Any information on cajun field renovation

[Turbine]

You know who "owns" the Cajundome? The organization that takes care of the maintenance ... that is the area of concern for us and if we (UL) takes care of it, then it should be part of the Master Plan. However, since I am reading about Greg Davis going in front of the City Parish Council with funding needs, I feel that is probably the organization (City) that "owns" it.

I'm sure Greg would not mind a few greenbacks from the Master Plan!

For all practical purposes, you are correct.

[Cajun Monkee]

I enjoyed this post.


Adjusted timeline aside, why would the CajunDome automatically be excluded and off the table?

I know UL owns it, and I know there is a deal in place with the city to run it, but master plans take years and sometimes decades to execute.


So in light of long term, if the CajunDome is automatically excluded and off the table, we will never know whether or not this national firm had a blueprint for making the CajunDome a cash cow.

At the very least it would allow UL to explore leverage options next time the deal with the City is on the table.

Yeah, pretty sure it's the whole city/state/university trichotomy(?) that confuses the Cajundome's role in the whole process. Also remember the Cajundome is a multi-purpose facility. All the other facilities are primarily for the sole purpose of that team.

With regard to a Master Plan, is it possible this is the situation: UL was ready to present a plan for the entire University, not just the athletic program. When Martin Hall realized the call wasn't necessarily for a University plan, it was for a plan specific to athletics, they panicked, put the breaks on the idea, and went back to the drawing board to dedicate more of the plan to athletics?

I say this with regard to the Arkansas State Plan. I have looked for an Arkansas State Plan and have only been able to find a university-wide plan that only dedicates 3 pages to athletics. There is a video online that proposes facility improvements for athletics but this is for an indoor practice facility, administrative offices, weight room, film rooms, etc. Cost is estimated at $22 million.

I don't think stAte has a master plan for athletics. I think these improvements are part of the overall university plan. If somebody can find an athletics plan online, I have no problem being wrong.

This doesn't make it right on the progression (or lack thereof) of any "plan" for UL. By all means, we won't know where we are going without the picture of where we want to go. I think the administration might be close to this document. They just might be trying to give us more than what they anticipated. Especially when we're talking capital intensive projects like what we'd all like to see.

That said, lets improve Cajun Field by:

Phase I - New Press Box on the Student Side

Phase II - Close in north endzone adding 5000-7000 additional seats with suites. This would be backed by commercial space facing Congress

Phase III - Old Press Box on public side converted to suites

Phase IV - Close in south endzone adding 4000-6000 additional seats. Also would include Improved football administrative complex.

[USL1970]

At football practice a few years back, Dr. Authement told me UL owned the CajunDome.

Through the years I found myself in a couple of arguments on ownership then I found verification on www.CajunDome.com the "about" page "mission statement" says: "The CAJUNDOME was built by the State of Louisiana, funded by the City of Lafayette, and owned by the University of Louisiana"

LCG pays UL a $500,000 a year subsidy to use the CajunDome for essentially a civic center and other related activities. However, the city gets most of of that subsidy/money back in the form of payments from UL for utility bills (i.e. electriciy). Additionally, the city makes up to $100,000 available for capital repairs each year. The state/UL does own it. This contract runs through 2017.

[Just1More]

I like what you put there at the end. That is ideal to what we need, and will send a powerful, and profound message to our administration. If we do this...you are in charge of the wording my friend. The work is pretty much done for you already in that last paragraph.

Your entire post neither refuted my position nor clarified yours. First, do you think "Master Plans" were invented at UL? Do you have any clue as to how many universities have developed plans over their lifetimes for athletics? Just because UL is just now embarking on a "Master Plan" does not mean that the majority of the other successful athletic programs had no "Master Plan" as a part of their... who knows?... develope of an athletic system starting 75 years ago.

I never said the "Master Plan" is going to do all the things I mentioned. I said... and have said many times over... building a modernized Cajun Field complex... with suites... with modern video/audio... with upscale press boxes... with modern aesthetics... with a football meeting room... with a modern weight/training room... with a campaign paralleled with that development that solicits corporate sponsors (with mechanisms - video displays that advertise their sponsorship)... is the beginning of a much more substantial UL reorganization of alumni, fans/friends, community ties... that will bolster positive TV, radio and paper news from our local media in continuous free coverage... that will then gather an even greater following... where children of alumni/friends/fans of the community will beg to go to UL... where companies will miraculously change their perception of the value of a UL degree... where all... not just some... former athletes will decide it's a great thing to be reconnected with this burgeoning upgrade in UL athletics... where people will be more willing to wear our merchandize everywhere they go... gathering greater publicity and affirmation that we are a substantial institution... and thereby adding the corporate decisions to advertise and market in conjunction with UL athletics... and thereby adding even better recruiting focus on UL... and thereby adding better recruits... where parents will proudly say to their neighbors and co-workers "he decided to accept at UL!"... and more alumni come in from the outer regions every chance they can to watch Cajun athletics and be a part of something bigger than Lafayette has ever had... and more of their children will say "I want to go where you went, mom... UL"... so they make plans to move their business to Lafayette so that their kids can enroll in TOPS and go to UL... and thereby adding more people involved with UL in the Lafayette/Acadiana community... whereby a businessman is asking one of his clients what he enjoys doing on his weekends and he says, "I go to UL athletic events" and this businessman that wants to build a better relationship with this guy finds out he can donate to UL and make his client happy... and thereby his employees decide that they want to please their boss/owner and they start talking up being UL fans... and thereby more tickets are sold... and even more people see how UL has a huge following and they too want to not be left out... so they talk it up and old grandpa says "I graduated from SLI... I'm an alumni of that school" and his wealthy son says "damn, I have a great idea... I'm going to have a scholarship put in my grandad's name and ask them to present it at halftime... and his grandkids are so happy about having their grandad get his name mentioned... they are forever tied to UL... and thereby their friends want to go where they go on weekends, so they hang out with them at UL... where they tell their parents how cool it was watching the Cajuns... and thereby their mom says, "we ought to go back to UL games like we did when we dated at UL
"... so their dad says, "I'll check into getting really good seats and I'll expense them and we'll bring clients too"... and then by bringing those clients... one of them has a son that is one of the best athletes in Acadiana... and he could go anywhere he wants but he sees Cajun football and Coach Mark Hudspeth... and despite the day he gets tagged as a 5 star athlete... he decides to go to UL... and then his 3 star DL says he is going to change his commitment and go with his schoolmate... and after hearing about that other top recruits take greater notice in UL... and thereby when we do our next summer camp we have to double our system to handle all of the great athletes that want to be a part of it... and then the media, including national media gives us a big bump for elevating our players... and then we are knocking on an unheard of BCS bowl game... and the media is doubting our quality program being capable of being in a BCS bowl... and our fans travel in droves to be at the game... and we make an incredible showing and we win our BCS bowl debut... and thereby putting Ragin Cajuns on the minds all over the country... and then a guy that made his money in micro engine technology realizes his undergraduate university is splashing itself all over the national media and he decides he wants to see what UL is doing in engineering and computer science these days and once he gets in touch with Mark Zappi he says, "why don't we set up a research grant through my company with UL... maybe starting with $20 million for UL to get the right facilities in place... and we could use a lot of the graduate students to help with intensive research projects... and then hire them once they graduate and build a facility in Lafayette... and Mark later accepts a $500,000 scholarship fund from this company... during halftime... while announcing that his corporation wishs to build an extension of suites since there are none available for his company... and thereby adding even more money to UL... all the while we are up to 17,800 members of RCAF... with a near perfect distribution of small, medium and large money donors spread out within the foundation... and then T-Joe announces that state funding for athletics at UL is unnecessary and that athletics is actually directing funding programs and projects on the academic side... but it does have him having to make some luxurious decisions... and I finally meet you at a football game and you are telling me that this is "too much... you liked it better when you were all by yourself, standing in a puddle with red ants crawling up your leg... biting you on your nutsack... like the good ole days.

I have proof of my theory all over the nation. At programs that listened to the unity of a fanbase, alumni, and community of intelligent people telling them to take the risk... it's worth it.

[AstroCajun]

Yeah, pretty sure it's the whole city/state/university trichotomy(?) that confuses the Cajundome's role in the whole process. Also remember the Cajundome is a multi-purpose facility. All the other facilities are primarily for the sole purpose of that team.

With regard to a Master Plan, is it possible this is the situation: UL was ready to present a plan for the entire University, not just the athletic program. When Martin Hall realized the call wasn't necessarily for a University plan, it was for a plan specific to athletics, they panicked, put the breaks on the idea, and went back to the drawing board to dedicate more of the plan to athletics?

I say this with regard to the Arkansas State Plan. I have looked for an Arkansas State Plan and have only been able to find a university-wide plan that only dedicates 3 pages to athletics. There is a video online that proposes facility improvements for athletics but this is for an indoor practice facility, administrative offices, weight room, film rooms, etc. Cost is estimated at $22 million.

I don't think stAte has a master plan for athletics. I think these improvements are part of the overall university plan. If somebody can find an athletics plan online, I have no problem being wrong.

This doesn't make it right on the progression (or lack thereof) of any "plan" for UL. By all means, we won't know where we are going without the picture of where we want to go. I think the administration might be close to this document. They just might be trying to give us more than what they anticipated. Especially when we're talking capital intensive projects like what we'd all like to see.

That said, lets improve Cajun Field by:

Phase I - New Press Box on the Student Side

Phase II - Close in north endzone adding 5000-7000 additional seats with suites. This would be backed by commercial space facing Congress

Phase III - Old Press Box on public side converted to suites

Phase IV - Close in south endzone adding 4000-6000 additional seats. Also would include Improved football administrative complex.

I'm not sure that putting the press box on the student side makes much sense because it will get direct sunlight on afternoon games. Depending on how shiny the glass is, it's going to make a heck of a reflection on to the alumni side.

[Cajun Monkee]

I'm not sure that putting the press box on the student side makes much sense because it will get direct sunlight on afternoon games. Depending on how shiny the glass is, it's going to make a heck of a reflection on to the alumni side.

]

Just spitballing. Did it that way so work could be done on a new pressbox but you could still use the old one until the new one is complete. No idea how long it would take to refurbish the existing one, and if it took more than 9 months, it would be a problem.

But I'm sure we could find glass that isn't too reflective.

[Boomer]

OK guys how about if we just let this thing go for about 20 more days until the recruiting Bash is over----Everything that is posted here can be and is used AGAINST us in recruiting----With facilities being such a volatile subject amongst the administration faculty students alumni backers recruits players and general fans, it only stirs the pot here to keep plugging away when we don't know if something is being done or not-----we should all know what is being done but we know that something is being done----The fact that plans have been rejected/tweaked shows that the ball is in play and obviously not bouncing fast enough----BUT PLEASE let's lay off for about 20 days--hell we might have the damn thing by that time!!! As the Tech project approaches 1000 days of non performance you don't think I would be jumping on that with recruits----They promise things and don't perform and they don't even let their players have a chance to perform in a bowl game that was offered!!!! Ouch that even hurt me!!! Geaux Cajuns!!!

[HOUCajun]

Good luck with that Boom! Too bad though, it's not a bad idea.

[California Cajun]

Like this?

[cajun4life]

Like this?

The glory days!

[California Cajun]

de plan, de plan

[CajunAmos]

de plan, de plan

The plan.........Welcome to Fantasy Island.

[cajunhawk]

de plan, de plan

I like this...this should be the Master Plan's new name...for ever.

[lcitsh]

Ok, so let's see if there are two encampments here: 1. There is no athletics plan and never will be and 2. There is an athletics plan but it's not going to be finished in time to accomplish anything. The first encampment believes Joe and Scott are liars, lazy and antiquated. The second encampment believes Joe and Scott to be stupid, incompetent and antiquated. Are there any other negative schools of thought?

[Cajun90]

Ok, so let's see if there are two encampments here: 1. There is no athletics plan and never will be and 2. There is an athletics plan but it's not going to be finished in time to accomplish anything. The first encampment believes Joe and Scott are liars, lazy and antiquated. The second encampment believes Joe and Scott to be stupid, incompetent and antiquated. Are there any other negative schools of thought?

C. All of the above.