Could the Ragin’ Cajuns be getting a new football stadium?

[Esqueleto]

No one is saying build an 80K stadium most are saying start at 35-40 with the POSSIBILITY TO EXPAND. We shoot ourselves in the foot if we cant have room to grow

You will never need room to grow if you build a 30k seat stadium. The days of full football stadiums are long gone. And if the stadium sells out and tickets are in great demand, then that's wonderful

[CajunJeaux]

Dude, you are starting to sound like a latech guy. In case you missed it, the community DID rally with many of the largest attended games in school history, Bowl game attendance records and the expansion of the RCAF.

But hey, don't let that get in the way of your argument that we suck and always will.

If Bobby and Susie have been trying for a kid for 15+ years...with no success....would you advise them to move out of their 1 bedroom apartment that they live comfortably (fnancially)...to a 3 bedroom house that would make them house poor...all with the outlook that they hope to have a child??...

No...any responsible person would tell them to wait for child before upgrading...and spend their resources on improving their current situation...

A 30kish stadium with potential room to grow is the only way to move forward...

[cajun_lannister]

You will never need room to grow if you build a 30k seat stadium. The days of full football stadiums are long gone. And if the stadium sells out and tickets are in great demand, then that's wonderful

Gone are the days of full 100k stadiums not 35K ones

[Louisiana_Spice]

The 4 greatest years in our program's history had the following average attendance for the year:
29,171
22,865
25,976
25,775

That's 4 winning season. 4 bowl victories. 3 games over 30,000 (1 vs FCS school). But let's build bigger than 40,000 so we can have a 50% full stadium and then complain when no one goes.

Looking back on those years, we didn't really have an administration that knew what they were doing either. No marketing, digital media, or video production where their job was to create ticket campaigns for fans. So if you are going to compare the numbers from a few years ago, then compare the administration as well. No Maggard, no Director of Marketing (I know Eric Marron was in place but that guy was absolutely terrible) , no Director of Communication/Digital Media, no content creator, and no Mike Alden report. Right now, we have some key players in place as well as some future position that will help grow our brand and most importantly, we have an actual plan to help combat those issues.

[cajun4life]

38,000 is plenty big enough.

[CajunJeaux]

38,000 is plenty big enough.

Yep...

[Cajun90]

Eight of the ten conferences plus independents saw a drop in attendance compared to the prior year. The two conferences that saw growth were minimal.

Approx 50 teams average more than 40K in attendance. Approx 47 teams had attendance less than 25K. Our average last year was 15,751. Only fourteen other FBS teams had a smaller attendance than us. Nine FCS teams had better attendance than us.

The P5 leagues average around 60K attendance. The G5 average around 21K.

So what does all that mean. Not much except to put a couple of bookends on things.

Honestly think most people are talking "in the same ballpark". It would be hard to justify anything smaller than what you see for G5 average and we have obviously put more than 21K in the stadium numerous times. On the flipside it is difficult to see justification for 60K which is P5 average because those numbers are a little skewed by a few schools with large attendance figures. Only 24 teams actually average above 60K in attendance.

My personal opinion is you have to build a stadium that from day one can support up to 30K. You also need to have a plan to increase capacity to 40-45K. Anything bigger than that probably isn't going to be economically advisable. This could be easily accomplished by designing for future installation of a second deck on the visitors side along with additional end zone seating.

[GeauxCajuns]

Those soccer stadiums that seat 30,000-40,000 are within our budget. You guys wanna dream about something like CSU, where will be poopthe $220M to build a beautiful stadium that will only be 90% full once every 20 years?

Design and build a stadium that is realistic to what we are at our best. Hell Houston understood that. They built a 40,000 seat stadium that fits their program, which is a hell of a lot better than ours.

By the way, the current setup at Cajun Field puts us as one of the largest G5 stadiums in the country. We don’t need to be bigger than what we are right now. We need better sightlines and a better atmosphere. A football stadium that has the same type of atmosphere as Russo and Landon Park.

we are agreeing, 35k right now is right on the money, but if we go the route of all of the soccer stadiums you have linked, it gives us no option to expand in the future.
so we agree we both want a 35k seat stadium right now, i just want it built to be able to expand in the future, and you want it landlocked with no chance at expansion.

just because we want to build it to allow expansion in the future doesnt mean we cant do it highend as well. we arent building the capacity now, so build it nice, but build it in away that allows for add ons if we need it in the future.

[Ragin9221]

we are agreeing, 35k right now is right on the money, but if we go the route of all of the soccer stadiums you have linked, it gives us no option to expand in the future.
so we agree we both want a 35k seat stadium right now, i just want it built to be able to expand in the future, and you want it landlocked with no chance at expansion.

just because we want to build it to allow expansion in the future doesnt mean we cant do it highend as well. we arent building the capacity now, so build it nice, but build it in away that allows for add ons if we need it in the future.

35k with room to be expanded! Think everyone can agree with that

[MetryCajun]

I predict when we start winning again people here will be shocked how little our crowd grows. We already have a strong fan base. I think a 30% increase in attendance is possible with the right product and schedule. Lets give ourselves the benefit of the doubt and say we have 25k fans on average who are currently motivated to buy either season tickets or individual games. A 30% increase would be 32.5k. This is probably the upper end of what to expect since we will still be playing a bunch of teams no one cares about. Realistically averaging 32k is only possible if we move to the AAC. Since it is likely we will be in a league with a mix of Cusa and Sunbelt schools, crowds of over 35 will be reserved for Southern and maybe LATech.
It would be nice to sell out some games and create a better atmosphere. Turning people away is not being caught with your pants down, it is creating demand for your product.

[cajunhawk]

I predict when we start winning again people here will be shocked how little our crowd grows. We already have a strong fan base. I think a 30% increase in attendance is possible with the right product and schedule. Lets give ourselves the benefit of the doubt and say we have 25k fans on average who are currently motivated to buy either season tickets or individual games. A 30% increase would be 32.5k. This is probably the upper end of what to expect since we will still be playing a bunch of teams no one cares about. Realistically averaging 32k is only possible if we move to the AAC. Since it is likely we will be in a league with a mix of Cusa and Sunbelt schools, crowds of over 35 will be reserved for Southern and maybe LATech.
It would be nice to sell out some games and create a better atmosphere. Turning people away is not being caught with your pants down, it is creating demand for your product.

Yaw Yaw!!

[Turbine]

Consistent start times and a consistent day of the week coupled with winning will do wonders for attendance.

Football is a lifestyle activity.