U of New Hampshire

[BTownJack]

Re: U of New Hampshire

Brookings "metro area" population (Brookings County): 34,000
(Keep in mind that SF, metro population 252,000, is a 50 mile drive).

Fargo-Moorhead metro population: 238,124

We are doing OK. Nobody is saying we're NDSU, but our fan base is growing. These things don't happen overnight. And I give our "hard core" fans a lot of credit. Many of them drive in from very far away. I think my main disappointment is generally with student attendance. They start out strong and just drift away as the season goes on.

I was actually fairly impressed with how many students showed up last game. It wasn't full by any means but it was more than I expected. And most of them stuck around in the 2nd half.

[Southeast]

Re: U of New Hampshire

On a related note, I expect to be one person there for NH that could not make it to UNI. In fact, this will be my first playoff game.

As of now NOAA still has Saturday looking relatively good. No issues with travel and the warmest day of the week (or how about "least cold"?).

[filbert]

Re: U of New Hampshire

I was actually fairly impressed with how many students showed up last game. It wasn't full by any means but it was more than I expected. And most of them stuck around in the 2nd half.

The student turnout was similar if not actually slightly better than the non-student fan turnout IMHO. And yes, most of them stayed for the entire game (as in, less than half left before the final whistle).

[JimmyJack]

Re: U of New Hampshire

I know that bait looks nice, but don't take it.

Sorry. I do think it's a useful point to remember that many of our fans come a long way to see a game.

[OldHare]

Re: U of New Hampshire

[mitchellrabbit]

Re: U of New Hampshire

$10 is cheap. But for some its still too cold and not worth it. Is there a limit?

[CappinHard]

Re: U of New Hampshire

$10 is cheap. But for some its still too cold and not worth it. Is there a limit?

Honestly, I think you could say that people can come for free and I don't think you would get 10k on a 32 degree day. Maybe 8k.

Which raises the question again... should we have built a dome/enclosed stadium? Probably... just like the Twins probably should have as well, but didn't want to do it because of the extra cost. If they ever make it deep in the postseason (not likely) and there's an October snow storm, it will be funny to watch.

Honestly though, the extra cost of building a dome probably could have been almost fully offset by an increase in attendance and sales at the games. So many wives, kids, and fair weather fans (literally) don't go when it's cold. It's just not worth it to them. My family alone would be buying 4 tickets instead of 1 for playoff games.

[JackJD]

Re: U of New Hampshire

Last Saturday's weather was an outstanding day for outdoor football. I'm glad we weren't in a domed stadium. Now, I will admit sitting inside a domed stadium or two when the wind is howling and snow/sleet is flying, and I'm not finding much to complain about. At the same time, I recall some fun times as a college kid in the old Met Stadium watching the Vikes in December. I haven't been to Lambeau but I understand those fans pack into the stadium without regard for the weather -- same for U Montana fans. I continue to be optimistic that the crowds will continue to grow at the Dykhouse Stadium. We've had a couple of snow days in old Coughlin during the D-1 era and those were fun games. The people who show up are a crazy bunch.

I question whether the extra cost of a domed stadium (assuming same capacity as the current stadium) could be "almost fully offset by an increase in attendance and sales at the game." I've learned a little bit about financing such projects over the years. It's important to keep in mind that we want the stadium to not only pay the debt but to also provide some cash flow for supporting the athletic department. (Case in point: the DakotaDome's inability to add much revenue to the athletic department for many years had a strong, negative effect on what the athletic dept. at the branch campus could do. Financial considerations, a driving force in decision-making at nearly all college and university athletic departments, played a larger role in the decision-making process for USD's athletic dept. for a couple of decades after the Dome opened.

And keep in mind that if the Jackrabbit football program fills that stadium and there's big demand for more seating, it's pretty easy and relatively inexpensive to expand -- our friends in Fargo could easily sell a lot more tickets if they had the seats. USD is starting the process to renovate the Dome and eventually add seating but it appears they won't be able to exceed around 16,000 seats.

[Nidaros]

Re: U of New Hampshire

Last Saturday's weather was an outstanding day for outdoor football. I'm glad we weren't in a domed stadium. Now, I will admit sitting inside a domed stadium or two when the wind is howling and snow/sleet is flying, and I'm not finding much to complain about. At the same time, I recall some fun times as a college kid in the old Met Stadium watching the Vikes in December. I haven't been to Lambeau but I understand those fans pack into the stadium without regard for the weather -- same for U Montana fans. I continue to be optimistic that the crowds will continue to grow at the Dykhouse Stadium. We've had a couple of snow days in old Coughlin during the D-1 era and those were fun games. The people who show up are a crazy bunch.

I question whether the extra cost of a domed stadium (assuming same capacity as the current stadium) could be "almost fully offset by an increase in attendance and sales at the game." I've learned a little bit about financing such projects over the years. It's important to keep in mind that we want the stadium to not only pay the debt but to also provide some cash flow for supporting the athletic department. (Case in point: the DakotaDome's inability to add much revenue to the athletic department for many years had a strong, negative effect on what the athletic dept. at the branch campus could do. Financial considerations, a driving force in decision-making at nearly all college and university athletic departments, played a larger role in the decision-making process for USD's athletic dept. for a couple of decades after the Dome opened.

And keep in mind that if the Jackrabbit football program fills that stadium and there's big demand for more seating, it's pretty easy and relatively inexpensive to expand -- our friends in Fargo could easily sell a lot more tickets if they had the seats. USD is starting the process to renovate the Dome and eventually add seating but it appears they won't be able to exceed around 16,000 seats.

Sorry for contributing to the thread drift, but could the current configuration of Dana Dykhouse Stadium be reconfigured into a dome facility for less than 65 million? I doubt it and I am sure the engineers who post here will be able to confirm or deny such a notion. My conclusion is that we are stuck with what we have, an outdoor facility. It is interesting what you shared JackJD. I have no reason to question what went on down at USD. I know some paid dearly for their toasty dome seats.

[da_coach]

Re: U of New Hampshire

Should be a tough/physical game.

UNH sounds like the type of team to be "a pain in the butt". They aren't going to put up huge numbers, most likely...but will be tough to put away.

Jackrabbits will need to break out some big plays. I think it's definitely "do-able". The Jackrabbits defense has played really, really well the last part of the season. For this reason alone, I have some confidence.

[CappinHard]

Re: U of New Hampshire

Last Saturday's weather was an outstanding day for outdoor football. I'm glad we weren't in a domed stadium. Now, I will admit sitting inside a domed stadium or two when the wind is howling and snow/sleet is flying, and I'm not finding much to complain about. At the same time, I recall some fun times as a college kid in the old Met Stadium watching the Vikes in December. I haven't been to Lambeau but I understand those fans pack into the stadium without regard for the weather -- same for U Montana fans. I continue to be optimistic that the crowds will continue to grow at the Dykhouse Stadium. We've had a couple of snow days in old Coughlin during the D-1 era and those were fun games. The people who show up are a crazy bunch.

I question whether the extra cost of a domed stadium (assuming same capacity as the current stadium) could be "almost fully offset by an increase in attendance and sales at the game." I've learned a little bit about financing such projects over the years. It's important to keep in mind that we want the stadium to not only pay the debt but to also provide some cash flow for supporting the athletic department. (Case in point: the DakotaDome's inability to add much revenue to the athletic department for many years had a strong, negative effect on what the athletic dept. at the branch campus could do. Financial considerations, a driving force in decision-making at nearly all college and university athletic departments, played a larger role in the decision-making process for USD's athletic dept. for a couple of decades after the Dome opened.

And keep in mind that if the Jackrabbit football program fills that stadium and there's big demand for more seating, it's pretty easy and relatively inexpensive to expand -- our friends in Fargo could easily sell a lot more tickets if they had the seats. USD is starting the process to renovate the Dome and eventually add seating but it appears they won't be able to exceed around 16,000 seats.

Ha, that's why I used words like 'probably' and 'almost', because I have no idea whether it would be enough to cover it. There's no denying that having a dome would increase attendance... for sure in the playoffs, but I think regular season as well, along with increased season ticket holders. Obviously there are pros and cons... you listed the cons, I brought up the pros because that would have been an easy fix to attendance woes.

[ringthebells]

Re: U of New Hampshire

Win a championship or two and the Jack Backers will come crawling out of the cracks. Everybody likes a winner.

[JACKGUYII]

Re: U of New Hampshire

Win a championship or two and the Jack Backers will come crawling out of the cracks. Everybody likes a winner.

Maybe. i don't think it will impact the student behavior towards late season games one bit.

[CappinHard]

Re: U of New Hampshire

Maybe. i don't think it will impact the student behavior towards late season games one bit.

Speaking of that... I've seen some stuff on a group of Kennesaw State's students... talk about rabid student fans, they're awesome. They get all painted up for the games and recently put together a gofundme campaign to get funding to make the trip to Texas for their game against Sam Houston (which they have almost reached their goal). Here's their twitter feed where you can see the gofundme page and other things they do: https://twitter.com/theowlsnestKSU. I know SDSU has something like this sort of started with the barnyard cadets, and hopefully that continues to grow and become a tradition because that stuff is contagious. If people are having a really good time to the point where others feel like they're missing out, others will join in.

[slosho]

Re: U of New Hampshire

[QUOTE=mitchellrabbit;323532]$10 is cheap. But for some its still too cold and not worth it. Is there a limit?[/QUOTE

Looking to get some $10 for some friends If anybody is willing to help I will paypal you the $$ please PM me.