UL has big decision to make on Cajun Field renovation

[cajun4life]

Austin, St. Louis, Nashville?? lol
You need to check out the population of those metro areas. They are about 4 times as big as Lafayette at least. St. Louis is metro alone is around 5m people

MLS in Lafayette is a pipe dream. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take from what MLS and MiLB does right with regards to districting and planning that make the game experience so much better.

[Esqueleto]

Football is dying man. Build for the future. Also, Nashville’s stadium isn’t some euro futuristic stadium.

That stadium here would be awesome. You old curmudgeon. Lol

You're 100% right. The soccer stadium design is the future. Hopefully, the ones making the decision aren't folks like Cajun T

[Ragin9221]

I not saying we can get a MLS team, but I think we could get a minor league soccer team affiliated with the USL.

[CajunT]

Until the stadium upgrades are decided, you should not build the entertainment/shopping part. Our guys are thinking of the future not just one part of the design. This has been the problem in the past. By building the entertainment/shopping part without a plan for the stadium you are going to limit what you can do with the stadium. The stadium is the focal point of the complex, get the plans and start before you decide on the what is going where in entertainment/shopping part.

There is a process they are going through to do it the right way and they are doing that. Everyone at the university knows that funding needs to come from out side sources, but you have to have a plan. Once stadium plans are complete they can move forward with the other parts of the complex. We can not build in a shell.

I don't disagree with what you have stated. The only thing I would add is we can't go forward without corporate investment. There will have to be some collaboration between entities that want to help develop the entertainment and shopping and our athletic department long term. A partnership is necessary to help financially long term including branding the stadium. We can bond out the stadium, but long term development in that area won't happen without partnering with corporate developers.JMO

[HelmutVII]

You’re completely missing what makes the MLS stadiums incredible. They aren’t build for capacity. We don’t need more than 35k here anyway. They are 100% designed for fan experience. They are designed with sight lines as the number one consideration. Cajun Field has terrible sight lines if you are below row 20 in the lower bowl.

They have standing areas designed into the stadium, which is a bar. Imagine if Legends or Pete’s would sponsor a bar area inside of Cajun Field where people could drink at a bar setting and watch the game. Attractions inside the stadium to draw people in. It is something MLS and MiLB have done that makes a huge impact on attendance.

Nashville’s stadium holds 30,500. Which would be a little smaller than I’d like to see only by 2000 or so seats. The current layout of Cajun Field lends itself perfectly to something like that.

I’d like to see the entire lower bowl completely redone. Steepen the embankments and have the lower seating be a little more vertical. Then a much smaller upper deck on both sides between the 30’s that has 12-15 rows of seats. With a canopy covering the whole thing. Chairback the entire stadium and make them comfortable. They don’t need to be 16” seats. Give fans a little room to breathe and make this place the crown jewel of college football in the region.

The existing slope is too steep for code. It needs to be less steep like the NEZ seating.

[CajunT]

C'mon man, you can't compare Lafayette to Austin, St Louis, or Nashville. I am not vehemently opposed to "MLS-type amenities or design cues for the renovations, but MLS is never going to happen in Lafayette.

Yep, total nonsense. We are not going to develop that area without corporate developers with investment dollars.

[CharlieK]

It's not that I didn't notice the other issues, I just didn't mention them. I think the real name for the stadium should be "ageing field".

In your opinion, is it worth trying to save a structure with so many issues? Starting to sound like we would be better off building from scratch in the parking lot and tearing CF down. Recognizing we don't have any money for any of it, and it's all a pipe dream till we identify where the money comes from.

[DieHard1280]

I'm no expert, but don't think a soccer type stadium can be done in phases like Jay said the admin is planning. So, seems like we can move on from the soccer talk.

[Ragin9221]

I'm no expert, but don't think a soccer type stadium can be done in phases like Jay said the admin is planning. So, seems like we can move on from the soccer talk.

I am down renovating Cajun Field. Problem is it is only used 5 times a year we need something that can be extra revenue for Cajun Field.

Gotta think Cajun Dome. They have tried to make Cajun Dome profitable between Ice Hockey to Arena Football.

[CajunT]

You’re completely missing what makes the MLS stadiums incredible. They aren’t build for capacity. We don’t need more than 35k here anyway. They are 100% designed for fan experience. They are designed with sight lines as the number one consideration. Cajun Field has terrible sight lines if you are below row 20 in the lower bowl.

They have standing areas designed into the stadium, which is a bar. Imagine if Legends or Pete’s would sponsor a bar area inside of Cajun Field where people could drink at a bar setting and watch the game. Attractions inside the stadium to draw people in. It is something MLS and MiLB have done that makes a huge impact on attendance.

Nashville’s stadium holds 30,500. Which would be a little smaller than I’d like to see only by 2000 or so seats. The current layout of Cajun Field lends itself perfectly to something like that.

I’d like to see the entire lower bowl completely redone. Steepen the embankments and have the lower seating be a little more vertical. Then a much smaller upper deck on both sides between the 30’s that has 12-15 rows of seats. With a canopy covering the whole thing. Chairback the entire stadium and make them comfortable. They don’t need to be 16” seats. Give fans a little room to breathe and make this place the crown jewel of college football in the region.

You think that soccer stadiums are only ones built with site lines? Have you attended a game at AT&T Stadium in Dallas yet? It's a state of the art stadium that meets all the requirements you just listed and yet it is a football stadium. Naturally we don't have the resources to build something like it, but there are basic design opportunities that can meet the requirements that you have stated. I don't have a problem with overhangs in a stadium, but the conceptual look needs to remain that of a football stadium with brick exterior matching the rest of the complex. JMO

[ManAboutTown]

The very first thing that needs to happen?
We need to elect people in state leadership that know how to bring jobs and investment back to the state of Louisiana. Without that, we're all screwed.

[DieHard1280]

The very first thing that needs to happen?
We need to elect people in state leadership that know how to bring jobs and investment back to the state of Louisiana. Without that, we're all ____ed.

Let me know when pigs or elephants fly. Dumbo notwithstanding.

Just move Lafayette to Texas. Problem solved.