Kinnick Renovations
- Thread starter hawkeye_fan321
- Start date
There was some chatter last week prior to the game on President Harreld wanting to review how it will be financed etc, and that the plans he heard were <70k seating, so he was questioning how to handle the lost revenue from the seat reduction. He then stated that there was no question that it needs to be done, just wanted to review. Barta then was asked about it after that and said seating will be 70k minimum and they will find a way to finance it to get started on it immediately after this coming season. That's all I have heard of late. The only work being done in the offseason would be design and prebuild of components that will be ready to put in place after demolition of N Endzone. This was from a podcast which had the project manager on from Mortenson I think.
Here's the link. Starts at the 44min mark or 49min depending on how much you want to listen to.
http://www.hawkeyesmic.com/repository/Football/Hawkeyes_Mic_Football_Show_100915.mp3
Here's the link. Starts at the 44min mark or 49min depending on how much you want to listen to.
http://www.hawkeyesmic.com/repository/Football/Hawkeyes_Mic_Football_Show_100915.mp3
I'd anticipate the aforementioned need to shore up financing plans and fundraising to lead to this renovation opening for the 2018 season, not 2017. If they were to publicly bid the work (which they have to) to begin construction the day after the last game of 2016 they would have already had to have schematics submitted to the Board of Regents, wouldn't they?
I hope they mostly replicate the south endzone (only with higher quality bleachers) vs having something that looks completely different on the other end.
Agreed, I would assume that they would remain consistent with the classic Kinnick theme. However, I have learned to not make logical assumptions
They have BOR approval to use same contractor as previous renovation because of the knowledge already known. So I'm not sure the public bid will occur with that approved already.
Everything I have read, and from the podcast...is that it will be complete prior to 2017 FB Season.
I worked on the original south end zone remodel in the summer of '82. Reggie Roby used to come out with a bag of footballs every day and kick from the goal line. When he was done there was always one or two that made it to the opposite end zone. The north end zone bleachers are already up against the street so I'm not really sure what is structurally possible.
In the podcast the contractor says the N Endzone will be bowled in with the West & East stands, and also be connected with the SkyBridge to Hospital & Transportation center. I suppose its possible that street gets closed? or that the new structure is "over & clear" of the street.
They have BOR approval to use the same construction manager and architect for design. But they will need to publicly bid all construction work to contractors. BOR has not approved a design yet, which is needed before bidding for construction
I really dislike the idea of losing seats. I would like to see capacity go to 75-80k. Sell a cheaper set of tickets to develop the next generation of fans and when we host marquee games you will sell more to them sticking them up in the higher rows.
I know it won't happen anytime soon......but I'd like to see them put individual seats in at least the east and west grandstands......and add upper decks to the two end zones.......hopefully the extra space in the end zones would mean they could do individual seats and keep capacity north of 70,000.
Another pipe-dream would be to run Hawkins under ground and make a perimeter around the entire stadium (like I think Michigan did), so more amenities could be added.
Another pipe-dream would be to run Hawkins under ground and make a perimeter around the entire stadium (like I think Michigan did), so more amenities could be added.
You must have received some special showing. I've never seen and have googled it many times.
I disagree. I don't think Kinnick needs to increase capacity, hell if anything use the "gained" space for higher-dollar amenities, like suites. I know us regular-bleacher-seat folks like to think we are the meat and potatoes of the football program, but the program needs money, money which it gets from us bleacher folks in quantity, where it can get it in quality from the suites.
This season showed us that we have empty seats, hopefully they fill right back up next year, but I'd be willing to guess the suites weren't unused.
What I DON'T want to see is the new endzone bleacher seats becoming donation level. I have no problem with ticket price levels for "better" seats, but you need to have each level, from the lowest to the highest to satisfy different types of people. I know plenty of long-time ticket holders that simply balk at the "donation", and I'd hate to turn them off .... from the endzone, there isn't anywhere else to put them.
I say keep it at 70,000, upgrade the amenities.
I would think, but don't know this and have nothing to support it, that having actual seats would drastically reduce the 70,585 number. Just off the top of my head I would think that every 2 seats would lose a third, losing 1/3 of the seats altogether. Maybe I don't attend enough pro sporting events, but unless they are the really good individual seats (cup holder, room for legs, room to step over legs), it just doesn't improve it much. Most I've been in are just like airplane seats, the armrest is simply there to be fought over and forcing you to squish yourself in.
But if the seats were going to be like that at, say, Kauffman, that would certainly be an improvement, but lose a lot of seats.
Iowa must keep the capacity at Kinnick north of 70,000 no matter what. If we don't we fall into the stadium size of Purdue, Illinois and Iowa St.
A
anon_i8nzeu2gbf0ba
Guest
Big TV screens are only getting bigger and better. Traffic is getting worse. Parking is always a hassle. Bad weather (heat, rain, cold) is not uncommon. One day, maybe not so far away, many game telecasts will carry that familiar sitcom line, "This program is being presented before a live studio audience."
Young people sit at the same table in a restaurant and text one another without even looking up. Social standards and technology are combining to make the many challenges of attending sporting events an endangered activity.
Some recent college football renovations have reduced seating capacity--some dramatically. Arizona State is one example. I believe Stanford is another.
Given all these factors, maintaining a seating capacity of at least 70,000 at Kinnick may not be as important as providing comfortable seating and amenities attractive enough to entice people to tolerate the hassles inherent in showing up in person to see the Hawkeyes play football.
Young people sit at the same table in a restaurant and text one another without even looking up. Social standards and technology are combining to make the many challenges of attending sporting events an endangered activity.
Some recent college football renovations have reduced seating capacity--some dramatically. Arizona State is one example. I believe Stanford is another.
Given all these factors, maintaining a seating capacity of at least 70,000 at Kinnick may not be as important as providing comfortable seating and amenities attractive enough to entice people to tolerate the hassles inherent in showing up in person to see the Hawkeyes play football.
I haven't seen traffic get any worse, and I've never thought parking was much of a hassle, at least not more so than any big event I've ever been to. Now, obviously, you can't pull up and park in one of the 87 parking lots surrounding the stadium like a moat like you can at other places, but parking is not difficult. There are yards everywhere, there are lots, including free ones, nearby and with shuttles, parking downtown and bussing has always been exceedingly easy.
Other than that I sadly agree with the rest. Many people these days simply want to be a "part of it", and to let everyone know that they are a part of it, so the importance is placed on taking photos, video, texting, facebooking, tweeting, whatever instead of actually watching and enjoying the game. Certainly this isn't everybody, not even a majority, but it is growing. Why go to a game and say you were there, when it has become just as "a part of it" to simply watch about it on tv and tweet about it.
I agree with the earlier poster who said keep it at 70k, even if just right at 70k, because it puts Iowa in a different "level" than many other schools. Improve amenities in the NEZ with the gained space, while making it somehow more strategically connected to the outside, like a skywalk connection, more gates, something. I could see a two-tiered approach with suites across the top higher than the top now, and standard seating below it, with an improved concourse/concessions below the new suites.
Last I heard they were looking at doing something like Ames CC did to their south endzone. Fewer seats but club type and more $$$.
Felt like I was packed in like a sardine and that was with bleacher seats on East side. Idk how that would appeal to others if they made everything into full seats like in arenas.
The plan on the NEZ is to have it bowled in from what I've heard. They could easily add a couple thousand seats on the SEZ corners and probably cheaply. It still baffles me that they didnt do this originally. The said reason was that the view would be bad. Who cares...sell them at a discounted rate.
We can put up some folding chairs to make 70k so the penis envy crowd remains happy.
Important question? The north endzone was the only section that wasn't renovated a decade ago. When they replace it, are they going to keep the troughs in the men's restrooms? Because those are the only restrooms in the entire place that don't have a monstrous line for them. I don't understand why new stadium builders insist on putting in urinals when it doesn't get much more efficient than the old troughs. For people on the northern ends of the East and West stands it is sometimes faster to walk over to the North endzone restrooms rather than wait for the ones close to them.
Yeah privacy sucks but we're talking about a building with 70k people in it. Efficiency for the masses should trump the "needs" of the prudes or easily embarrassed.
Yeah privacy sucks but we're talking about a building with 70k people in it. Efficiency for the masses should trump the "needs" of the prudes or easily embarrassed.
AristotleIowa said: "Given all these factors, maintaining a seating capacity of at least 70,000 at Kinnick may not be as important as providing comfortable seating and amenities attractive enough to entice people to tolerate the hassles inherent in showing up in person to see the Hawkeyes play football."
Now that Minnesota has completed their stadium (small but comfortable) I really think it changed the dynamic. I know they got "Viking $$" but looking ahead, as an aging guy, I don't want to fight for butt space and be uncomfortable for 3 hours. I do 7x a year and will continue but I KNOW friends of mine who said enough. If you want kids today to go to games, it has to appeal to their reality. Kinnick is a wonderful throwback but they need to find a way over the next 5-7 years to address that. I know we're talking tons more $$ than they're talking now to do that but it may be the only way in 2025 to convince 70k+ folks to sit in Kinnick. I'll still fight for buttspace and be uncomfortable
Todd Wenndt
Now that Minnesota has completed their stadium (small but comfortable) I really think it changed the dynamic. I know they got "Viking $$" but looking ahead, as an aging guy, I don't want to fight for butt space and be uncomfortable for 3 hours. I do 7x a year and will continue but I KNOW friends of mine who said enough. If you want kids today to go to games, it has to appeal to their reality. Kinnick is a wonderful throwback but they need to find a way over the next 5-7 years to address that. I know we're talking tons more $$ than they're talking now to do that but it may be the only way in 2025 to convince 70k+ folks to sit in Kinnick. I'll still fight for buttspace and be uncomfortable
Todd Wenndt
Something to consider, if they downsize capacity either with the endzone replacement or through replacing some portion of bleachers with stadium seating, it will only drive up the price of tickets. It is already pretty expensive to try to take a family of four to just one game.
Here's how much it would have cost to go to the Minnesota game.
Hawkeye Express: $12 per person over the age of 12.
Ticket: $65 per person
Stadium food: ~$8 per person (That's a lowball estimate, could be higher with kids that "need" popcorn, etc. also)
That's nearly $330 for a family with a teenager and a younger kid to go to one game. I know stadium food isn't a requirement, but most of our games kick off at 11, or in this case was a night game, so you're going to need food for kids somehow. This doesn't include souvenirs, programs, etc. So it is about as cheap as it can possibly get.
The Illinois State game would have cut $100 off of that price with the cheaper ticket rates including youth pricing for that game.
Cutting 5000 seats out of the stadium would require us to charge an additional $5 per ticket to equal the same ticket revenue. Plus we would have less revenue coming in from parking, concessions, souvenirs, etc. So the prices of those would probably go up too.
Ideally I would like to seem them try to fit a few thousand more people into the stadium with this renovation. Doing that would hurt parking a little bit more though. I wonder what the feasibility of adding a 2nd Hawkeye Express line coming from the east would be. Have parking at Kirkwood college and have the two trains meet at Kinnick.
Here's how much it would have cost to go to the Minnesota game.
Hawkeye Express: $12 per person over the age of 12.
Ticket: $65 per person
Stadium food: ~$8 per person (That's a lowball estimate, could be higher with kids that "need" popcorn, etc. also)
That's nearly $330 for a family with a teenager and a younger kid to go to one game. I know stadium food isn't a requirement, but most of our games kick off at 11, or in this case was a night game, so you're going to need food for kids somehow. This doesn't include souvenirs, programs, etc. So it is about as cheap as it can possibly get.
The Illinois State game would have cut $100 off of that price with the cheaper ticket rates including youth pricing for that game.
Cutting 5000 seats out of the stadium would require us to charge an additional $5 per ticket to equal the same ticket revenue. Plus we would have less revenue coming in from parking, concessions, souvenirs, etc. So the prices of those would probably go up too.
Ideally I would like to seem them try to fit a few thousand more people into the stadium with this renovation. Doing that would hurt parking a little bit more though. I wonder what the feasibility of adding a 2nd Hawkeye Express line coming from the east would be. Have parking at Kirkwood college and have the two trains meet at Kinnick.
After being at the Nebraska game and seeing plus feeling how cramped it was, Kinnick felt pretty comfortable. The only problem with getting rid of seats at Kinnick is ticket prices will probably go up. Nebraska seating 92k+ ticket price was $53.00. Iowa ticket prices $65.00. Loose several thousand seats I imagine the ticket prices at Iowa will go over $70.00.
No no no now we're winning again, so that means raising the average cost of ticket prices by another $20.
People will pay. You just wait and see...
A
anon_i8nzeu2gbf0ba
Guest
MSU is planning or has recently completed...I couldn't find a timeline...a north end zone project. I guess north is the thing. Anyway, here's the drawing of the outside and the link to it: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/7810999327786963/
FWIW here is Nebraska's donation level per seat. Hawkeye fans have it pretty good in regards to that.
http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/3010547/2013_projected_levels.jpg
http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/3010547/2013_projected_levels.jpg
Im sure it will go over the street. The upper deck of the west stands at Arizona's stadium was directly above a street..
Yeah, this seems like it would pretty easy to do over that seldom-used street.
That seldom used street gets a lot of UIHC and bus traffic everyday, but yes north expansion will likely have to least overhang it.
I don't think it gets that much traffic, at least compared to any other, but it doesn't really matter. Fairly easy to reroute if it needs to be shut down.
Having worked on the latest South endzone project the question about the open corners was discussed often. The East/West grandstands are a fairly steep slope. New building codes for stadiums and arenas will not allow the same degree of slope. If the corners were filled in at the newer building code, then the closer the South seating got to both the East and West existing grandstands the worse the sightline becomes. Not just bad, but blocked. Especially in the student section where the fans are standing. Picture yourself and friends sitting in your man cave at a 45 degree angle to your 70" flat screen tv. Now you decide to recline in your lazyboy and the person between you and the tv remains upright. Can't see. Wrapping the luxury seats and boxes around the endzone to match the West side might work, but I don't know those elevations and sitelines. Still doesn't help the average Hawk fan though.
