-campus football stadium.

McLane’s gift means the stadium will be built, although it won’t be official until more funds are raised for the what could be a $300 million facility.

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While the stadium looks great, they haven't been able to fill their current stadium (outside a few big matchups this past year with Griffin) which seats 35K. However, if they keep their exciting offensive football up they may be on to something.

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Thanks for the update... although I thought I'd read about McLane's intended gift some time before, perhaps here on the forum. Regardless, this is great news for Baylor (and, generally, for Texas).

I notice that no dollar value for McLane's gift is mentioned in the article, yet the author is convinced that (i) McLane's gift doesn't cover the entire cost and (ii) Baylor is virtually guaranteed to raise the balance. In my experience, such things are never guaranteed so it makes me even more curious as to the nature/amount of McLane's gift.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Didn't see these renderings anywhere on here: http://www.baylorbears.com/view.gal?id=115301

While the stadium looks great, they haven't been able to fill their current stadium (outside a few big matchups this past year with Griffin) which seats 35K. However, if they keep their exciting offensive football up they may be on to something.

Just a quick fact check:

No doubt Baylor's current stadium is too large for present needs. It's been there for 50 years, and you probably count on one or two hands the number of times that it's been at capacity. Here are the numbers for the old and new stadiums:

Baylor's current stadium (Floyd Casey Stadium) seats 50,000.

The 2011 average home game attendance was 41,368.

The new proposed Baylor Stadium will seat 45,000. It is designed to accommodate future expansion up to 55,000, if that's ever warranted.

Having sat through many, many games at the old stadium, the new Baylor Stadium should be just about the perfect size.

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They seem more depressed than the other seats. Seems odd

Agree that the yellow seating certainly looks to be depressed. I expect that it is mostly a sight-line issue. That yellow section is primarily for the freshman class, which usually will stand for most or all of the game. My guess is that the depressed seating is to maintain good sight lines behind the dedicated student area.

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  • 3 months later...

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/Waco_City_Council_Backs_Baylor_Stadium_Project_For_Public_Use_162821926.html

WACO (July, 17, 2012)-The Waco City Council approved in a 6-0 vote to use 35 million tax dollars to pay for infrastructure for the project Tuesday night.

Baylor president, Ken Starr spoke to the council stressing the need for the money.

He also said the project would not be "economically feasible" for the university without the city's support.

One concern among some members of the council, though, is that the stadium be available to rent for residents and organizations outside the Baylor community.

Starr says, "This is truly going to be a community complex and Baylor stadium. So I think everybody is going to be very happy with the many uses of this complex."

At the very least, fans of the current design may want to take a look. Has some quick fly-thrus/overs of the proposed stadium in the piece.

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What is on the other side of the river, anyway? It looks like a hotel.

Meanwhile, the Floyd Casey Stadium is so much less popular these days that they cover much of the end zone seats with tarps. A new stadium solves this problem how?

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Will it help recruiting? It shouldnt. Who the hell decides to go to a school based on their new stadium?

You'd be surprised how much facilities make a difference in a recruit's eyes. Especially now that Baylor isn't looked upon as a perennial doormat. The arms race in college football is very heated and a lot of school's are trying to keep up just so they can continue to land top talent.

As for the actual non-athlete students, there is still a sense of school pride you have in your campus and sporting venues. Why settle for sub par facilities when you can have it all on campus. The fact that this stadium will actually be on campus is a huge selling point, too.

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You'd be surprised how much facilities make a difference in a recruit's eyes. Especially now that Baylor isn't looked upon as a perennial doormat. The arms race in college football is very heated and a lot of school's are trying to keep up just so they can continue to land top talent.

As for the actual non-athlete students, there is still a sense of school pride you have in your campus and sporting venues. Why settle for sub par facilities when you can have it all on campus. The fact that this stadium will actually be on campus is a huge selling point, too.

I believe it is essential to have a large library, large study halls, etc. I dont think that football stadiums should be a factor when the prospective student is deciding which school to attend. It should be a non-factor. I'm sure that most of the students attending a university are unlikely to be a part of any of their sports programs. So how it could be a selling point is beyond me. Not everyone cares about college sports.

As for the non-athlete students... Perhaps there is some sense of pride in their school however I think it derives more from whatever academic program they're in and the prestige that originates from that rather than the performance of the shcool's football team.

Imagine the silly looks a non-athletic student would recieve if they were asked why they chose to attend Baylor (or any other university) and the student replied with "Because they have a awesome football team and a new stadium that's on campus". The student would instantly suffer a loss of credibilty.

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I believe it is essential to have a large library, large study halls, etc. I dont think that football stadiums should be a factor when the prospective student is deciding which school to attend. It should be a non-factor. I'm sure that most of the students attending a university are unlikely to be a part of any of their sports programs. So how it could be a selling point is beyond me. Not everyone cares about college sports.

As for the non-athlete students... Perhaps there is some sense of pride in their school however I think it derives more from whatever academic program they're in and the prestige that originates from that rather than the performance of the shcool's football team.

Imagine the silly looks a non-athletic student would recieve if they were asked why they chose to attend Baylor (or any other university) and the student replied with "Because they have a awesome football team and a new stadium that's on campus". The student would instantly suffer a loss of credibilty.

Of course those things are essential, it is a place for higher learning. But I think you're overlooking how big of a marketing force college sports are for their respective universities. If you have a big name program that is going out and winning, your school reaps the benefits of incredible amounts of free press.

For example, when I was a senior at Tech we had a great year (by our standards) in football...we were repeatedly in the news, had some really big, nationally televised games and there was a lot of buzz after we beat Texas and got to #2 in the rankings. The following year, we had our largest incoming freshman class in school history. I don't think it is entirely coincidence, although I guess it could be.

I would hope that anyone is more proud of their degree's merit than the merit of their football team but that isn't always the case. I just think you can argue that there can be a distinct correlation between athletic prowess and school recognition/funding.

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What is on the other side of the river, anyway? It looks like a hotel.

That hotel was actually demolished late last year. It was the Hotel Waco, an ex-Holiday Inn.

There's also a small apartment complex on the waterfront across from the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame, which will likely disappear if the Stadium is to be built.

I think on that plot there's also a series of transmission lines that feed into a substation on the other side of 35. Might be interesting to see how that's handled.

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  • 1 month later...

Funny enough, I happened to be in Waco recently, and was able to get these pictures of the site from I-35. Looked like they were doing some utility work at the time.

DSC09171.jpg

DSC09172.jpg

This is about where the old Hotel Waco used to be. Definitely an improvement over the past few years IMHO.

DSC09174.jpg

DSC09175.jpg

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  • 2 months later...

The Waco Tribune-Herald had a couple of pieces related to the stadium in the past few weeks...

This one talks about the simultaneous construction of the Stadium and the nearby I-35 Bridge over the Brazos

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/175722051.html

And links to a TxDOT webcam that provides updated images six times a day: http://i35-brb-cam.tti.tamu.edu/latest.php

While it looks like a few roads will be updated for the new stadium: http://www.wacotrib.com/sports/175535791.html

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Of course those things are essential, it is a place for higher learning. But I think you're overlooking how big of a marketing force college sports are for their respective universities. If you have a big name program that is going out and winning, your school reaps the benefits of incredible amounts of free press.

For example, when I was a senior at Tech we had a great year (by our standards) in football...we were repeatedly in the news, had some really big, nationally televised games and there was a lot of buzz after we beat Texas and got to #2 in the rankings. The following year, we had our largest incoming freshman class in school history. I don't think it is entirely coincidence, although I guess it could be.

I would hope that anyone is more proud of their degree's merit than the merit of their football team but that isn't always the case. I just think you can argue that there can be a distinct correlation between athletic prowess and school recognition/funding.

It's not a coincidence. I had a conversation with a Baylor admissions official a couple of years ago when we were visiting the campus (during RGIII's time there) and was told that Baylor was getting a record number applications and that it was related to Baylor's successes on the football field.

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  • 5 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

Brazos Commons Project. 180 million dollars invested into the riverfront/downtown Waco.  Should be a game changer for this city.  

 

http://www.kwtx.com/video?videoid=2623721

 

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/city_of_waco/details-emerge-of-million-brazos-commons-project/article_7fefa7a5-d442-56e1-b926-702a6139bda3.html?mode=image&photo=1

 

 

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A couple random pictures. It's coming along very quickly.  This thing is going to be huge.  The steel for the roof will extend another 40-50 ft taller than it currently is.  Drove past it on I-35 the other day and it looks just incredible.  

 

 

post-6600-0-75860300-1376512368_thumb.jp

post-6600-0-90816400-1376512503_thumb.jp

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Clearly the only thing this building has to do with the stadium is that they're both for the college, but I figured Baylor people might like this and it probably doesn't warrant its own thread here.

 

32.jpg

 

http://www.therendercafe.com/houston/gallery.php

errr, what is this? i havent heard/seen anything about this. the tallest building in Waco is the ALICO building at 22 stories. this would be a gamechanger for the skyline. though it doesnt appear to be close to downtown?

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Its not far from downtown and it is a gamechanger.

actually i just found on their website that its slated to go on the east side of LaSalle Ave, which is a mile or two from downtown (downtown is west of Baylor, this project will be to the east). it would be kind of odd to have a tower way out there but the southwest side would have amazing views of Baylor and downtown Waco. i wish (not that it matters because this thing will most likely never see the light of day) they would build this closer to the stadium and the planned Brazos Commons site, near downtown where most of the pedestrian activity takes place.

heres another rendering of it with LaSalle Ave in the foreground.

http://www.therendercafe.com/houston/ShowPic.php?file=/Img/Renders/Branded_Full/31.jpg

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actually i just found on their website that its slated to go on the east side of LaSalle Ave, which is a mile or two from downtown (downtown is west of Baylor, this project will be to the east). it would be kind of odd to have a tower way out there but the southwest side would have amazing views of Baylor and downtown Waco. i wish (not that it matters because this thing will most likely never see the light of day) they would build this closer to the stadium and the planned Brazos Commons site, near downtown where most of the pedestrian activity takes place.

heres another rendering of it with LaSalle Ave in the foreground.

http://www.therendercafe.com/houston/ShowPic.php?file=/Img/Renders/Branded_Full/31.jpg

 

It surely would compliment the stadium, too bad its on the opposite side.

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