Liberty stadium expansion

[jcmanson]

http://www.liberty.edu/libertyjournal/index.cfm?PID=15758&section=8&artid=755&CFID=14878447&CFTOKEN=13301942


Liberty University is embarking on an ambitious multimillion-dollar building campaign to beautify, modernize and expand its football and basketball facilities.

Stadium construction will begin immediately after the conclusion of the 2009 home football season in early November. LU Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. said he anticipates Phase One improvements to Williams Football Stadium will be completed Sept. 1, 2010.

Phase One will include the addition of 6,600 new seats and construction of a 34,000 square-foot brick- and glass-encased Jeffersonian-style tower on the west side of the stadium. It will have a majestic view of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west and Liberty Mountain to the east. The three-story press box building will include club seating and room for qualified Flames Club donors, 16 permanent, luxury suites, a banquet room for up to 500 people, classroom space for up to 1,000, a high quality Division 1 press box and four elevators.

“I think this project will take us to a higher level of competition,” Falwell said. “It will put Liberty on the same level as other major universities in the state and in the region. I think it is amazing what we are accomplishing with God’s help. The sky’s the limit for Liberty.”

Phase One is only part of a multiphase plan to boost the stadium’s seating capacity from 12,000 seats to 30,000 seats over the next five years.
The project will give the stadium a Jeffersonian look similar to other buildings on campus.

[Redbird Ray]

Wow. I had no idea Liberty was in the race to FBS. Those drawings look pretty impressive though.

[kdinva]

That is a heck of an undertaking. Good luck with the stadium expansion. Hopefully, the 2011 game w/VMI can accomodate the Corps (and at least 2,000 alumni, parents, etc.;)). Any idea, with the first phase expanding Williams to 18,000, what the visitor's allotment may be?

[JSU02]

Not too shabby. Good Job!

[elon77]

A fine example of what passing the plate can do for you. If there isn't enough in them after the first time, pass them again.xnodx

[andy7171]

Very nice.

So the extra 6,800 seats are in the endzone and visitor upper tier? That's Towson's phase 2-3 for expansion as well.

...my first start was on that field back in '91. It was hotter than F that day.

[ASUG8]

Great looking drawings - please don't take what I'm about to post the wrong way, but.....60,000 seats at Liberty? That's triple KBS and 2 1/2 Wa-Griz.....I know the program has had a lot of success of late and those numbers are contingent on continued success, but does Liberty have the fan base to support that? Only Yale would be larger IIRC. xpeacex

[IaaScribe]

I think that 60,000 number is way, way, way down the road. If there's one thing Liberty folks like to do, it's speaking in terms of grand, long-term visions.

[ASUG8]

I think that 60,000 number is way, way, way down the road. If there's one thing Liberty folks like to do, it's speaking in terms of grand, long-term visions.

Even the 30K number is a bit of a stretch, although it likely couldn't happen for a few years.

[IaaScribe]

Within five years, according to their AD. All dependent on fund-raising, of course.

[andy7171]

I'm confused. Where does it say 60K? I read 6,600 seats in this phase which would make it in the 18,000-ish range? It's always good to plan ahead with potential expansions so the structure looks like it was all part of one idea.

[ASUG8]

I'm confused. Where does it say 60K? I read 6,600 seats in this phase which would make it in the 18,000-ish range? It's always good to plan ahead with potential expansions so the structure looks like it was all part of one idea.

It's deeper in the article where the 60K reference occurs.

When all phases are complete, the stadium will have undergone about $22 million in improvements.

The renovated facility will ready the stadium for construction of upper decks on both the west and east sides in the future. The long-range vision is to expand the stadium to hold 60,000 fans.

[Go...gate]

Nice work - congratulations!

[andy7171]

It's deeper in the article where the 60K reference occurs.

When all phases are complete, the stadium will have undergone about $22 million in improvements.

The renovated facility will ready the stadium for construction of upper decks on both the west and east sides in the future. The long-range vision is to expand the stadium to hold 60,000 fans.

:o
Yet another notch on the "blame it on poor reading conprehension" post.

[Hoseinexile07]

Within five years, according to their AD. All dependent on fund-raising, of course.

Therein lies the rub!

[kirkblitz]

thats gonna be nice!

[jcmanson]

There’s 3 phases to be done in the next 5 years. The first phase will be a mid-tier on one side and with luxury suites, pressbox, etc. That will bring attendance to about 18,600. I have no doubt that we could fill that up now on a consistent basis. As far as filling up 30,000. I think it will probably take us 10 years or so to do that.

Our current enrollment is about 12,000. The university’s goal has always been to have 25,000. Obviously that is way down the line but that’s where 60,000 people can come from.

[SuperJon]

This is what we'll look like at 30,000:

http://www.libertyflames.com/wwwadmin/globals/templates/1912/images/news_main/football-action-2009-williamsstadiumexpansion-large.jpg

[GeauxColonels]

There’s 3 phases to be done in the next 5 years. The first phase will be a mid-tier on one side and with luxury suites, pressbox, etc. That will bring attendance to about 18,600. I have no doubt that we could fill that up now on a consistent basis. As far as filling up 30,000. I think it will probably take us 10 years or so to do that.

Our current enrollment is about 12,000. The university’s goal has always been to have 25,000. Obviously that is way down the line but that’s where 60,000 people can come from.
Attendance or capacity? In no way does expansion guarantee attendance.

[jcmanson]

I meant capacity.

[jcmanson]

We've averaged over 14,000 fans the last 2 seasons in a stadium that holds 12,000. We'll be able to get to 18,000 within a couple of years.

[SuperJon]

We'll likely have three games that are in the 16-18,000 range this year. JMU could even approach 20,000. We likely would've had about 17,000 last year for homecoming had there not been rain the week leading up to it.

[galen]

This is what we'll look like at 30,000:

http://www.libertyflames.com/wwwadmin/globals/templates/1912/images/news_main/football-action-2009-williamsstadiumexpansion-large.jpg

Looks like a good-sized MAC stadium.

[UNH 1999]

The south end zone lattice work make the stadium look like a smaller version of Scott Stadium at UVA. Very nice. :)

[JMU2004]

The south end zone lattice work make the stadium look like a smaller version of Scott Stadium at UVA. Very nice. :)

Rocco took a ton of ex UVa players....!

He made LU's uniforms look exactly like UVa!!

Now he is making the stadium look like UVa's!!!!

The man must still love UVa at heart!!!!!

[SuperJon]

Our whole campus wants to look like UVA. That's the reason for the "Jeffersonian" stuff around campus. We're putting "Jeffersonian" aspects on our basketball arena too.

[Uncle Buck]

Very nice looking stadium when that thing is finally finished.

[ASU_MBA]

The new stadium looks great but recruiting will always be tough because some kids will not like the Liberty experience and the strict rules...with that said you did steal a solid O-line recruit from us this year....Congrats on the upgrades...

[SuperJon]

I posted this on our board (FlameFans) but it's an idea of where the attendance is coming from:

The trend the last few years is for a college student to take on average five years to graduate. Those fifth year seniors came to Liberty with an, "We suck at football" attitude and were cultured in losing in, well, everything. The record of the football team since this class arrived is 26-19.

This year's senior class came into Liberty with an, "Eh, there's a new coach, maybe they won't suck" attitude. The record of the football team since this class arrived is 25-9.

This year's junior class came into Liberty with a, "Wow, they weren't terrible last year. I wonder how they'll be this year" attitude. The record of the football team since this class arrived is 19-4.

This year's sophomore class came into Liberty with a, "Dude, they won the conference last year" attitude. The record of the football team since this class arrived is 10-2.

This year's freshmen class came into Liberty with a, "They should've made the playoffs last year and were a really good team" attitude.

I made a video two years ago on move-in day asking people what they knew about Liberty athletics. Both returning students and freshmen got the questions wrong on a regular basis.

A week and a half ago I made the same exact video and our freshmen knew what color we wore to games, who our rival was, and even our first down chant.

With winning comes a winning culture. You come into your freshman year knowing that the team is good and looking forward to spending your Saturdays going to football games. We are no longer that school where people will go to the game because they have nothing better to do. Our football games are a must-do event on campus now. We have students showing up in the stadium the second the gates open 90 minutes before kickoff.

As this culture spreads, you'll see more and more people going to games whether we have a larger student population or not because a larger percentage of students will be going. Kids are starting to come to Liberty who were Liberty fans growing up. Granted, a lot are still fans of other teams, but we're starting to see the first wave of home grown Liberty fans make their way to the school.

Our Flames Club and marketing revenue was around $275,000 three years ago and is around $775,000 now.

Our Flames Club membership has increased by 400%.

Our season ticket numbers are higher this year than at any other point in our history.

Liberty is in its 38th year as a school. Our school didn't even exist until 1971. We're still a relatively young school in the grand scheme of things. Compare our age to the other FCS schools in Virginia: Hampton (1868), Richmond (1830), William & Mary (1693), JMU (1908), ODU (1930), Norfolk State (1935), and VMI (1839). We're just starting to hit our second generation of kids going to our school.

[SuperJon]

The new stadium looks great but recruiting will always be tough because some kids will not like the Liberty experience and the strict rules...with that said you did steal a solid O-line recruit from us this year....Congrats on the upgrades...

At the same time, there is a niche out there of high quality Christian athletes that would love to come to Liberty. We've seen that in some of the other sports (Katie Feenstra, Megan Frazee, Josh McDougal, Sam Chelanga) and we're starting to see it in others. We have a three-star redshirt freshman basketball player who was getting offers from bigger schools but wanted to go to a Christian school. We've got a three star basketball player that has verballed to us who had offers from big time programs. We've got a local football player who was getting packages and invites to camps as a sophomore from schools like Kentucky.

Are we at a place where the next Tim Tebow wants to come to Liberty? No, we're not. But we're working at becoming a nationally prominent athletics program. It takes time and we've showed the dedication it takes in facilities and resources. People don't realize all that Liberty has to offer until they get here and see the place. As one CAA coach said, "With all of this stuff, you guys would be at the top of the league every year if you were in the CAA but you lose out on kids because they just want to play in the Colonial."

[Saint3333]

We've averaged over 14,000 fans the last 2 seasons in a stadium that holds 12,000. We'll be able to get to 18,000 within a couple of years.

http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/2009/Internet/attendance/FCS_AVGATTENDANCE.pdf

Just over 13K last year, but that's 17th in the FCS.

[SuperJon]

If you take out the Elon game, which was played after the students had left for Thanksgiving break and only drew 7700 fans, we averaged 14,049 for the other six home games.

[Saint3333]

A game that potentially could have gotten Liberty in the playoffs drew 7,700. That doesn't sound like support to build a 30K stadium, but maybe in the future that will improve. I think Liberty needs to move up from the Big South to fill a 30K stadium.

[SuperJon]

The town showed up well. It was the students that didn't. They left on Friday for Thanksgiving break. Most years we don't have a home game on the last week of the season because of Thanksgiving break. Most schools around the country that have week long Thanksgiving breaks have poor attendance that last week.

[apaladin]

Religion is a beautiful thing! For only a $150 donation you get both the cd and dvd.

[PhoenixSupreme]

http://www2.godanriver.com/gdr/sports/high_school/high_school_football/article/lca_upsets_gretna_in_front_of_7000_fans_at_liberty s_williams_stadium/13535/

Kind of off topic, but a couple local high schools played in LU's stadium tonight. The one from my hometown county (Gretna) has won several VA state titles the past few years, and Lynchburg Christian Academy has won a few VA private school state titles the past few years. It's kind of nice to see the high school followings so devoted that they had to move it to a bigger stadium such is Liberty's

[fantheflames71]

actually LCA is located on LU's campus (Liberty University-Liberty Christian Academy) they play all their home games at the Bill.

[JMU2004]

At the same time, there is a niche out there of high quality Christian athletes that would love to come to Liberty. We've seen that in some of the other sports (Katie Feenstra, Megan Frazee, Josh McDougal, Sam Chelanga) and we're starting to see it in others. We have a three-star redshirt freshman basketball player who was getting offers from bigger schools but wanted to go to a Christian school. We've got a three star basketball player that has verballed to us who had offers from big time programs. We've got a local football player who was getting packages and invites to camps as a sophomore from schools like Kentucky.

Are we at a place where the next Tim Tebow wants to come to Liberty? No, we're not. But we're working at becoming a nationally prominent athletics program. It takes time and we've showed the dedication it takes in facilities and resources. People don't realize all that Liberty has to offer until they get here and see the place. As one CAA coach said, "With all of this stuff, you guys would be at the top of the league every year if you were in the CAA but you lose out on kids because they just want to play in the Colonial."

I have no problem with LU. I respect what it represents, and what it does.

That being said, LU will never be in the CAA. It will never find a I-A conference. LU is far too polarizing, and NO secular school is going to allign itself with LU. The flames are a victim of what makes them special. It is not fair, but Liberty has never been bothered by that in the past.

With these plans, LU is stating that they want to be a I-A. But they will have to be independent. We shall see if the evangelical pockets (LU) are as deep as the Catholic (ND)

[JMU2K_DukeDawg]

Not sure I totally agree with the "too polarizing" to be a CAA school thing. I'm also not about to say that I think they could join the CAA yet. Also, we already have ODU, VCU, JMU, GMU just from VA.

We all know a split is coming at some point down the line, most likely around the same time as the Big East split (entirely unrelated). When things shake up, schools like Liberty make a very attractive addition to a league that loses anyone, especially as a football only member, be it the CAA or any other mid-major league. I don't see them going big time for a long-time though (10+ years). Same with JMU.

Without an extra thread, considering what teams are planning on big developments, the whole ASU, JMU, UD, Towson, Georgia St, Georgia Southern, UMass, ODU starts looking like a competent league. I don't think UMass would like it, but BC goes South that often in the ACC. Not sayin', just sayin'...

[SuperJon]

We can't control what other schools do in terms of wanting us in a conference. All we can do is put ourselves in the best possible situation and make ourselves as attractive as possible to the other people around the country.

An example that works is dating. You can't control what girls are going to want to go out with you. All you can do is make yourself as attractive as possible so that hopefully the pretty girl says yes when you ask her out.

[jcmanson]

I doubt a conference would want us just for football. For years all of our "other" sports have been more than ready to take the step up to a bigger, more prominent conference except for football and men's hoops which obviously are the two biggest. But our women's hoops, track & field, cross country, volleyball, etc. have dominated our conference over the past decade or so. Football is finally making itself attractive. Men's hoops had a great year last year, but we'll see how they do going forward.

[DX Man]

It's very forward thinking of Liberty to start making the commitment to your athletics program so that you will have many options open to you in the future. I am very pleased to see a private school have such great ambitions for growth. Congratulations and good luck!xthumbsupx

[AppMan]

LU is far too polarizing, and NO secular school is going to allign itself with LU.

And BYU isn't?

[JMU2004]

And BYU isn't?

hehe....touche!

However, Rev. Falwell's opinions in the last 20 years have seriously burnt some bridges.

Like I said....not fair, but it is a fact.

[SuperJon]

I think with the new administration, an athletic department that actually works the right way, and a commitment to facilities, we're a lot different than we were 15-20 years ago and less polarizing than many would realize.

[gophoenix]

I have no problem with LU. I respect what it represents, and what it does.

That being said, LU will never be in the CAA. It will never find a I-A conference. LU is far too polarizing, and NO secular school is going to allign itself with LU. The flames are a victim of what makes them special. It is not fair, but Liberty has never been bothered by that in the past.

With these plans, LU is stating that they want to be a I-A. But they will have to be independent. We shall see if the evangelical pockets (LU) are as deep as the Catholic (ND)

The same thing was said about BYU, SMU, TCU and Wake Forest at points in their history.


Not sure I totally agree with the "too polarizing" to be a CAA school thing. I'm also not about to say that I think they could join the CAA yet. Also, we already have ODU, VCU, JMU, GMU just from VA.

We all know a split is coming at some point down the line, most likely around the same time as the Big East split (entirely unrelated). When things shake up, schools like Liberty make a very attractive addition to a league that loses anyone, especially as a football only member, be it the CAA or any other mid-major league. I don't see them going big time for a long-time though (10+ years). Same with JMU.

Without an extra thread, considering what teams are planning on big developments, the whole ASU, JMU, UD, Towson, Georgia St, Georgia Southern, UMass, ODU starts looking like a competent league. I don't think UMass would like it, but BC goes South that often in the ACC. Not sayin', just sayin'...

The CAA came knocking on Liberty's door once already. In 99/00 the CAA made campus trips to both Liberty and Elon for a package deal to join the CAA. But without a package to put football in, the two schools told them no.