Wally Wade changes

[allenmurray]

What boggles my mind is that didn't anyone do some research? We always talk about what a nightmare Kenan is with their seats and leg room. Why did Duke think that someone paying top dollar (The benches that got seats are obviously more than GA seats) would want a less enjoyable experience for their money? I love the blue idea, but the answer is easy...replace the silver benches with blue ones! I bet it would have been much cheaper, too.

I'm 6' 2" and I'm fine with the seats. My son is 6' 4" and he is crowded. CB&B, you are really freakin' tall.

Seriously it seems the comfort cut-off point is right around 6"2". At 6"2" I'm at the 95th percentile for height. Designing a seat that accommodates 95% of folks is probably within what most architects would do. I think there are probably more people bothered by the width of the seats than by the leg room. In our country there are a lot more folks who are overly wide than there are folks who are overly tall.

[Jarhead]

I am 5'10" and in pretty good shape, and found the seats pretty uncomfortable, not even accounting for the heat. My suggestion would be to do what Duke has done in Koskinen Stadium - put backs on the bleachers. My family and I went to two soccer games over Homecoming weekend (Men v ND, Women v UNC, both 3-0 losses unfortunately), and were much more comfortable. It is a lot easier to move past seated folks in that set-up as well.

Backs on the metal benches automatically make the seats closer. So do those folding seats that people carry into the stadium. I'm 5' 11", and still shrinking as I age, but my seats are quite comfortable. My son's about 6' 1", and he seems comfortable. If you are much taller than we are, that's your misfortune. You are above average, and should be punished. My seats are on the 46 yard line, row EE. My son coughed up the money to get padded seats, about 50 bucks for the season, and that takes care of things for us. The metal bannisters in the aisles is another good thing. As for the new seats being hot -- so's everything when the sun shines brightly on a hot day. You can blame that on the latitude.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I'm 6' 2" and I'm fine with the seats. My son is 6' 4" and he is crowded. CB&B, you are really freakin' tall.

Seriously it seems the comfort cut-off point is right around 6"2". At 6"2" I'm at the 95th percentile for height. Designing a seat that accommodates 95% of folks is probably within what most architects would do. I think there are probably more people bothered by the width of the seats than by the leg room. In our country there are a lot more folks who are overly wide than there are folks who are overly tall.

Haha...I am only 6'4" as well, and very happy to enjoy the benches. The problem is that the stands were designed for benches. Had Wallace Wade been set up for seats, I bet the spacing would have been different. Think of movie theaters. Those places are designed with seats in mind. They want to fill as many people in as they can, but they also want the experience to be a comfortable one. To do it right, Duke would have to replace the concrete the seats sit on, and that obviously is not going to happen.

[Atldukie79]

I grew up in Durham in the 60's and attended many games in WW with my boy scout uniform as an usher. Yup...used to have boy scouts standing in every aisle helping patrons find their seat. (Got a free hot dog and coke in exchange for a free ticket and a sun burn). I too remember the 1971 game with UNC. That game also had the temporary bleachers in the end zone and on the track along with the less temporary, semi-permanent bleachers around the top.

As a student in the 70's I watched the crowds begin to thin out and now, I simply try to catch one game in WW every year...never a challenge to find a seat.

I happened to be in Durham today and wandered over to an empty WW to check out the stadium and talk to a few folks.

1) I sat in the blue seats on the east side of the stadium. At 6'1" I am used to tight stadium seats. I had plenty of clearance between me and the seat in front of me. Yes, the seats are somewhat flimsy. I must point out that I was in Grant Field at Bobby Dodd stadium to watch the Devils win. I sat in the traditional bleacher seats. While some may critique the width of the individual blue seats at WW, I was reminded of the downside of the bleacher seats... the 15 people already seated on the Tech bleacher seats covered 18 seats cheek to cheek. Kind of tough to squeeze in. That is not a problem with the individual seats. Frankly, the biggest issue is probably heat...TV noon games in the sun are a challenge.

2) The 5 foot drop in the field level is partially dictated by TV requirements...they demand certain angles for their cameras from the press box.

3) I believe the field will also be relocated a few feet toward the north end of the stadium to better align with the stadium mid point.

4) If new seats are ever to be added beyond the current plans, it will likely not be in the south end zone. The east side would likely get a second deck. I can't think of another stadium in D1 where such an expansion would cost so little(relative I know). Given the ground level starting point for such a deck, and the fact that Duke will pour footings during this construction to accommodate such a future expansion, if the demand is there, it would be relatively easy to accommodate.

[allenmurray]

Haha...I am only 6'4" as well, and very happy to enjoy the benches. The problem is that the stands were designed for benches. Had Wallace Wade been set up for seats, I bet the spacing would have been different. Think of movie theaters. Those places are designed with seats in mind. They want to fill as many people in as they can, but they also want the experience to be a comfortable one. To do it right, Duke would have to replace the concrete the seats sit on, and that obviously is not going to happen.

I miss the flexibility of the benches, but I enjoy having the back rest. For me it is a wash in terms of comfort. But from a symbolic standpoint Duke recognized it needed to make some improvements to the stadium experience for fans and did something about that. So I'm not going to be too critical.

[Dukehky]

The expansion is okay, but I would rather spend all the money making the stadium as nice as possible because Duke just isn't ever going to fill out WW as it is, let alone with thousands of more seats, and that is okay. One of the coaches tweeted that if you wanted to play in front of 80,000 people, duke probably isn't for you, but if you want to make 100,000 grand a year after you graduate, maybe give Duke a look. We don't need a bigger stadium, but we could make it nicer. This expansion is fine, but anymore than that I doubt will ever be seriously needed.

[moonpie23]

don't forget to save some $$ to upgrade the attrocious wi-fi there....today's youth (and some older folks) are tethered to their devices....slow wi-fi is a buzz-kill. Even if you're on LTE there, it's not very fast....

[-jk]

don't forget to save some $$ to upgrade the attrocious wi-fi there....today's youth (and some older folks) are tethered to their devices....slow wi-fi is a buzz-kill. Even if you're on LTE there, it's not very fast....

Non-trivial problem: a few hundred APs and really big, fat pipe. For 5 or 6 games a year.

-jk

[CameronBornAndBred]

don't forget to save some $$ to upgrade the attrocious wi-fi there....today's youth (and some older folks) are tethered to their devices....slow wi-fi is a buzz-kill. Even if you're on LTE there, it's not very fast....

We get good reception in the parking lot and stream the ESPN3 games on my kindle to the TV. It can get a little choppy, but it can do that at home, too. I wonder if it is worse in the stadium?