wilbon disses wally wade

[formerdukeathlete]

I'll repeat my comment from the previous thread last winter. Removing the track does very little for getting people closer to the field. Much of the track area on the sidelines is used for equipment, people, etc. at the football game. (Take a look at it this Saturday.) It is wider than, say, NC State, but you won't get many rows of seats there at all. You can perhaps fill in the center "wedge" around the 50, and the end zone, but not completely around. I don't see it worth the cost of construction of those seats, including lowering the field and building a new track elsewhere.

(The open end zone, of course, is different, and the track would need to be removed to fill it in close enough to make a difference.)

the just endzone approach was what Missouri did when removing the track and fans still complain about it - lowering the field like Wisconsin, Ohio State, Navy, Texas Tech, the LA Coliseum (and the list goes on) has resulted in better reviews.

Ohio State added 12 rows of seats close to the field when removing the track and lowering the field. Scroll down, a picture is worth a thousand words - adding 9k in seats.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_stadium

At Wade removing the track gives us much better acoustics, 8 to 10 k in seats (without closing in the endzone), and closer to a critical capacity, which I submit is about 50k.

fwiw, Kansas and Washington have also recently approved removing their tracks. Duke is the only school without immediate (approved) plans to eliminate, to use K. Whites words, this "antiquated design."

[phaedrus]

I suspect I'm one of the bigger t&f supporters on the board. But Duke hasn't been in the big-time-track-and-field business for some time and isn't planning on getting back in the game for the forseeable future.

In fact, the game has pretty much disappeared, except for a few holdouts, like Eugene. Track and field is a troubled sport in the U.S. Maybe it's Title IX, maybe it's performance-enhancing drugs, maybe it's institutional incompetence, all of the above, none of the above. That's another discussion. But I'm pretty sure Duke is a lot more likely to put 35,000 fannies in the seats for a football game than a track meet.

So, whatever the merits of keeping or moving the track, I think we can remove future U.S-Pan-Africa track meets from the discussion. It just ain't gonna happen.

And yes, by all means, don't abandon the track team. Make sure they have first-rate facilities, now and forever. But it's hard to make a compelling case that those facilties need to be wrapped inside a 35,000-seat stadium.

I agree with you, with the qualification that we should still seek to be in the "big time" business of hosting NCAA and ACC championships, which would still require a large number of seats (Ohio State's track stadium has 10,000 seats).

I just think we're putting the cart before the horses when we talk about removing the track. Removing the track and putting in those extra seats is the easy part; finding a new place and securing funding for a new track stadium might be more elusive.

[gep]

Ohio State added 12 rows of seats close to the field when removing the track and lowering the field. Scroll down, a picture is worth a thousand words - adding 9k in seats.

Hey... what about creating the "student section" in those first 10-12 rows... just like in Cameron. Takes the students out of the "main" sections for the paying public

[CameronBornAndBred]

I'm late in this discussion, but here's my 2 cents. I don't see any value of removing anything for more seats, until we actually sell out a game. And in our future, hopefully near future, I really hope this happens. And if/when we do, it will be much more economically reasonable to add seats above, then remove the track and add them below. If you do add them below, then you have to lower the field. Unless you enjoy watching games from over a player's helmet. When you shout "down in front", I don't expect the team to duck.
Seats have been up top before, it just makes more sense to me. Keep the track we have, and don't spend a ton of money building new facilities when they aren't needed. Get us the restrooms, fill the stands regurlarly, and go bowling. Then..after you console your Tar Heel buddy that at least the victory bell is still blue, and in North Carolina, and that there is always next year, we can talk about what to do with the track.
GO DUKE and fill Wallace Wade!

[SharkD]

Acymetric, you are wrong ...
{snip}

Actually, I was wrrr... wrrr... wrrr... I was incorrect. (That's what I get for relying on fuzzy memories going to games as a kid -- before last Saturday, I hadn't been to a game at Wallace Wade since the early Goldsmith era.)

So you're saying that one almost-sellout in a row doesn't justify doubling the size of the stadium?

It's the first home winning streak in a while. (POTW, BTW)

Forget the Central Campus renewal. Forget remodeling of WW. Tear Down WW and start over.

We should probably tear down that dilapidated 9,000 person basketball gym, too and that crusty old chapel, while we're at it.

[Capn Poptart]

Wallace Wade isn't a "dump." In fact, I remember it being named by Sports Illustrated in the past ten years or so as "the most beautiful place to watch bad football" The setting, the intimacy, the natural bowl, the history, the art deco lines are all beautiful. But WW has been ignored for decades.

As noted Duke fan Linus Van Pelt said in A Charlie Brown Christmas, "I never thought it was such a bad little stadium. It's not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love."

[kinghoops]

although i agree with the need to improve restroom and concessions, what does it say about interest when i bought tickets on stub hub in section 5 for 8 bucks apiece???? just a thought

[Carlos]

Wallace Wade isn't a "dump." In fact, I remember it being named by Sports Illustrated in the past ten years or so as "the most beautiful place to watch bad football" The setting, the intimacy, the natural bowl, the history, the art deco lines are all beautiful. But WW has been ignored for decades.

I always heard that the quote was "the most beautiful stadium in America to watch bad football" and that some resourceful person in the Athletic Department just edited the "to watch bad football" part of the line away when adding it to the press guide.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

I always heard that the quote was "the most beautiful stadium in America to watch bad football" and that some resourceful person in the Athletic Department just edited the "to watch bad football" part of the line away when adding it to the press guide.

With Coach Cutcliffe in charge, looks as if the Athletic Department might edit that statement again: "The most beautiful stadium in America to watch some great football!"

[devilirium]

Kevin White answered a lot of these questions at the end of his radio show(via the mailbag). No definitive time frames were given. By my recollection, this fell under Phase 1 :

1) Track will be removed, and the field will be lowered--he anticipates that 7000 additional seats will be added. White said that there are several possibilities for the track relocation. I'm quite happy about this development.

2) Said that he would love to write a big check and start over but that this isn't feasible.

3) Club seating and suites will be installed---he didn't indicate where this would be--some have suggested the open end.

4) Restrooms and concessions will be improved

Stated that these improvements were his "pedestrian architectural view", and that he would obviously bring in the architects to flesh out these improvements.

[hughgs]

Kevin White answered a lot of these questions at the end of his radio show(via the mailbag). No definitive time frames were given. By my recollection, this fell under Phase 1 :

1) Track will be removed, and the field will be lowered--he anticipates that 7000 additional seats will be added. White said that there are several possibilities for the track relocation. I'm quite happy about this development.

2) Said that he would love to write a big check and start over but that this isn't feasible.

3) Club seating and suites will be installed---he didn't indicate where this would be--some have suggested the open end.

4) Restrooms and concessions will be improved

Stated that these improvements were his "pedestrian architectural view", and that he would obviously bring in the architects to flesh out these improvements.

Can you give a date on this radio show? There was a whole thread devoted to this topic based on some of White's previous comments and the consensus was that White was commenting on these points as brain-storming points. I'd be interested to hear if he's truly ready to remove the track.

[devilirium]

Hughs,

I googled his show and found that GoDuke listed it as Sept 2. It will be broadcast every Tuesday on Durham's own 620 AM (WDNC) from 7:00-8:00 PM.

The above information was presented at the very end of the show.

[Indoor66]

Kevin White answered a lot of these questions at the end of his radio show(via the mailbag). No definitive time frames were given. By my recollection, this fell under Phase 1 :

1) Track will be removed, and the field will be lowered--he anticipates that 7000 additional seats will be added. White said that there are several possibilities for the track relocation. I'm quite happy about this development.

2) Said that he would love to write a big check and start over but that this isn't feasible.

3) Club seating and suites will be installed---he didn't indicate where this would be--some have suggested the open end.

4) Restrooms and concessions will be improved

Stated that these improvements were his "pedestrian architectural view", and that he would obviously bring in the architects to flesh out these improvements.

Check out this clip. Watch the crowd at the beginning - the stands above permanent seats, stands on the field and stands in the open end of the horseshoe... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plNACl2086U&feature=user

[hughgs]

Hughs,

I googled his show and found that GoDuke listed it as Sept 2. It will be broadcast every Tuesday on Durham's own 620 AM (WDNC) from 7:00-8:00 PM.

The above information was presented at the very end of the show.

Thanks.

[grossbus]

well, for what little it is worth, i have always loved the look of ww and the way it is cut into the hillside.