Samford begins new football fieldhouse

[Jiggs]

Samford Set To Begin Construction On New Football Field House

July 19, 2008


BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford University officials expect construction to begin in the next few days on a new football field house. The university's board of trustees had approved the project several months ago, with the understanding that private contributions would fund construction.

The new 39.000-square-foot facility will be located in the south end of F. Page Seibert Stadium on the Samford campus. Construction will begin as soon as some preparatory work is completed in the area where the building will be located, according to Samford Athletics Director Bob Roller. Construction is expected to take about 11 months and should be completed in time for the 2009 season.

To accommodate the new building, the university is moving the stadium's video scoreboard to the north end zone.

The $7.5 million building is being completely funded with private financial support, according to W. Randall Pittman, Samford's vice president for university relations. Most of the funding already has been pledged, and Pittman noted that many of the donors to the facility are supporting Samford for the first time in any way. A fundraising campaign for the building is being led by head football coach Pat Sullivan, with assistance from Pittman, Roller and Larry Long, the executive director of Samford's Athletic Foundation.

"The support for this facility demonstrates a growing interest and support of Samford athletics across the region," Pittman said. "And, the addition of Pat Sullivan as our head football coach has helped to attract many new friends and donors to the university for the first time."

The new field house will include locker rooms, training rooms, weight rooms, equipment storage, offices and meeting rooms for Samford's football program. A second-level terrace will be used to host special events, especially on football game days. The building replaces facilities in Seibert Gym that date to that building's construction in the late 1950s.

A third level on the building will be finished at a later date. That level will be used to house academic and administrative offices during transition periods of other new construction or building renovations on campus.

"This new building provides our football program with state-of-the-art facilities at an important time for Samford athletics," Roller said. "With the university's move to the Southern Conference, it is critical for us to compete at all levels - on the field, in the classroom and facilities - with our new conference counterparts."

Visiting teams will continue to use locker rooms and other facilities in Seibert Hall adjacent to the stadium, Roller said.

Gary C. Wyatt General Contractor LLC is the Birmingham-based contractor for the building, which was designed by Davis Architects of Birmingham.

Construction updates will be posted periodically at www.samfordsports.com.

[SU DOG]

It's easy for all to see that our facilities are being upgraded to SoCon standards. Next, the doubters will see that our players are also.
GO DOGS!!!!!

[citdog]

GO DOGS!!!!!


RACK YOUR DAMN CHIN IN SOCON KNOBS!




ONLY ONE SET OF BULLDOGS IN THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE.....THEY PLAY BETWIXT THE ASHLEY AND THE COOPER!




THAT WILL BE ALL

[gophoenix]

RACK YOUR DAMN CHIN IN SOCON KNOBS!




ONLY ONE SET OF BULLDOGS IN THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE.....THEY PLAY BETWIXT THE ASHLEY AND THE COOPER!




THAT WILL BE ALL

Hmm, that must explain why the rivers are so polluted then....

[furman94]

GRRR! COME ON FURMAN STEP UP!

[blazrdog#1]

world in the SoCon....so that rumble and growl you'll hear in the valley ain't gonna be construction equipment...it's gonna be an arse whippin....courtesy of the REAL BULLDOGS!!!

[Appaholic]

RACK YOUR DAMN CHIN IN SOCON KNOBS!




ONLY ONE SET OF BULLDOGS IN THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE.....THEY PLAY BETWIXT THE ASHLEY AND THE COOPER!




THAT WILL BE ALL

Hence, the need for this fieldhouse at Johnson-Hagood....

[slostang]

Nice to see any FCS team upgrading their facilities. Way to go Samford.

[appfan2008]

good job samford now play up to socon level of football and we will be happy

[IndianaAppMan]

GRRR! COME ON FURMAN STEP UP!

I've got a question for Furman fans: Does Furman really need to have state-of-the-art facilities? Think about it. Furman is still a really good team. You guys lost a number of very close games last year, and you can't blame that on having facilities that aren't top-of-the-line. You lost them because of just a few plays that didn't go in your favor.

Besides, things at Furman aren't that bad. You've got, what, at least 2 practice fields? ASU just got an indoor facility last year, and it's not even full-size! Otherwise, they just practice in the stadium.

I wouldn't complain about facilities at Furman. Everything on that campus is extemely nice. Some other schools may have nicer stadiums, but they also are having to spend hundreds of millions of dollars for the rest of campus to have overall facilities that are on par w/ Furman. Heck, it's not like Paladin Stadium is that bad, anyway. It's just no frills.

[OL FU]

I've got a question for Furman fans: Does Furman really need to have state-of-the-art facilities? Think about it. Furman is still a really good team. You guys lost a number of very close games last year, and you can't blame that on having facilities that aren't top-of-the-line. You lost them because of just a few plays that didn't go in your favor.

Besides, things at Furman aren't that bad. You've got, what, at least 2 practice fields? ASU just got an indoor facility last year, and it's not even full-size! Otherwise, they just practice in the stadium.

I wouldn't complain about facilities at Furman. Everything on that campus is extemely nice. Some other schools may have nicer stadiums, but they also are having to spend hundreds of millions of dollars for the rest of campus to have overall facilities that are on par w/ Furman. Heck, it's not like Paladin Stadium is that bad, anyway. It's just no frills.

Furman has been on quite a spending spree. I am amazed each time I make the trip there. It seems like a new building has sprung up where I used to walk to get to the library.

Furman has lots of competitive advantages. On the other hand, everything is an advantage or disadvantage. Eventually, a stadium that is no frills will become, if it has not already, a competitive disadvantage. xnodx

Not that it is a bad stadium but that is the way the world works. xnodx

[Appaholic]

Furman has been on quite a spending spree. I am amazed each time I make the trip there. It seems like a new building has sprung up where I used to walk to get to the library.

Furman has lots of competitive advantages. On the other hand, everything is an advantage or disadvantage. Eventually, a stadium that is no frills will become, if it has not already, a competitive disadvantage. xnodx

Not that it is a bad stadium but that is the way the world works. xnodx

Don't change your stadium......where else can you go back to your car and tailgate during halftime......at least on the visitor's side.....

[OL FU]

Don't change your stadium......where else can you go back to your car and tailgate during halftime......at least on the visitor's side.....

xlolx xlolx xlolx There is a lot to say for convenience. I think people are speaking of fieldhouse, practice facilities and jumbotron score boards. Can't see us eliminating the parking/tailgating facilities.

I do like the fact that the chapel is on the visitor's side. Most years the visitors need it more than we doxsmiley_wix

[appfan2008]

The only thing I think furman needs to upgrade is the field house and scoreboard... their actual seating area is quite sufficient

[OL FU]

The only thing I think furman needs to upgrade is the field house and scoreboard... their actual seating area is quite sufficient

I agree. I don't think an average attendance of 12 to 13K with a capacity of 16K requires additional seating. Besides, if we have a game that draws more then people can sit on the grass. xnodx

[IndianaAppMan]

I agree. I don't think an average attendance of 12 to 13K with a capacity of 16K requires additional seating. Besides, if we have a game that draws more then people can sit on the grass. xnodx

Try telling that to the folks at Jacksonville State or Texas State. The line of thinking at those places seems to be this:

"Problem: We can't fill up the stands we have right now. xsmhx
Solution: Expand the stadium and go FBS! xnodx "

xrolleyesx

I agree. If Furman was to do anything for football, facilities-wise, a new jumbotron and/or improved field house would be the way to go, rather than to expand the seating.

[appfan2008]

I agree. I don't think an average attendance of 12 to 13K with a capacity of 16K requires additional seating. Besides, if we have a game that draws more then people can sit on the grass. xnodx

i have been to furman for the app game last year and in 05 and was surprised at how uncrowded (not a word) the stands were... i figured a big game like that would have filled them up

[OL FU]

i have been to furman for the app game last year and in 05 and was surprised at how uncrowded (not a word) the stands were... i figured a big game like that would have filled them up

My recollection was that it was in the 13,000 to 14,000 range. xnodx Not far off from Apps typical draw before the onslaughtxlolx .

Furman's core attendance is probably around 10K. It doesn't get much higher and it does not go much lower. The additionally people to get to a 12K average comes from the opposing team or special game events.

Not bad, in fact quite good for a school of 2600. The only school I can think of with a similar size that draws better would be the Citadel. But I think one reason would be that 95% of the grads are male and continue to be interested in football after graduation. It would be interesting to see what the average attendance of similarly sized schools draw. I would almost bet FU would be near the top of the listxnodx

[OL FU]

Samford Set To Begin Construction On New Football Field House

July 19, 2008


BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford University officials expect construction to begin in the next few days on a new football field house. The university's board of trustees had approved the project several months ago, with the understanding that private contributions would fund construction.

The new 39.000-square-foot facility will be located in the south end of F. Page Seibert Stadium on the Samford campus. Construction will begin as soon as some preparatory work is completed in the area where the building will be located, according to Samford Athletics Director Bob Roller. Construction is expected to take about 11 months and should be completed in time for the 2009 season.

To accommodate the new building, the university is moving the stadium's video scoreboard to the north end zone.

The $7.5 million building is being completely funded with private financial support, according to W. Randall Pittman, Samford's vice president for university relations. Most of the funding already has been pledged, and Pittman noted that many of the donors to the facility are supporting Samford for the first time in any way. A fundraising campaign for the building is being led by head football coach Pat Sullivan, with assistance from Pittman, Roller and Larry Long, the executive director of Samford's Athletic Foundation.

"The support for this facility demonstrates a growing interest and support of Samford athletics across the region," Pittman said. "And, the addition of Pat Sullivan as our head football coach has helped to attract many new friends and donors to the university for the first time."

The new field house will include locker rooms, training rooms, weight rooms, equipment storage, offices and meeting rooms for Samford's football program. A second-level terrace will be used to host special events, especially on football game days. The building replaces facilities in Seibert Gym that date to that building's construction in the late 1950s.

A third level on the building will be finished at a later date. That level will be used to house academic and administrative offices during transition periods of other new construction or building renovations on campus.

"This new building provides our football program with state-of-the-art facilities at an important time for Samford athletics," Roller said. "With the university's move to the Southern Conference, it is critical for us to compete at all levels - on the field, in the classroom and facilities - with our new conference counterparts."

Visiting teams will continue to use locker rooms and other facilities in Seibert Hall adjacent to the stadium, Roller said.

Gary C. Wyatt General Contractor LLC is the Birmingham-based contractor for the building, which was designed by Davis Architects of Birmingham.

Construction updates will be posted periodically at www.samfordsports.com.

PS, before we stole the thread, kudos on the workxthumbsupx

[furman94]

Ha! We need an FU thread every now and again!

I agree on not changing the stadium seating itself. It is fine for our crowd (although some real purple folding stadium seats would be nice in the P-Club section!) I just think we need an overall cosmetic stadium facelift ie: scoreboard, fieldhouse, pressbox...

[AppMan]

I've got a question for Furman fans: Does Furman really need to have state-of-the-art facilities? Think about it. Furman is still a really good team. You guys lost a number of very close games last year, and you can't blame that on having facilities that aren't top-of-the-line. You lost them because of just a few plays that didn't go in your favor.

Besides, things at Furman aren't that bad. You've got, what, at least 2 practice fields? ASU just got an indoor facility last year, and it's not even full-size! Otherwise, they just practice in the stadium.

I wouldn't complain about facilities at Furman. Everything on that campus is extemely nice. Some other schools may have nicer stadiums, but they also are having to spend hundreds of millions of dollars for the rest of campus to have overall facilities that are on par w/ Furman. Heck, it's not like Paladin Stadium is that bad, anyway. It's just no frills.

Other than a new weight room in Timmons Arena, and a larger scoreboard, I don't know of any upgrades to Furman's facilities since they added 2800 seats to the stadium in the mid 80's.

[furman94]

Exactly! Its TIME for a facelift to our package!