ASU Endzone Addition

[GreatAppSt]

I've been hearing some talk about a possible North endzone addition at KBS real soon, possibly 8,000 more seated screaming Appfans. Anyone else hear the chatter?

[MountaineerNation]

I've been hearing some talk about a possible North endzone addition at KBS real soon, possibly 8,000 more seated screaming Appfans. Anyone else hear the chatter?

Not before today, but I remember reading that from somewhere here in another thread earlier this afternoon.... I think that would be pretty awesome. Wonder if they would tear down the building on the north side?

[MountaineerNation]

I also wouldn't mind them adding seats to where the south side grass area is instead of the north end zone.... it can get a little slick to try to walk up that hill sometimes.... and adding seats to that side would allow an open view into the stadium as you're walking up to it, which would be pretty cool.

[Saint3333]

I also wouldn't mind them adding seats to where the south side grass area is instead of the north end zone.... it can get a little slick to try to walk up that hill sometimes.... and adding seats to that side would allow an open view into the stadium as you're walking up to it, which would be pretty cool.

Why take away from the natural capacity of the stadium (grass hill) vs. adding temporary seating to the north endzone. Adding seats to the south end zone would reduce capacity to 27-28K, while adding seats in the north only adds to capacity. This is an easy decision.

[Reign of Terrier]

GO FBS ALREADYxlolx

[MountaineerNation]

Why take away from the natural capacity of the stadium (grass hill) vs. adding temporary seating to the north endzone. Adding seats to the south end zone would reduce capacity to 27-28K, while adding seats in the north only adds to capacity. This is an easy decision.

I definitely don't disagree with you at all there - do they even really need to add any more seats anyway? It seems the past couple of games (Furman and Wofford) that it's just about right for the current capacity.... Homecoming was really the only game where they could have benefitted from more room

[SideLine Shooter]

Wofford @ ASU Photo Link

http://sidelineshooter.smugmug.com/Sports/Wofford-College-Appalachian/14654008_nKCzw#1090442648_4Fd73

[smallcollegefbfan]

I definitely don't disagree with you at all there - do they even really need to add any more seats anyway? It seems the past couple of games (Furman and Wofford) that it's just about right for the current capacity.... Homecoming was really the only game where they could have benefitted from more room

To stay where they are ASU doesn't need to add anymore seats but ASU is moving up to FBS so this addition is exactly what needs to be done. You know that teams such as ECU and Wake Forest are going to bring a lot more fans than Wofford and Furman do.

[GreatAppSt]

I definitely don't disagree with you at all there - do they even really need to add any more seats anyway? It seems the past couple of games (Furman and Wofford) that it's just about right for the current capacity.... Homecoming was really the only game where they could have benefitted from more room the problem as I see it is the hill essentially becomes unusable if wet or icy. The weather this year has been great on gamdays (but it's a drought year) I don't recall a season without a rain game or more before this. Not having a seat for those over cap. folks could cost ASU several hundred grand a game by fans staying away. We need the seats, besides the band needs to be in the end zone.

[MorgantonAPPAlum]

We could probably add about 4,000 seats by just expanding the home side seats to the left and right. That would give us a capacity of about 25K, which would be about right for most games.

Or we could just tear out the track, lower the field and add about 6-8,000 seats that way. There are a few other places in Boone where we could build a new track-just a question of purchasing the land.

[Bogus Megapardus]

Or we could just tear out the track, lower the field and add about 6-8,000 seats that way. There are a few other places in Boone where we could build a new track-just a question of purchasing the land.

That's what they did at Lafayette when the stadium was completely re-done in 2006. The track was removed and a new track facility was built at the athletic fields where baseball/lacrosse/soccer, etc. play. The seats at Fisher are now much closer to the field.

The downside is that the athletic fields for those sports is a couple of miles north of the main campus so you have to get a shuttle up to practice or to watch games.

[GunsAndGuitars]

Or we could just tear out the track, lower the field and add about 6-8,000 seats that way. There are a few other places in Boone where we could build a new track-just a question of purchasing the land.

There's a 12th man effect that comes into play with that too. Where exactly are you thinking about finding flat land in Boone? The university already owns past where "campus" ends headed down Rivers St...Just past Moretz St. or so I hear. There is some flatter land out toward Blowing Rock off Deerfield, but that's a long way away from campus.

[ASU Tailgaiteer]

There's a 12th man effect that comes into play with that too. Where exactly are you thinking about finding flat land in Boone? The university already owns past where "campus" ends headed down Rivers St...Just past Moretz St. or so I hear. There is some flatter land out toward Blowing Rock off Deerfield, but that's a long way away from campus.

Who needs flat land for a track. Just make it an uphill downhill configuration like North Wilkesboro Speedway. Should give us great home track advantagexnodx

[MorgantonAPPAlum]

There is some flatter land out toward Blowing Rock off Deerfield, but that's a long way away from campus.

Right-I was thinking of the softball fields over behind the hospital where they play a lot of intermurals, that's probably already university property, or the driving range right as you come into town on 321-probably have to do some engineering to make that useable, but it is doable. Each of those is a couple of miles from campus, but the question is what kinds of trade offs are we wiling to make to expand the stadium.

I can see a parking lot behind the Convocation center on GoogleMaps that might work if we tore it up and built a track there-looks like its about the right size.

[appfan2008]

Right-I was thinking of the softball fields over behind the hospital where they play a lot of intermurals, that's probably already university property, or the driving range right as you come into town on 321-probably have to do some engineering to make that useable, but it is doable. Each of those is a couple of miles from campus, but the question is what kinds of trade offs are we wiling to make to expand the stadium.

I can see a parking lot behind the Convocation center on GoogleMaps that might work if we tore it up and built a track there-looks like its about the right size.

Behind the convo center has a parking lot but you couldnt put half the track there and we already ate into the hill to make that happen

[MorgantonAPPAlum]

Behind the convo center has a parking lot but you couldnt put half the track there and we already ate into the hill to make that happen

I'm looking at the image on GoogleMaps and it is pretty close to the same size as the track, you can put them both in the same frame for comparison's sake(obviously that does not include the contour lines). Digging into the hill is just an engineering problem (heck, we dug into the hill to make the old baseball/current softball field at the stadium). If we want to make the trade off of expanding the stadium at the expense of the track and yet not move the track too far from campus it is doable.

[asknoquarter21]

Old Watauga high school is the simple answer to this. The price is crazy though and you have to figure out what else to do with the rest of the property. The State Farm field where the soccer team used to play is another easy solution.

I think the problem isn't where to put the track, but what to do about the underground river under the current football field.

[Touchdown Yosef]

Old Watauga high school is the simple answer to this. The price is crazy though and you have to figure out what else to do with the rest of the property. The State Farm field where the soccer team used to play is another easy solution.

I think the problem isn't where to put the track, but what to do about the underground river under the current football field.

The river and bedrock is what I always understood the issue to be as well. I would wonder if endzone seats could be added over the track and have the north side of the track go underneath the new stands. That may be tacky but would allow those seats to be much closer to the field.

[MorgantonAPPAlum]

I didn't even know that WHS had moved. If price is a problem, just try to lease the track for events(I found a blog post that said that the city was going to use the old high school for recreation, so that might work).

The underground river could be contained and routed, but again that is a matter of how much we are willing to pay to get it done.

[soccerguy315]

Who needs flat land for a track. Just make it an uphill downhill configuration like North Wilkesboro Speedway. Should give us great home track advantage xnodx
xlolxxlolxxlolxxlolx

[GreatAppSt]

Old Watauga high school is the simple answer to this. . Give that man a Cookie. but I'm betting Watauga county will try to fund their entire budget and wishlist budget for the next 20 years because it's ASU as the buyer.SMFxbangx

[asknoquarter21]

Give that man a Cookie. but I'm betting Watauga county will try to fund their entire budget and wishlist budget for the next 20 years because it's ASU as the buyer.SMFxbangx

Yea, if I recall correctly they gave ASU a price at one time that was outrageous.

[gsu_paintballer]

Do it the Georgia Southern way:

Put it in the parking lot.

[App-a-latch-un]

Use duck pond field! Expand Trivette and that small area of parking that only has two rows at the top of the field opposite of Trivette. This way the athletes could still have access to the field house and eventually new super field house with additional seating! xxmasx

[GreatAppSt]

Use duck pond field! Expand Trivette and that small area of parking that only has two rows at the top of the field opposite of Trivette. This way the athletes could still have access to the field house and eventually new super field house with additional seating! xxmasx

would not fit not even close

[AppAlum96]

Whatever they do, I hope they don't enclose the south endzone. The open view of the hill and forest is a lot of the charm of the stadium, to me.

[App-a-latch-un]

would not fit not even close

not at it's current size, but expanding left to right, top to bottom could possibly work, it would have to cut into some stadium parking

[GreatAppSt]

not at it's current size, but expanding left to right, top to bottom could possibly work, it would have to cut into some stadium parking And cut into the electrical/water/sewer/steam systems to what, seven dorms and all the new facilities let alone the grading needed to reduce the required space down to level and then fill Duck pond field up to level. Then the issue of losing a few hundred parking spaces, at ASU u know this is like a second amendment issue, from my cold dead hands.... yes you could fit the dimensions of a track in this space barely and it would make a phenominal facility. I'll tell ya what you find the 200 million donation and we'll get on it, until then well, we can dream.

Do a lay over of the track over stadium lot, D. pond field and get back to me.xthumbsupx
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&biw=1569&bih=897&gbv=2&q=google+earth&wrapid=tlif12898627855001&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

[Skjellyfetti]

They should have built a track around the soccer stadium they recently built. I think they could probably do that now, but it would be more complicated. That would probably be the best bet.

I'd like to see us take the track out and lower the field before we and any permanent seats in either of the endzones.

[MountaineerMania54]

Give that man a Cookie. but I'm betting Watauga county will try to fund their entire budget and wishlist budget for the next 20 years because it's ASU as the buyer.SMFxbangx

Well, technically, being that ASU is a public university. They could use the power of eminent domain to take the property for approximately fair market value. I'm sure that would create some bad blood between the university and the county, but that would be one to combat the county trying to extort millions of dollars for the old WHS site.

[GunsAndGuitars]

Who needs flat land for a track. Just make it an uphill downhill configuration like North Wilkesboro Speedway. Should give us great home track advantagexnodx

xsmileyclapxxlolx


Well, technically, being that ASU is a public university. They could use the power of eminent domain to take the property for approximately fair market value. I'm sure that would create some bad blood between the university and the county, but that would be one to combat the county trying to extort millions of dollars for the old WHS site.

Since when did bad blood stop anything in the county OR in the university? As for the rest of the buildings there...who knows. Tear them down and make another parking lot. ASU could use another parking lot or 4. Or...the Appalachian State School of Agricultural Sciences. With the work being done to bring the Yadkin Valley wines into full swing and the fact that NC is 3rd in production of Christmas trees (Alleghany and Ashe counties have some MASSIVE tree farms) could be a reason/excuse to have the department and get some extra funding for no big reason.

[MountaineerMania54]

xsmileyclapxxlolx



Since when did bad blood stop anything in the county OR in the university? As for the rest of the buildings there...who knows. Tear them down and make another parking lot. ASU could use another parking lot or 4. Or...the Appalachian State School of Agricultural Sciences. With the work being done to bring the Yadkin Valley wines into full swing and the fact that NC is 3rd in production of Christmas trees (Alleghany and Ashe counties have some MASSIVE tree farms) could be a reason/excuse to have the department and get some extra funding for no big reason.

I completely agree with you. For years, I have been a proponent of Peacock using eminent domain to tear down those run down hotels between McDonalds and the Holmes Center to make room for new dorms. There is room to grow the university, it will come at the expense of the less desirable buildings in Boone. Prime example is the college of education building on Howard St. The run down houses that it replaced needed to be condemned 20 years ago.

[AppState913]

Not sure if this is completely correct, but I've heard numerous statements about the university being very limited in where they can build. The town of Boone doesn't want to allow the university to grow anymore, even though it would help Boone so much. It's hard to say that we should tear down dorms and parking lots to create a space for the track, because as everyone knows, residential space and parking are a nightmare on campus. There are still people living in the lobbies of dorms because there weren't enough rooms (stupid move on ASU's part...) and they are saying that they're renovating each dorm to have at least 9 stories. Parking has always been an issue and to take away the Hill Street parking lot would cause so much uproar. We've already lost our Horn in the West parking lot to the Farmer's Market and everyone was PISSED about that.

[tarmac]

What is being done with the old soccer field on top of the hill at State Farm. Turn it into a track facility.

[GunsAndGuitars]

I completely agree with you. For years, I have been a proponent of Peacock using eminent domain to tear down those run down hotels between McDonalds and the Holmes Center to make room for new dorms. There is room to grow the university, it will come at the expense of the less desirable buildings in Boone. Prime example is the college of education building on Howard St. The run down houses that it replaced needed to be condemned 20 years ago.

Agreed xnodx

[GunsAndGuitars]

What is being done with the old soccer field on top of the hill at State Farm. Turn it into a track facility.

That could be the place to do it.

[MountaineerMania54]

Not sure if this is completely correct, but I've heard numerous statements about the university being very limited in where they can build. The town of Boone doesn't want to allow the university to grow anymore, even though it would help Boone so much. It's hard to say that we should tear down dorms and parking lots to create a space for the track, because as everyone knows, residential space and parking are a nightmare on campus. There are still people living in the lobbies of dorms because there weren't enough rooms (stupid move on ASU's part...) and they are saying that they're renovating each dorm to have at least 9 stories. Parking has always been an issue and to take away the Hill Street parking lot would cause so much uproar. We've already lost our Horn in the West parking lot to the Farmer's Market and everyone was PISSED about that.

I agree. If a new track/field complex is to be built, it should be built off campus. Using hindsight, it would have been preferable to combine a soccer/field hockey/track and field complex over where the new soccer complex is at. They could have split the cost with the High Country Soccer Association on the field(s), and then just had to pay for the track to be built around. There is space available for such endeavors, it just has to be purchased (which can be done at fair market using eminent domain). I don't see what would be wrong with converting the State Farm complex into a multi-purpose facility that can be used by soccer/field hockey/track and field. Intramurals could still be played on the surface especially if it was synthetic. That would not only help the varsity sports, but also give the students a top notch intramural field. I know that UNC and U of Tenn have field turf intramural fields.

[pilot08]

I completely agree with revamping the area around the baskeball arean with parking,dorms, whatever...

The State Farm fields and/or old soccer field on the mountain will definitely be the home of the track if is to be moved. There is just too much space over there for it not to be utilized.

[asu3peat]

I believe the biggest single piece of land around the campus belongs to App South. I'm guessing they have about 11 or so buildings sitting on that land stretching from the bottom to the top. Not sure what a fair market value would be on a piece of property that produces a revenue. Although I imagine many of the landlords in Boone would like to see this happen as the overbuilding has caused quite a few vacancies around town.

[MountaineerNation]

I guess all of this depends on if APP makes the jump to FBS..... I like the option of State Farm or Watauga HS stuff though to remove the track. That definitely needs to be done if they want to expand more