Cajun Field Renovation Plans

[CajunVic]

And Farmer sunk all this money into Cajun Field without bothering to do his due dillegence and check if Cajun Field was even worth keeping around. Since then we've found something like $10,000,000 in structural issues we'll apparently have to correct before we ever even add a new brick to the stadium. The lack of foresight and planning was astounding.

Like I said earlier, construction of the SEZ was a brain fart, period. It may be nice but it was money poorly spent considering the condition of the stadium and global stadium needs.

[ZoomZoom]

Everyone got something? What exactly did we get again? A bunch of seats that we didn’t need, a bell tower that is so low nobody can hear the bell ring, and millions in debt to pay off for a structure that doesn’t generate revenue.

Contrast that to what Tech did. For just a few mil. more than what we spent on that end zone project, La Tech built a brand new press box with 13 suites that will generate millions of dollars of revenue for them over the coming years.

I guess you didn’t comprehend my previous posts since you tagged my post and vented.

I’m the one that brought up the debt and never said I liked the SEZ. Walker went cheap.

Don’t give a flip about tech other than they’re in Ruston, which I have compassion towards the community presently. We have enough issues, honestly feel we’re at a crossroads as an overall program.

[CajunDreDog]

Don’t worry guys, when i win that $700M+ Powerball jackpot we’ll be set!

CajunDreDog Stadium anyone?

[CajunRebel]

I guess you didn’t comprehend my previous posts since you tagged my post and vented.

I’m the one that brought up the debt and never said I liked the SEZ. Walker went cheap.

Don’t give a flip about tech other than they’re in Ruston, which I have compassion towards the community presently. We have enough issues, honestly feel we’re at a crossroads as an overall program.

I hear ya. Your post was just a nice jumping off point for me to vent my frustration.

I mentioned Tech because they did their stadium the way I was screaming for us to do ours. They built their version of the APC except they were smart enough to build it up against the football stadium and add in premium seating that will generate enough revenue to pay for the entire APC. Then they built the press box which will also pay for itself and then some. We spent about the same amount of money and have no revenue to show for it.

When you count in the lost opportunity of premium seating, the end zone expansion itself, and the structural work, it is almost like we are $30 million behind where we could have been with our facilities.

[CrazyCajun]

I hear ya. Your post was just a nice jumping off point for me to vent my frustration.

I mentioned Tech because they did their stadium the way I was screaming for us to do ours. They built their version of the APC except they were smart enough to build it up against the football stadium and add in premium seating that will generate enough revenue to pay for the entire APC. Then they built the press box which will also pay for itself and then some. We spent about the same amount of money and have no revenue to show for it.

When you count in the lost opportunity of premium seating, the end zone expansion itself, and the structural work, it is almost like we are $30 million behind where we could have been with our facilities.

Our APC is where it should be, next to the IPF. They don’t have one. We should have not built the SEZ addition and either waited to do the whole stadium or built like a party park with patios to generate revenue. Our APC is huge and state of the art and would have been really difficult to build it anywhere other than where it is.

[Ragin9221]

We only need the SEZ is if we are doing major renovations to Cajun Field. I personally think that if we bowl in the entire structure, demolish the top deck put a nice press box on the home side, and put a nice cover for the seats that is the way to go and the cheapest route, and our stadium could still hold 30,000.

Personally we wouldn’t even have to bowl it in just take down the top deck and replace it with nice suites and press box.

[LaCajunsFan]

I hear ya. Your post was just a nice jumping off point for me to vent my frustration.

I mentioned Tech because they did their stadium the way I was screaming for us to do ours. They built their version of the APC except they were smart enough to build it up against the football stadium and add in premium seating that will generate enough revenue to pay for the entire APC. Then they built the press box which will also pay for itself and then some. We spent about the same amount of money and have no revenue to show for it.

When you count in the lost opportunity of premium seating, the end zone expansion itself, and the structural work, it is almost like we are $30 million behind where we could have been with our facilities.

Except that they are not selling enough suites in EZ to pay for their locker room, and are selling even less of the new suites in the new PB. They haven't been able to payoff their video screen in years because they need that revenue stream to keep the other projects afloat.

[ZoomZoom]

I hear ya. Your post was just a nice jumping off point for me to vent my frustration.

I mentioned Tech because they did their stadium the way I was screaming for us to do ours. They built their version of the APC except they were smart enough to build it up against the football stadium and add in premium seating that will generate enough revenue to pay for the entire APC. Then they built the press box which will also pay for itself and then some. We spent about the same amount of money and have no revenue to show for it.

When you count in the lost opportunity of premium seating, the end zone expansion itself, and the structural work, it is almost like we are $30 million behind where we could have been with our facilities.

We’re good.

End zone projects with “premium seating” only works if you have unmet demand for prime location seating. People at G-5 and below may fall for the novelty at first, but if you’re coming to see the game, mid field is where you want to be. In our case, we did the SEZ then tried selling mid field seats on the east side. A few were sold, the demand isn’t there. I don’t necessarily agree with the SEZ, but time will show tech, McNeese, some of our SBC brethren and other non P-5’s have invested in future office or storage space over their locker rooms.

The only logical reason for doing the SEZ as we did is to have seating when the press box is under construction.

Fixing the on field product cures a lot of issues, and realization unless we’re last year’s UCF, NOLA bowl is our best bet. We’re moving nowhere because first, there is nowhere to move and second we aren’t attractive financially. We need growth.

[talktomewillis]

A lot of you are going to be sorely disappointed when you see what's going to happen.

[cajun_lannister]

A lot of you are going to be sorely disappointed when you see what's going to happen.

Pressure washer and a bucket of paint ?

[KragincajunS10]

Please share. I got mostly responses about the baseball facility. I'd like some info. on what my post was about....if you have any. And your post seems to elude to that.

[talktomewillis]

Please share. I got mostly responses about the baseball facility. I'd like some info. on what my post was about....if you have any. And your post seems to elude to that.

Just a general statement.

I think everyone has their own idea of what this should look like and what needs to be done. it is my understanding they aren't going to be able to come close to that.

It's my opinion (and I Don't have any inside info on this part) this thing is going to have to be done in phases. And, that won't be good enough for the instant gratification society we live in today.